We are still here, and she is doing ok

I have received several comments asking "where we are?" and "if everything is ok?" I am wondering if some are not able to see our blog posts anymore or if they are just wanting me to write more frequently. I'm not sure which is the case, but I usually give my first update after daily rounds. Most days rounds occur between 12:30 and 1:00 on the this floor. On the weekends they can occur a couple of hours later, and on days when the doctors are in surgery then it may not take place until late afternoon. I say all of that to let you know why the times of my posts are not always consistent. I like to post after rounds so that I can share the "plan" for the day with you. If things happen in between then I always post those as well and sometimes I post when I can't sleep or if I have words and thoughts that just seem to spill out of me. In a lot of ways this blog has become great therapy for me allowing me not to keep things bottled up inside and giving me the opportunity to request prayers for our family. Anyway, I assure you that if things were not ok that I would let you know as quickly as possible and I thank you for your concern. I share this because I have seen more than the usual comments like this the last couple of days.

So how is Ash today? Well... let me tell you that she is definitely 2. We almost lost her chest tube last night, because she decided enough was enough, but once we checked the x-ray it showed that it is still in(just barely) but still there. She pulled the stitch that was holding it and it is now about 3 or 4 inches longer on the outside of her than it is supposed to be. She is refusing to wear a diaper. I hear the velcro on them being pulled constantly and so I have given up . As long as she will agree to sit on them then I am going to quit fighting her over the fastening of them for now. She is up to her old tricks with her ostomy bags and has decided she doesn't want one of those either. Her newest 2 year old behavior is throwing a temper tantrum over cups of water. She wants to "drink" water all day long, but instead of keeping it in her mouth she prefers to spit it out the bottom all the while she continues filling her mouth full. Her clothes are soaked as is her central line dressing multiple times a day. She throws her toys off the bed until I re-fill her cup and she is growling and yelling at me while I am doing it. So how is my little gherkin? She is being all of 2 years old that she can be while sitting in this hospital bed. I know she is bored and frustrated as is her mommy. I know she misses Dave and Blake and Allie. Her eyes light up whenever she hears their voices on the phone. Her new toys have helped to pass the time, but she would love to get outside to see something besides the walls.

Her white count has jumped up today, but she still has no fever. The doctor wants to run some antibiotics today because she still has a central line and she would like to be cautious with it. We have clamped her chest tube and are not allowing it drain. Its kind of a test run to see if she will successfully absorb and breathe off some of the fluid or if it will re-collect causing her more respiratory distress. It has been clamped since 4a.m and so far she seems comfortable and her x-ray actually looked a little better this morning. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.
She is fussy, grumpy, a little depressed, and in great need of a nap right now. I suppose I will go for now so that I might persuade her to give in and let her eyes close for a while. Thank you for your concern, your prayers, your words, and your time spent on Ashley's story. What a tremendous blessing you all are to us.