Passing the Tests

Ashley had a wonderful night of play and rest. She finally gave up on fighting the ventilator and began to just play around with it. She managed to disconnect it a couple of times last night. She likes to pull on the "pretty" blue tubes and shake the part that they suction her with.(I can't remember what it is called). I think she looks beautiful this morning and she is full of personality. She started reaching up to anyone who approaches her bed trying to entice them with her chubby hands and rosy cheeks to pick her up. She is waving and clapping over the top of the tube. She really is adorable and I think she has managed to steal a few more hearts over the weekend. She has convinced the nurses that when they approach her bed with supplies they need to bring extras so she may have a set to play with while they work. They are happy to supply her with extra pink sponges, syringes, tubing, alcohol wipes, etc. to keep her busy. She is such a good little helper. This morning she reached up and stole the nurses glasses off of her face. It made me giggle inside to see her being so awnry. If you get too close to her she will "claw" off your face and pull your hair. I will be thankful when her daddy arrives so he can give her a manicure. He loves to do the girls nails for them. (Allie even convinced him to let her paint his toenails pink over the summer. He had no idea I was out of remover and actually ended up wearing his flip flops and pink toenails to one of Blake's baseball games by accident! It takes a real man to go through that for his girls. Please don't let him know I told you all.)

In order to come off of the ventilator Ashley must first pass a couple of tests. They will be turning off her drips. One of the doctors this morning commented that he thinks they must have made a mistake and placed water in her drips instead of medications. She is awake and alert and ready to play when she should be "snowed" with the amount of medication she is on. Once they turn off the sedation she must stay calm enough to keep her sats in the 90s proving that she can and will breath on her own. Test number two will consist of placing her prone while she is on the vent with no sedation and allowing the RT to work some therapy on her lower left lobe. Ash must lay there and allow this to take place without dropping her sats. This one seems tough to me because I am afraid she will begin to panic because of the tube in her mouth. If she has successfully passed these tests then they plan on giving her a blood transfusion to top off her tank giving her the best possible amount of energy to breathe on her own again. Sometime by late afternoon Ash will hopefully be off of the vent. These are big goals for the day, but I know that if it is inside of His will for her to be independant of the ventilator then it will be possible.

As I look at my Ashley today I feel confident that she is back and continues to get stronger every day. Last weekend was the hardest thing I think we have ever faced with Ash, but He was so very faithful and brought her through. My heart is overwhelmed when I think of the goodness of the Lord. He continues to take care of her and continues to give us the strength we need to keep going. I don't know why He loves us so much, but I am so glad that He does. Thank you for praying for my Ashley today. Your prayers are making such a difference in the life of our little "pickle". I will post this afternoon to let you know if she passed. Have a wonderful day. Trish