Grateful

My sweet baby is getting well.

Last week after her bilirubin went down, she still had several concerning symptoms. The docs all thought she had a serious problem. The neurologist and the pediatrician tested her for a million different things. She had 2 X-Rays, lots of blood draws, 4 IVs (they fell out and had to be put in again--each time taking about 2 hours to find a vein to put in because she is so tiny and after the last one, they told me that she had no good veins left because of all of the bruising), 3 spinal taps, an ultrasound of her brain, sedation, had respiratory problems and apnea as a result of the sedation and had to spend the night in the PICU, an EKG, an MRI, 2 days of drinking nasty soy formula that made her constipated so she needed suppositories, several days of anti-biotics, several days of anti-viral medicine, and lots of exams. She isn't even due for another 2 weeks. She should have been safe and sound in my tummy, but instead she had to go through all of that. Some of the things she was tested for are brain damage, meningitis, HSV, tons of metabolic disorders, a weird thing called Galactosemia that basically causes brain damage when you consume galactose (which is why she was on the soy formula until they got a negative test result), and tons of other stuff. Everything so far has come back negative, and in the meantime she has gotten her color back, started eating like a champ, become more alert, gained muscle tone, and started acting like a normal newborn.

Two days ago, the neurologist saw a lot of improvement and said that there was a chance that it could be something temporary. The pediatrician didn't think so. She showed a lot more improvement since then. Today, the neurologist said her muscle tone and things were very much improved and that it was something temporary. Then, the pediatrician came and told me that if one last test came back negative that they would send her home on Friday when we get the results back. She mentioned that there were a couple of tiny things in the MRI that may or may not be something, so we should monitor her development very carefully and watch for milestones, but that the neurologist thought it was minor enough and common enough to see that, that he told her that what he saw is probably nothing. They want to do one more MRI in a month.

I feel so blessed that my little girl is healthy again, and I am so proud of her for the progress she has made. I also feel very grateful for all the prayers from so many people. Through all of these trials over the last couple of weeks, I feel like I have come closer to my Heavenly Father and more grateful to Him for my perfect little girl and for my family. I am grateful for temples so that I can be sealed to my family for all eternity. I am grateful to have three beautiful children. I am also grateful to have a wonderful, loving husband who has been such a great support to me through all of this. Thank you to everyone who prayed, fasted, babysat, made meals, and showed support.

Thank you for your prayers. They helped.