Recovery Is A Winding Path For Miss Hazie...

Not every day can be perfect, especially when you are trying to get well.  Yet we must keep going and trusting and knowing that eventually it will all work out.  We, as a society, are impatient. We want simple fixes to complex problems and we want it now! I have gotten a new perspective of just how many hours there are in a day when you are waiting for something.  A lot of them.  I'm also keenly aware of just how long a night can be when you wake up at 3:00 am in someone else's house. You must just lie there quietly so as to not wake up five other people and two dogs. There are a lot of hours we just lose track of when we are not waiting for something.

Hazel has patience.  Think of any 9 year old you know and imagine them lying in a bed for over a week with not much to do. When there are setbacks she just goes with it.  We all have to do that when we have setbacks.  It is how we choose to handle those setbacks that matters most. Hazel has this part down cold.  P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E. and G.O.O.D.  C.H.E.E.R.

 She has had a bit of a set back today although nothing official has come from it as of yet.  All we know is they did not give her her tylenol last night and this morning she was not feeling great and was not very talkative and not wanting to eat. She was clammy again and irritable. 

That seems to have been part of a trial with her shunt today and regulating the pressure in her skull as it drains the spinal cranial fluid. (SCF) A headache is not a good thing so they are observing and then may need to do another scan if she should develop pain in her head.  We are kind of in a stupor every time they try to explain what they are doing with the shunt.  Hazel may not need another one if the fluid can drain on its own, but if not then she will require another shunt which means another big surgery and long recovery period.  

They cannot replace it until they are certain there is no bacteria remaining in her body that is causing the infection for a minimum of five days. That is where the set back seems to be.  The white count is not stable.  It has its up and downs.  They had hoped for a complete drop after a few days but that is not happening.  It is gradually going down but not like they want it to do.   

While they are testing all of this they have put a temporary drainage tube in her head.  Of course she cannot go home until that is removed, or a new shunt has been placed or...whatever else they can do about that.  So first the infection has to be resolved.  It is a slow row to hoe.

So patience is needed for all involved.  And as I said the road is winding.  As it turns out they did need to do a CT Scan this afternoon and it is clear that she does need a new shunt for sure.

The things that remain constant are these:

God's watchful care over his little angel.

Great medical staff at the hospital.

Constant love & prayers for her from you and us. 

Hazel's constant & unfailing ability to cheer us all

 and be courageous in all things.

Jim and I are regrouping and trying to decided what we can do to best help them get it all done and keep the other girls where they need to be, when they need to be there, etc.  Our goal is to produce as much normalcy for them as possible. Tomorrow we are going to try me at the hospital by 8:00 am so Jen can come home and shower, etc. I'll stay all day if Jen needs that. Jim will get the girls fed and off to school. Then we will see what Jen needs us to do and what she herself needs to do to keep everything running like a spinning top. Four kids and four adults should work out OK, right?  Six adults would be better though! LOL!

Get Well Soon, Baby Girl!