Home again, home again!!!

Phew! We made it home about 6 pm last night.

They declared Sophie ready to leave the PICU about 12 on Sunday. SHe woke up not long after I made my last post and had obviously taken a turn in the right direction. She was playful and moving around, and was becoming hard to keep captive on her bed. The entire staff that worked with us was ALL fantastic (except one). Every time someone came in the room, they asked if we needed anything as they left. And they meant it. Finally, about 1 on Saturday, I told them I needed to hold my daughter. I mean, I slept with her, and cuddled with her, but I had not held her in a LONG time. THe nurse looked at me, looked at Sophie and said "I don't see why not. You have my blessing to unhook her from all the wires." What a GREAT feeling to pull all of those stickers off of her chest and take the b/p cuff off, and the O2 sensor on her toe. Picking her up was just AMAZING!!!!! I can't think of much that has made me that happy in a VERY long time.

We spent about 24 hours on a general medical floor, and once we could get her urine output up, we were ready to be discharged.

Final verdict? We still don't know. It *could* have been a random virus. If that's the case, we will probably never know. Or, it could be the onset of asthma. I'm learning more about it, and the asthma nurse spent a long time with us yesterday, and I'm really leaning towards this might be the issue.

I took Sophie to the dr about 5 weeks ago for wheezing. She had one breathing treatment in the office and was fine. They sent us home with a breathing machine which is why we had it for the treatments we gave her Sat morning before going to the ER. ANother sign of asthma is random night-time coughing, which she also has.

They sent us home with a mask/inhaler to wean her off the abuterol. We're giving her a tretment every 4 hours for 24 hours post discharge, and then every 6 hours for the next 6 days. To treat preventatively, they also gave us a different inhaled med calld Flovent. She gets two puffs in the morning and two in the evening, indefinately I guess.

I'm so glad my baby girl is better. I felt so completely helpless, watching her lay there in such a vulnerable state. Dan just called me and I heard her giggling in the background. Music to my ears:)

Thanks so much for all the good thoughts and vibes!!!