Only 12 more Days...

Its only 12 more days until Dave and the kids fly out to spend Christmas with me and Ash. I am so excited that we are under the 2 week mark. Christmas this year won't be what we are used to, but we will all be together. I am trying not be sad about all of the traditional things we won't be able to do . Instead of having the whole month to spend preparing for the holiday and making memories we are going to pack as much as we can into our 12 days together. I am looking forward to making it a holiday to remember for Blake, Allie, and Ashley. Who knows? we might actually see snow here in Nebraska. That would be wonderful!

Ashley started her day out with a bang. During the night she managed to pull out the last stitch that was holding her central line into place. So when we turned the lights on early this morning (before 7:00a.m.) we found her laying in a puddle of blood. Not only had she pulled the stitch while trying to remove her breathing tube last night, but she also had almost pulled the whole line out of her neck. So after rounds this morning they worked on re-threading her line back into her neck. Ouch! She now has a shiny, new set of stitches holding it into place. The rest of her day was fairly lazy until we spotted another puddle of blood under her shoulder. This time she had managed to get one of the ports disconnected from her line and her blood had begun to back up and leak all over her bed. You might be interested to know that she has managed to cause all of this trouble while her hands and arms have been in restraints. She is so frustrated about being on the ventilator that she constantly rocks her head back and forth in an attempt to get the tube out of her little throat. I am so used to watching her fight the vent that by now it is just something I accept. Even in restraints and with a tube down her throat she manages to show us just how much trouble she can cause. I think this is her own little way of making everyone pay for keeping her in this condition. She is such a mess and she is also very good at making them. We have been able to wean her vent settings all through out the day and I feel very confident that she will be off of it tomorrow or the next day. I know she will feel much better once it is gone.

Even with all of the excitement she has caused it has turned out to be a pretty lazy day here in Omaha. The weekends are so slow and so long when Dave and the kids aren't here with us. I wish they could spend every weekend here, but that is just not affordable. We are busy getting the final flight plan and all the details worked out for their Christmas visit. I am still praying that Ash will be feeling good and be on her way out of here by the time the kids arrive. I know they are looking forward to playing with her. God has been good to us and has given us another day with our Ashley. He continues to bless us and show us "great and mighty things". I am looking forward to tomorrow to see what blessings it will hold. Thanks for visiting Ashley's Story today. We appreciate the time you spend here and in prayer for our sweet girl. May He bless you.