24 Hours and We are Still Here

Never believe something if it is too good to be true, because most likely it isn't and the greatest blessings are the ones you don't expect.

This was supposed to be a one day procedure. We planned our Tuesday to be Zoe's the one day to get her feeding tube inserted in her nose and monitored to make sure she was fine. I was packed for our overnighter, Phil had cleared his schedule, and I had taken care of the laundry and other chores for the day we would be gone. I was pleased to know that Tuesday morning was not going to be a hectic frenzy mess as we tried to get out the door. I didn't realize how open the day would be, the hospital had called to push back our admission since there were no beds available for Zoe, "early afternoon we should have something and we will call you before noon." The wait only built the anticipation of the procedure and made us second guess ourselves over and over as we waited. So we killed time playing, going for a walk and as noon approached no call. One o'clock approached and Zoe was peacefully napping when again no call. 3 o'clock we finally had the go ahead and we made our way.

We arrived and were checked in and slowly getting settled in for our short stay. As the nurse gave us forms to sign and tour of our room their was suddenly a concern about why we were now being admitted fully rather than the normal quickie. Oh well, just some paperwork issues, not our concern, right? We met the resident doctor and other doctors and repeated Zoe's spectacular history many many many times. They are just being thorough and making sure as students, they dot the i's and cross their t's, I hope. It was getting close to Zoe's bedtime and the nurse was eager to put the tube in so I could feed her and finish up if necessary with the tube. We didn't have orders from the doctors yet and they were trying to create a feeding plan. Plan? I thought this was a just finish up with the pump what she doesn't eat process? I thought surely they just want to make sure we don't go up to quickly with her food and we use the pump in a reasonable fashion. Yes, this will be quick and we will have a plan.

As bedtime approached and passed and a hungry, tired little girl could no longer be consoled with nursery rhymes or toys, the tube was inserted. Not pleasant, uncomfortable, and of course just not what we wanted to do so late in the day, but it was done and Zoe was soon in my arms taking her bottle and falling fast asleep.

Then it happened. The attending doctor arrived and suddenly we are informed a whole bunch of things that we were not prepared for in any sense of the word. More tests to see why Zoe won't eat and throws up. Minimum of 5 day stay so they can get her up to the proper volume needed for her size. Won't be released till significant weight gain. And so much more that after a day of processing makes sense and is quite reasonable, but at 9 pm, exhausted, hungry, emotionally drained, not the news a parent wants to hear.

Right now the timing of coming home will really depend on Zoe. How quickly can they get her to tolerate the pump, how quickly can they get her to eat the ideal amount of 26-30 oz a day, and how quickly she can gain the much needed catch up weight she needs. They have tested her thyroid, good to go. They are checking for infections, no word yet but I assume good because we haven't seen any antibiotics. We are working with the speech therapist on the bottle, I have to say after one visit what a difference. All in all, we are very fortunate to have the team help us figure things out. We also felt affirmed about this decision once speaking with the dietitian and doctors that they were happy to see Zoe was not at the point of being emaciated, lethargic, and developmentally behind. We were being proactive about an ongoing problem and this would make for a quick resolution.

God has continued to pour his blessings on our family and we are so thankful and happy about

this. So though this unexpected extended stay

has made life a bit complicated, we are happy to see how it is making life so much better for Zoe.