Wednesday, April 25th
By the time we got in to see Ally on the day after surgery, they'd extubated her and brought her off the sedatives, so she was awake. She had been for a while, too, almost two hours, and honestly that broke my heart a little, knowing she'd woken up and Mommy and Daddy weren't there. She was sitting up, eating ice chips and watching the Disney channel when we were allowed in, and the moment she saw us, she started to cry.
The nurses (such amazing, fabulous nurses!) told us that she'd woken up and immediately said "I want someone to hold me, and I want some Dr. Pepper."
So Nurse Keri (Carrie? My memory is horrible) went to the vending machine and got her some Dr. Pepper, then crawled up on the bed with her to snuggle.
Poor little thing. She was afraid to move with all those tubes and wires everywhere, and she didn't understand why we couldn't hold her. I have to admit that my heart couldn't quite understand it either... I just wanted to hold my sweet baby and it was hard to find anywhere that I could even touch her. Stroking her hair seemed to calm her down when she'd get upset.
The doctors kept coming by to check on her and tell us that she was doing well, they were very pleased. After the bleeding incident from the night before, which, I grant you, scared us half to death, she started recovering very well and quickly. She was such a trooper! I can't imagine how scary it must be to wake up in the ICU when you really have no idea what's going on, surrounded by strangers and unable to move around or, especially in my little snugglebug Ally's case, have someone hold you.
A wonderful lady named Jane Love stopped by and introduced herself as a Child Life Specialist. She asked what Ally likes to do, and that same day had a TV and DVD player moved into Ally's corner of the CICU, with DVDs of Tangled and Bob the Builder for her to watch. She also brought by an iPad for Ally to play with, coloring books, and stickers. She told us about the pediatric floor where Ally would spend the rest of her stay after being discharged from Intensive Care, about the playroom with toys and activities to keep her entertained.
Her Wednesday night nurse played beauty shop overnight when Ally started getting upset and Al and I were sleeping.
The entire staff, I really can't say enough about. There was never a time when I felt like Ally wasn't receiving care above and beyond, and us too!
Honestly, the only complaint I have is that they wouldn't let me steal the baby in the bed next to Ally (more on that later). I suppose there are some legal 'guidelines' about that, and it's probably frowned upon, but whatever.
By the time we got the word that Ally would be moved out of the CICU, she'd had one IV, one chest tube, and the heart cath removed, and I think out of everything that was the worst for her. There have been several times since then that I've had to assure her that nobody was taking out anymore tubes. I guess it hurts. :(
It was bittersweet, leaving that unit. I can't express how scary it is to see your child in that condition, but knowing that she was there with someone watching her every minute, steps away if something went wrong or if she was upset or sick, it was a huge comfort. I knew she'd be well cared for on the Peds unit, but still, it was hard to let go, knowing we were even more responsible for her care once we left there.
Those nurses and doctors are truly amazing. I can only imagine what kind of strength it takes to just get through your workday somewhere like that. It definitely takes a certain kind of person to do that kind of job, and I am so very, very thankful to each one of them.
To be continued... again...
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