RobertsFamilyBlog

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! :-)