Update And A Whole Lot Of Pictures!!

I just couldn't bring myself to start off this post with the yucky pictures so I decided to put my new favorite one up first. Anyhoo........here is where we are with Ella and the feeding issues. It was decided a few days ago that we were going to go ahead and put a G-tube in Ella. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a tube that goes from her abdomen directly in to her stomach. Yes, this is a more invasive surgery than just putting a tube down her nose but since it would be in the stomach area, it would be much easier to cover it with clothing just as we do her central line. And besides, who wants a tube covering up that cute face of hers!!! This is where it got a little bit complicated. In order to put a G-tube in, they need to do an Upper GI scan just to check to make sure everything is okay in her abdomen area. Well...in order to do an Upper GI, you have to drink a contrast fluid. Ha!! Isn't the whole reason we are doing this because she won't drink anything??? Sooooo, today, they decided to sedate her and put an NG tube down her nose so that they could give her the contrast that way.

Well, they had to wait for her to wake up before they could give her the contrast so that she wouldn't accidentally aspirate the fluid into her lungs. How, you ask, did they keep her from pulling the tube out as she was waking up? By putting no-no's on her as shown here...

and here!! (notice she is managing to carry that

darn diaper though)

Basically, the poor thing can't bend her arms up to reach her face. But my mom said that it hasn't seem to bother her much and that she has figured out how to do almost everything she wants to. Unfortunately, she isn't able to blow kisses which is a real bummer as that is what everyone in the hospital looks forward to when they see her. By the way, I mentioned above that "my mom said" and this is because, once again, this mother of the year wasn't at the hospital today. They weren't planning on doing this so soon but her numbers were coming up and they hoped there might be a chance of putting the G-tube in tomorrow so needed to get the Upper GI done today. All in all, today's procedure lasted about 10 minutes and it wasn't much more than an xray so I didn't miss much. They have decided to leave the no-no's on overnight so they can try to give her a few feedings through the NG tube and get her stomach working again. I believe they will take them off tomorrow and see what happens in regards to her keeping the tube in or not. I don't think there are many people expecting it to stay in very long but you never know.

So yesterday her ANC was 20 and today it was 175!!! Unfortunately the surgeon wants it to be up to 750 to put the G-tube in so it is highly unlikely that they will be able to do the surgery before the weekend. At this point, they have her scheduled for Monday morning and then we would probably stay in another day just to make sure everything is healing okay. Then they will show us how to feed her using the tube and barring any complications, we should be home before Thanksgiving.....God willing!! We will still be working like crazy to get her eating by mouth but this will be our back up until she does and also to make sure her stomach keeps on working.

Is this not the most pathetic picture you have ever seen? I don't think she is really this sad, I think the photo just caught her this way. She received yet ANOTHER Build a Bear today through a different organization. I am sure it was just the right thing to make her feel better.

Now for some catch up from the last week in pictures.

This is one of Ella's feeding therapy sessions. The
therapist is using Elmo to help Ella want to eat. They

started off with a hug.

And then a "high five"

Now Elmo is attempting to feed Ella her bottle

Pondering whether or not the strawberry formula is

acceptable or not.

Now it is Ella's turn to feed herself. I believe she is praying

for the strength to make herself stick the bottle in her mouth.

Sorry for the bad quality of this picture but I thought it

was too cute to pass up. Do you notice Ella and Elmo's

matching "diaper" hats???

Eating at Spaghetti Factory with my cousin Robin who

came in for a visit from Oregon last week.

Here is Robin visiting Ella at the hospital. She hadn't seen

Ella since she was 3 months old.

Emma and her soccer coach

Abbey and her BFF Cami

"Mr. and Mrs. Baldie"

I would say that her energy is coming back,

she is moving so fast that she is blurry!!

Hanging in the sink with Build a Bear

number 1

A completely adorable hat made by a friend of a friend

just for Ella. The generosity of people never ceases to

amaze me!!

I just loved this outfit on her and tried my

best to get a decent picture of her in it. Not

very easy these days when dealing with a

moving target!!