No news is good news! :-) I haven't posted in a while, because things have been going exceptionally well! :-) Kahlia is essentially completely healed!! She continues to have never ending energy - which has been such a blessing to see! On Wednesday, we had a follow up appt. with Kahlia's Cardiologist, and she is doing great. Her oxygen saturation was at 96%. She is 19.1 lbs - exactly 3 lbs more then she was the day we flew home on May 14. She has grown 3/4 of an inch - not tons - but some! :-) On the examination table - she was literally crawling back and forth at full speed - her doctor said - "Wow, she really does have a lot of energy! You have your hands full!" Music to my ears...
Yesterday, her speech therapist came out to give me some info. on working with her until her Cleft palate surgery is done. She can't officially begin speech therapy until the repair is complete. She told me that the only consonant sounds she can say is M and N. All other sounds are literally impossible to say with out her repair because she cannot close off her airway in order for the sounds to come out correctly. Having her palate surgery scheduled for Dec. 1 is hard to think about, but looking forward to having it behind us. I just feel so bad she has to go back to the hospital - so grateful she will never remember these times.
Today, her physical therapist who will be helping her learn to walk came out to see if the orthotics they fit her for last week fit her. They do - they are hard plastic that come up almost to her ankles on the sides to provide maximum stability as she learns to walk. Yesterday, while the speech therapist was here, she pulled herself up to a standing position with her legs for the first time. This summer, she pulled herself up in her play pen - but it was all her arm muscles doing the work. Yesterday, her legs pulled her up - I have a feeling walking is just around the corner - I hope so!! :-)
Kahlia continues to be a blessing in all of our lives. We all love her to pieces, the kids still fight over who gets individual time with her, and she is just as cute as a bug. We thank the Lord every day for bringing her into our lives. We only hope that we can be a blessing to her as much as she has been a blessing to us. We love her so so much!

After the pumpkin patch, we went to a Chris Dudley rally at NB Lanes. The kids and cousins got a picture of who "could" be the next Oregon Governor!! :-)

At the pumpkin patch having a good time. :-) Makenna, David, Kahlia, Brendon, Samantha, and Alexandria.

Family photo on the hay ride...Kahlia was 2 hours past her nap - so no smile for her!!

Brendon has the ball - he so LOVES football! :-)

Kahlia at Brendon's football game. I LOVE this picture! :-)

We had a GREAT weekend! Brendon had his last football game - and he scored 2 out of the 4 touchdowns for his team - what a way to end the year! Plus - they won the game - can't get much better then that. After that - we were off to the pumpkin patch with Scott's sister Trisha and her two girls - Samantha and Alexandria - everyone had a good time!

Tomorrow morning - the physical therapists are coming over to fit Kahlia for a custom orthotic - she just needs more support in those little ankles of hers. With low muscle tone - she needs a little help to speed her walking along. Though I know it will be so much more work - I cannot wait for her to start walking just so I have the relief that she really can. Thursday morning the developmental/speech therapist will be coming out to the house for her twice a month "therapy". It's nice to finally get the ball moving!

I OFFICIALLY HAVE A 2 YEAR OLD!! It really is a good thing - but A LOT more work!! With Kahlia's new found heart that actually works correctly and gives her 22% more oxygen then she was getting before, we have an entirely new child. For one, and quite sad, she doesn't cuddle near as much. I knew this would happen, but it's very sad. I used to get her out of bed in the morning, go into the living room, sit down and "cuddle" for a while. That is no more. She is up looking at everything she can't wait to rip, destroy, play with, pull out, touch, you name it! Life is way too exciting for her to just lay in her mommy's lap and cuddle - how boring mom! What was I thinking??!? The most noticable difference is her ability to actually cry for more then just a moment. She really cries for as long as needed if she doesn't get what she wants. Though crying is never fun to hear, it is actually a sign of a healthy child - remember that all you moms - it really is a good thing to hear your child cry! Before, she would cry briefly, then realize it so wasn't worth the effort. Now, everything is worth the effort - and that's good - I guess! Also, when ever she would get tired after crawling, she would lie her little head down where ever it was convenient - whether it be cement, wood, carpet - she was down the moment she felt too tired. I haven't seen her do that once yet. Over all, she is doing amazing. We are standing her up often to help strengthen her little legs. She stands for several minutes before she sits herself down. She doesn't pull herself up yet (she's done it a couple of times pre surgery), but I'm sure that will be coming soon. The kids are working really hard at being careful with her. They can't pick her up yet in the traditional way (from the armpits), so it's up to mostly mom and dad to pick her up. We have to "scoop" her for a few weeks just to make sure her rib cage is completely healed. She doesn't seem to be in any pain whatsoever - but she does notice her scar, and touches it often. I've been waiting to hear from ESD all week to get her started with her early childhood intervention for both developmental and physical therapies. Speech will likely start in January after her cleft palate is repaired. Fun and exciting times...we are gearing up for Brendon's final football game tomorrow, then we can focus on just swimming with all 3 kids for a while! :-) Can't wait to get Kahlia in the water for lessons. She LOVES the water for her bath - we'll see how it goes! I probably won't start that either until she is completely healed from her cleft palate - water through the nose and mouth would NOT be a good thing!

Brendon went right to Kahlia after the game and gave her a big kiss and hug - he didn't get to really talk with her before the game since I got there after his warm up began - I love to see how much her loves her!! :-)

My two favorite girls - love them! :-)

The family united - a fun surprise - glad to be home! :-)

What a whirlwind the past few days have been. I feel blessed to just be home, and back to our normal routine. We left the hospital early afternoon on Friday. My one agenda was to find a good solid pair of shoes for Kahlia to help with her stability for standing and eventually walking. She's got a ways to go, but it is fun watching her get stronger by the day. She is doing GREAT! I found a pair of shoes at Stride Rite (expensive, but hopefully worth it!), then spent the evening at my parents house in Sherwood. They were celebrating their 60th birthdays with a weekend away that us four girls put together for them, so I had the house to myself. I was worried how Kahlia would do sleeping. After the past several nights of crying OFTEN through out the night for no apparent reason (except the constant beeps and unannounced visits from nurses and "blood suckers"), I was worried that she would be dependent on me even after leaving the hospital. Though I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house after her first 2 nights in the PICU, once she moved upstairs where it was quieter and darker, I stayed in the room with her. Sure enough, first night out of the hospital, she slept wonderfully. She woke up twice with 3 sec. cries, then right back to sleep she would go. Now, at home in her own bed, she doesn't wake up at all - AWESOME!

The reunion with Scott and the kids was great. I wasn't able to get home before they had to leave for Brendon's football game, so I met them there before the game. I saw Scott first, then we found Makenna and David, and then we took Brendon out of warm ups briefly so he could see her. He didn't really spend time with her until after the game - he was too focused on his game to show a lot of emotion ahead of time. The kids were so excited to see us - what a wonderful feeling - to be missed, and so grateful to be home! :-)

She has her follow up appt. with her PCP tomorrow, and a follow up with her Cardiologist at OHSU toward the end of the month. We are now in contact with Cranio Facial team at OHSU which will be doing Kahlia's cleft palate surgery hopefully in December. We will be having a pre-op appt. sometime near Thanksgiving. I will be glad when we have all this medical "stuff" behind us! :-)

This is Dr. Carlson - Kahlia's Cardiologist - the entire Cardiology team at OHSU is amazing - but Dr. Misty Carlson was the first doctor we met just 2 hours after flying in from India back in May. She has been following and caring for Kahlia preparing for this surgery ever since. We like her A LOT! :-)

Kahlia and I right before heading out the door - she is ready to go - as was I...

This picture was taken on my bed in her room right before we left. We were waiting for our discharge papers and for Dr. Carlson to come by and say good bye! She got a cookie from someone out at the nurses station.

Tomorrow I will surprise the kids when I show up at Brendon's football game - can't wait to see the look on their faces - pictures to come! :-)

Yesterday was a fantastic day! As of 5:00 last night, they took Kahlia off of oxygen, and her sats stayed in the 90's for the first time!! Before that, they kept dipping back into the 80's every time we tried to take the oxygen away. So - we get to get released today - oxygen free!!! Truly amazing - after just 10 days - that Kahlia is not only going home - but hasn't even been on any kind of medication for 3 days - she doesn't seem to be bothered in the least with the big incision running down her chest. She didn't apreciate the stitches being removed today where the chest tubes had been, but other then that, she has been excellent!

At the moment, we are waiting for our discharge papers, and for the Cardiologists to come by and "evaluate" her one last time. Then we are OUT OF HERE! I am so grateful for God's amazing healing powers, and his love for us. He literally carried us through this time. We had our scary moments, but even in the midst of them, I felt a peace beyond description. Thank you to all of you who have been faithful prayer warriors through out this ordeal - I will never know all of those warriors - but our God does, and that's all that really matters - He heard a great wave of prayers for our little girl - and He listened to those prayers. Kahlia is a special little girl, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for this little girl. We have one more surgery hopefully to be done in December to correct her cleft palate - then she will be pain and surgery free! We can get on with Speech and Physical therapy (we need to get her walking and talking now!) and get back to a "normal" routine with life. :-)

Can't wait to surprise the kids tomorrow when Kahlia and I just "show up" at home - it's going to be a good day. :-)

Kahlia starting to stand up on her knees - she is ready to get out of that crib!!!Ken and Rachel VandenHoek coming to visit - what a blessing! :-)

Rachelle Staley also came to visit Kahlia! :-)

Kahlia beginning to crawl around for the first time - she did great!

It is so good to write these happy, amazing reports of God's faithfulness - we serve an amazing God who loves, takes care of us, and blesses us beyond what we ever deserve! :-) Kahlia made 3 trips in the wagon and to the play room today - she was active, fun, and full of life. She actually started crawling around, and never once seemed like she was in pain - amazing...it was hilarious seeing her TRY to crawl, but with all of her "accessories" (wires, tubes, and a great big oxygen tank) - she had a hard time going very fast - she sure tried though! :-)

Kahlia ate great today too. There are 2 reasons why she is still in the hospital. They want to observe and document what she has eaten - to make sure she is getting nutrition before being sent home, and they want to make sure her oxygen level stays up when they take her off. She's been on 1/2 liter of oxygen for 2 days now, but they are having a hard time taking her completely off - she is still dipping into the 80's with out that small amount of oxygen flow. We are really hoping that by Friday her sats go up so we don't have to go home with oxygen tanks in tow!! Friday is a TENTATIVE date that we MAY be able to leave. Don't say anything to the kids though, I want to surprise them Saturday!! :-) If we get discharged on Friday, I will be on a mission here in the Portland area to find little Kahlia a pair of sturdy, high top shoes with good support in a size 1 - pretty much an impossible task in our town! Usually, kids wearing size 1 aren't walking, so they are all "pretty", but no support. We'll see if I'm successful....

Today Kahlia had some special visitors beyond our family. First, Rachelle Staley came to visit. She is the person who first called us about Kahlia (Shakti at the time) wanting to know if we would be interested in her. She told us all about her - that she had a cleft palate, and a "slight heart problem". Obviously the heart situation was a little more serious then she was led to believe, but God brought this special little girl into our hearts and home using Rachelle as a vessel to get her to us - we are VERY VERY grateful to her. :-) We also had our dear friends and past pastor and wife Ken and Rachel VandenHoek visit us this evening - a very special treat for sure! :-) We are overwhelmed with love, support, encouragement, and prayers by so many people out there. We love and thank you all!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first picture was Kahlia brushing her hair right after she got a little bath. The second was the elevator ride from the ICU to the 9th floor south where she will finish her recovery before going home. The next is the wagon ride we took today - the first time she had left her room since she was brought there one week ago today. The next is a HUGE smile as she plays with the wipes that she knows she's not supposed to - yep - her spunk is back! :-)

Kahlia had another great day at the hospital. She was able to leave the PICU tonight. She could have gone earlier, but they didn't have a room upstairs until tonight - we didn't go up until almost 9:00pm. I helped give her a little sponge bath this morning to get her cleaned up - she was a complete mess - her hair was completely out of control in the back ( whose wouldn't after laying for almost a week!).

Her central line was pulled out this afternoon - the final IV that was in her neck. She is now eating a normal diet, though her appetite is not completely back to normal yet. She's getting her spunk back which has been SO good to see! She is still on a low amount of oxygen. With out, her sats drop into the 80's. I'm hoping as her lungs continue to clear up, and she's moving around more that her sats go up. They say it may take a while though for them to come completely up since her pulmonary arteries were so small, it may take some time for them to grow as they are now getting a much higher volume of blood going through them. She sat up by herself today for the first time since her surgery. Until today, she has not had the strength to do that on her own. She is making HUGE strides each day, and we are so proud of her. She still must be miserable though. She has several wires still coming out of her chest that go to her heart serving as a "stand by as needed" pace maker. They haven't needed them, but those are the last to come out before she goes home. She still has the O2 coming in through her nose, she still has the O2 sat machine attached to her toe, and they still monitor her blood pressure. That's NOTHING compared to the amount of attachments and tubes that they have gradually taken her off of the last 2 days. It must be so hard to sleep as she has wires and tubes everywhere. I can't wait to take her home to her own bed, her own room, where it's dark, quiet, and no one will poke her!!! She's a trooper though, and we are getting a lot of smiles these days. Hang in there Kahlia - we love you! :-) Scott and I did skype on our computers, and Kahlia totally lit up when she saw her daddy and brothers and sister. She waved and even tried to give them a high five. SO CUTE! :-) I'm checking out of the Ronald McDonald house tomorrow so I can stay with Kahlia in her room. I should be able to get sleep over there now that she's not in the ICU. They don't come in and out so much, and there aren't beeps going off at all hours of the night. I felt bad leaving her tonight, but I needed to give notice, and "move out" of my home away from home.

I am so amazed at the support and prayers by so many of you. We are so grateful to so many people who have walked along side us during this amazing journey. It's been a tough road, but we never felt alone. I believe with all my heart that the amount of prayers covering our little Kahlia through this time has made such a difference in her little life and in her recovery. We were told to prepare to be here at least a month - and 7 days later she has moved out of PICU, and we have "regular" clothes on her!! We have smiles, we have spunk, and we have our little girl back - with a heart that works! :-)

Sadly, we will be here in a few months as she undergoes yet another surgery to correct her cleft palate - the poor thing! Enough is enough already! But, after that - she will be "all better" - and we can focus on getting on with our lives - YES! :-)

Yesterday was a GREAT day! After Kahlia initially gave me the sign for drink, she continued to respond and communicate through out the day. She played and hit balloons, she gave high fives to her family, she drank, ate a couple of bites of apple sauce, and we even saw a half smile. She is doing very well. Her lungs are getting clearer, though she still sounds horrible when she coughs. The chest tubes were removed yesterday, which means that her fluid is minimal, and everything is functioning correctly. We were able to hold her more, and snuggle - what a blessing. Though we have a ways to go, we are beginning to see glimpses of our Kahlia pre surgery. She is beginning to get some of her spunk back, though she is still in some pain. She is off the morphine now, and just receiving Tylenol. I began feeding her this morning - Cream of Wheat, vanilla yogurt, and a few bites of chicken noodle soup. She doesn't appear to be very hungry, it may be because she is tired and not feeling well. Her oxygen flow is almost off, and her sats are continuing to stay high. :-) The only thing right now is her calcium level, but as of an hour ago, those numbers have come up too. I don't have as much time to "post" now because she is awake, aware, and wanting me to hold her more - that is a good thing!! I just snuck away for a bit so I could grab some lunch and post something here!!!

The Cardiologists this morning said that she has exceeded all of their expectations, and that she may be able to go home by the end of the week!!! :-) SHHH I may want to surprise the kids! :-) We should be able to leave the PICU by the end of today, or tomorrow. I am so grateful for all the prayers and support we have had through this difficult time. I feel like we can breathe a sigh of relief, and know that Kahlia is a survivor, a fighter, and a beautiful little girl. Only a few more days (hopefully) and we get to come home. YEA!!! :-)

I didn't get a chance to post last night because Scott and the kids surprised me by showing up at the hospital around 7:30 last night. What a blessing!! :-) It brought tears to my eyes to see my whole family together again - when I wasn't expecting it! I thought I was going to not see them until next weekend.

Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day - in fact so much so that Scott and I began to get worried about Kahlia. She was completely unresponsive, though her eyes were open. She was tracking us, her eyes dialating, and yet she did absolutely nothing. We are hoping that when her blood pressure got really really low a few nights ago, it didn't cause damage to her brain. I didn't sleep well last night just thinking about the possibility of something being wrong with her cogitively - it's not a fun thing to think about. So this morning, I woke up early not able to sleep, and snuck out of the room while everyone else was sleeping, and walked over to Kahlia at 6:45 this morning. I just looked at her, held her as best I could, and really really prayed over her - I wanted to see something that let me know that she's ok inside her little head. Within just a few minutes of my prayers, she looked at me and did the sign for drink. She didn't do that once yesterday, in fact she hadn't done that since her first two completely crazy days. I was so grateful to see her do that - I just started crying and thanking the Lord that yes, I THINK she's going to be ok. We believe those first 2 days of craziness was linked to medication. We now know that Versed is not a good drug for Kahlia - it mad her completely go out of control.

The doctors seemed please with her progress today at rounds. We gave her a few sips of drink and she even grabbed the cup herself. :-) Also, we fed her a few bites of applesauce - and she was able to swallow well. I will be feeling really good about the progress she is making when she starts to show more signs of being alert and aware. She is still being pretty drugged with morphine - which could cause her to be more withdrawn. Also they say that when little ones are in pain, they tend to stay withdrawn to help with the pain. As long as that is true, I'm ok. As far as the actual healing and recovering of her heart and systems, the doctors are very pleased. They said she may be moved out of the PICU sooner then later. WOW!!! She is making good progress. I am so grateful- I want to go home! :-)

Today Kahlia has been the complete opposite of what she has been the last couple of days. She was completely docile, no expression even when her eyes were open. We have hardly heard a word out of her, she just looks through you - not at you. They took her off the Versed which they think may have been the medication that made her go completely crazy. They have increased the drug Dexmedetomidine which is a sedative - that's why she has been completely "out of it". During the first half of the day, she had wet diapers, but since 2:00 this afternoon, she has been completely dry. Not good as they have A LOT of fluid going into her, and now there is no outflow. I'm worried that her kidneys are not working again... Her oxygen sats are also lower then I thought they would be. They have been mostly in the low to high 80's all day. I was hoping they would be higher by now. Kahlia still needs our prayers. We think she's doing better, then she takes a step back. We know she's in good hands, it's just a long process getting her through this!!

I slept at the Ronald McDonald house last night for the first time since we've been here. I was so exhausted - it felt really good to finally get some quiet undisturbed sleep after so many days of being sleep deprived!!! We're praying her kidneys kick into gear, she gives us some wet diapers, and that the fluid will continue to decrease in her lungs. She has had labored breathing all day - you can hear her breathe sometimes as she struggles. The poor thing.

Earlier today a harpist came and played for Kahlia for about 20 minutes. She seemed to like it, though she just stared and listened. It was fun listening to him play.