Last week Trinity had an x-ray and appointment with Dr. Walker (Orthopedic Surgeon). Unfortunately it was not good news. Trinity's spinal rod has come detached from her vertebrae and is sticking out in the upper part of her back. Fortunately it has not caused any infection or broke through the skin. They had her scheduled to go in on this Wednesday to repair it, but she currently has a really bad cough and the surgeon and anesthesiologist don't feel comfortable putting her under with that going on. So we are looking at next Wednesday if she's healthy. The plan is to cut her open from the top to the mid part of her back and reattach the rod with three hooks verses two and also use some wire to wrap around the bone.
Definitely was not something we expected to happen this soon after surgery, but with Trinity I don't think anything happens by the books. She has handled it very well and has not complained of any pain. We are very thankful for that! This is very discouraging for us and hard to think about putting our daughter through yet another surgery, but we are reminded that God is "Bigger" than our problems and He will guide and protect her through yet another surgery.
We could really use your prayers. It is so difficult to watch your kids go through difficult circumstances and not be able to do anything. Can you imagine how God felt when He watched his son die on the cross to cover "our" sins? We are always reminded by people the impact that Trinity has on so many and that God is using her to "Glorify" Him. I have found myself picturing the day that Trinity enters His pearly gates and how they will interact with each other. The delight He will have in her as she "RUNS" to His open arms! "Oh Glorious Day!"
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fun at Sunday School!!
Trinity had her first day back to Sunday School and was so excited to see her Guardian Angel, Shelly. In fact she woke up around 6:45 and wanted to get out of bed, but because she really needed to stay connected to her feeding pump she argued with me for awhile about getting up. Finally I told her if she stayed in bed and went back to sleep she would get to go to church and see Shelly, she closed her eyes and I didn't hear another thing from her until 8:00. She obviously loves Sunday School and Shelly!! She did great and was really happy to be back with some of her friends. Tomorrow she will go back to school and only go for an hour. The doctor don't want her going back full-time until after her 6 week check up. This will also help us ease her back into it. She got cards a couple weeks ago from her classmates and it brightened her day!
We still don't have any answers to her vomiting. She's still doing it, but we made a decision ourselves to start feeding her into her stomach instead of bypassing it. This way when she throws up she has something to come up and it's not so painful. Hopefully we will get a call from the doctors tomorrow so we can get something figured out.
We still don't have any answers to her vomiting. She's still doing it, but we made a decision ourselves to start feeding her into her stomach instead of bypassing it. This way when she throws up she has something to come up and it's not so painful. Hopefully we will get a call from the doctors tomorrow so we can get something figured out.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Still Vomiting :(
We have a call into the hospital, but are still waiting to here back from them. Trinity is still vomiting and hasn't had much improvement. We tried feeding some Pedialyte through her tube the other night and it at least got some fluids in her stomach, but we still have the vomiting. I wouldn't be so concerned, but I don't want her to get dehydrated and the dry heaving breaks my heart to watch.
Other than that, Trinity is doing great! She wears her TLSO like she's suppose to and has handled the pain like a champ. She amazes me everyday. I think of how I handled having a c-section with two kids and the pain I felt, but Trinity don't show any pain and you would think after being cut from your neck down to your bottom you would have some extreme pain. We have one tough little girl!
The weather is beautiful here, but it is so hard to enjoy with Trinity. She gets so hot in her TLSO and one of the meds she's on overheats her body at times. But we are trying to get her out as much as she wants.
Aubree is loving school and is teaching us some Spanish, although her dad is pretty good at it. Trew is a very happy little boy. He's growing so fast and getting a personality.
We appreciate your prayers!! I often imagine the day when we can share these times with Trinity and show her how loved she is by all of you!
Other than that, Trinity is doing great! She wears her TLSO like she's suppose to and has handled the pain like a champ. She amazes me everyday. I think of how I handled having a c-section with two kids and the pain I felt, but Trinity don't show any pain and you would think after being cut from your neck down to your bottom you would have some extreme pain. We have one tough little girl!
The weather is beautiful here, but it is so hard to enjoy with Trinity. She gets so hot in her TLSO and one of the meds she's on overheats her body at times. But we are trying to get her out as much as she wants.
Aubree is loving school and is teaching us some Spanish, although her dad is pretty good at it. Trew is a very happy little boy. He's growing so fast and getting a personality.
We appreciate your prayers!! I often imagine the day when we can share these times with Trinity and show her how loved she is by all of you!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Prayers Please!
We could really use your prayers. Trinity has been vomiting during the night not just once, but 2-3 times a night. Vomiting is not out of the ordinary for Trinity, but since she is now getting all her feeds straight into her small intestine, this makes vomiting a lot harder since she has nothing in her stomach. She wakes up with a blood curdling cry and by the time we get into her room she has either thrown up or is just starting to. She won't take a bottle anymore and before surgery that is the one thing we could get her to take orally. So with that said she's throwing up bile and mucous. I know what it feels like to have nothing left to throw up and what a horrible feeling it is. I can't imagine being in her little body that is healing from a major surgery and dealing with this.
How can you help? Please pray! We are puzzled and unsure if something major is wrong or if it is from her body still healing. Because vomiting is not out of the ordinary for Trinity we weren't all that concerned at first, but now that it has happened every night since Tuesday, we are starting to get concerned. If it continues throughout the weekend we will probably call the doctors on Monday. It is so difficult to be a parent and have all these concerns and worries all the time. That is where we have to give it to the Lord and "trust" in Him!!
On a positive note, Trinity is healing well. She has worn her TLSO like she's suppose to and handled it very well. She don't argue when she needs to spend time resting and being hooked up to her feeding tube. She's still not quite herself, but she tries to spend as much time as she can in her cart playing with Aubree.
The kids really enjoyed having Grandma Kathy here this week and were sad to see her go home today. She's been a huge help! Tomorrow their Nana, Paula, and Great Grandma Shearer will be here to stay with us and help out. We love having the extra hands and the kids love all the attention they get!!
Shannon and I would like to "thank" everyone for all your support and prayers over the last week. Trinity has received beautiful flowers, stuffed animals, Barbies, balloons, cards, and lots of phone calls. Everytime we go through something like this we are always so amazed to see the outpouring of love our family gets. We will never have enough words to express our gratitude!
How can you help? Please pray! We are puzzled and unsure if something major is wrong or if it is from her body still healing. Because vomiting is not out of the ordinary for Trinity we weren't all that concerned at first, but now that it has happened every night since Tuesday, we are starting to get concerned. If it continues throughout the weekend we will probably call the doctors on Monday. It is so difficult to be a parent and have all these concerns and worries all the time. That is where we have to give it to the Lord and "trust" in Him!!
On a positive note, Trinity is healing well. She has worn her TLSO like she's suppose to and handled it very well. She don't argue when she needs to spend time resting and being hooked up to her feeding tube. She's still not quite herself, but she tries to spend as much time as she can in her cart playing with Aubree.
The kids really enjoyed having Grandma Kathy here this week and were sad to see her go home today. She's been a huge help! Tomorrow their Nana, Paula, and Great Grandma Shearer will be here to stay with us and help out. We love having the extra hands and the kids love all the attention they get!!
Shannon and I would like to "thank" everyone for all your support and prayers over the last week. Trinity has received beautiful flowers, stuffed animals, Barbies, balloons, cards, and lots of phone calls. Everytime we go through something like this we are always so amazed to see the outpouring of love our family gets. We will never have enough words to express our gratitude!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
We Are Home!!
It is so hard to believe, but Trinity is home and doing well! A 7-10 day stay in the hospital only turned into about a 5 day stay.
Before going home yesterday they ran a few tests, did an ultrasound of her kidneys, and an x-ray in her TLSO. Everything looked great. On Friday her urine showed evidence of a UTI so they are treating her for that. They wanted to make sure before sending her home that she didn't have urine going up into her kidneys since she was getting UTI's so frequently. But her kidneys look good.
We had to go home with twice the meds that she went in with and she has to be hooked up to her feeding tube 20 hours a day, which is going to be difficult when she becomes active again. They want to get some more fat on her little body.
On the way home yesterday from the hospital Shannon and I found ourselves again praising God for such a wonderful outcome. From thinking she would be in the PICU and intubated to going to the regular floor breathing on her own. Then recovering so well that she's home already, GOD is GOOD!!! We have a lot to be thankful for!
Please continue to pray for Trinity's recovery and that she can soon come off the pain meds. Our friend Will is also in the hospital after having hip surgery. Please pray for him and his mom, Rebecca. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with them in the hospital. The doctors and nurses called them Romeo and Juliet!
Before going home yesterday they ran a few tests, did an ultrasound of her kidneys, and an x-ray in her TLSO. Everything looked great. On Friday her urine showed evidence of a UTI so they are treating her for that. They wanted to make sure before sending her home that she didn't have urine going up into her kidneys since she was getting UTI's so frequently. But her kidneys look good.
We had to go home with twice the meds that she went in with and she has to be hooked up to her feeding tube 20 hours a day, which is going to be difficult when she becomes active again. They want to get some more fat on her little body.
On the way home yesterday from the hospital Shannon and I found ourselves again praising God for such a wonderful outcome. From thinking she would be in the PICU and intubated to going to the regular floor breathing on her own. Then recovering so well that she's home already, GOD is GOOD!!! We have a lot to be thankful for!
Please continue to pray for Trinity's recovery and that she can soon come off the pain meds. Our friend Will is also in the hospital after having hip surgery. Please pray for him and his mom, Rebecca. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with them in the hospital. The doctors and nurses called them Romeo and Juliet!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Day #4
Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday afternoon. It looks gorgeous outside here in Minnesota!
Trinity is doing pretty good. She's been on a few wagon rides yesterday and today and has enjoyed getting out of her room. She's been wearing her TLSO(abdominal brace) for an hour at a time to help keep her back straight so she don't do any slouching. She will need to wear this for the next 12 weeks while awake during the day. Her fever has come down, but still in the 100-101 range. They are not real concerned with it, but just continue to watch it. We had some vomiting this morning, but that has been the only time since the surgery which is good. They are keeping her feeds low at 25 ml's/hr which is less then an ounce. Hoping to increase it some more tonight.
The hope is that she will go home tomorrow, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for that. She looks great and we still can't believe how straight this has made her. Trinity is such a tough little girl!!
We can't thank you all enough for your continued prayers as Trinity recovers. We are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!
**Also wanted to note that the pop tabs that all of you have been donating have been going to a great cause. This summer Ronald McDonald House opened in Gillette and is located inside the hospital. This has been great for our family during this stay. We are able to donate the tabs to help benefit this organization, so "thank you" for your continued support.
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