Ava’s Art of Healing.

Hello Ava followers. Miss Ava is hanging in there. She is still on pain medicine but is weaning off them quite nicely. We have been keeping her finger bandaged and dry so as not to make her finger any worse. We went to a follow-up with her Ortho doctor yesterday and he thought her finger still looked like it was healing nicely… BUT yea there is a but she could still lose this tip if it didn’t complete the healing process. He didn’t know if her fingernail would ever grow back. At this time I’m just really praying that the stitches work and that her finger stays healthy. Ava always has to keep me guessing and being her BIGGEST advocate. Last night she bumped her finger and lost her bandage. She always gets really upset if her “Eww” (that is what she calls it) gets exposed. She hates seeing her “owie.” So I went to get more bandages and as I looked closer I noticed some flesh-like puss coming out of her finger. I was grossed out to say the least AND yet again started worrying, especially after the doctor told me she could still lose it. :( So this morning I called the doctor and told them about the “eww” I had seen last night and again this morning. Her regular doctor was not in but they offered to see her anyway. I was relieved when they told me that it still looked fine. (Ava always seem to pull the weekend, “I’m getting worse but there is no doctors office open” thing.) My fear is that she may lose that finger tip. I can’t let this happen. She has had too many scars already that set her apart from kids her age. I can’t help but ask myself why did this have to happen to Ava?

However she is a firecracker and NOTHING and I mean nothing stops her. I wish I had half her strength and courage.

After her appointment today we went by the water fountain, in the hospital, to throw her coins in and “make a wish”…. she loves doing that. What a sweetheart she truly is. Then we were on our way to Wal-mart to get her some Dora and Scooby bandaids. It is nice being able to just put regular bandaids on now. Bath time is a bit tricky but we make it work. :)

A picture of her sore finger up close today.

PLEASE join with us and pray again for Ava and complete healing. I know that if her stomach can totally close by itself in four months that this little finger can heal totally. She gets her stitches out next Thursday. I was glad they are leaving them in for fourteen days. She is such a reminder of God’s love!

~Terri

Dealing with it.

Ava is coping as well as possible. She was upset this morning that she had a bandage on and immediately tried to take it off. I assured her it had to stay on to heal her finger. She did get it off once and yikes did it look bad. I put it right back on and warned her to keep it on PLEASE! I kept on her pain meds all night alternating between Motrin and then her Tylenol with Codeine. It was pretty simple considering she has a g tube. (Sometimes buttons come in extremely handy. :) She would yell out but not wake up fully. Her heart rate was a bit high. I’m thankful I have a monitor to keep everything in check, especially in times like these.

Her sisters love to comfort her in all ways possible…..after all that is what God gave us sisters for!

A little kiss.

The hospital called today and told us that Radiology re-read her x rays and they confirmed that she had in fact fractured her finger. The sad news is there is still nothing more than can do. I will be taking her to an Orthopedic doctor on Monday. She is also on Antibiotics to help eliminate possible infection. No let’s not go there.

The medicine has made her very sleepy today and we both laid down for a well deserved nap this afternoon. As soon as it is almost medicine time she complains of pain. She is a trouper though in all sense of the word.

Wow did this accident with Ava stir things back up in my heart. I’m disappointed in myself for not being strong. I knew I was going to faint but pushed it out of my mind. I guess when I fell Ava was not hurt again but I feel guilty that I could have caused her more pain and for that I’m deeply sad. However I know that all things happen for a reason and I have 100% confidence that God was also holding Ava as I fell. I also know that I can’t be “Super Mom” all the time and I have to accept that I can’t handle it all. I’m so thankful that I have an awesome husband that took control. He was concerned about me but knew he had to get Ava to the hospital fast. AND it affirms the notion that God sends everything we need our way when we need it. My friend Heidi was here to calm me and guide us through our panic. So glad that everything worked out. Ava has been through so much but with her CDH complications I usually have time to ponder what we need to do and the steps to take. Last night there was no time and everything was in limbo. My mind just went nuts and rightfully so. You can’t stop what happens in life.

Last night when Emeline saw me after we got home from the ER, she ran up and gave me a huge hug. She said, “Mom I thought you were dead.” Lexis and her were pretty stirred up and were crying. I explained to her that my mind went on overload and I just couldn’t take it all in causing me to shut down. She was wondering who was going to watch her and Lexis if I died. I had to laugh that she thought so far ahead but hey that’s Emeline. I am so blessed!

I woke up this morning feeling sick about it all. It almost made me very afraid to even live. What is next? Can we handle more? Why must bad things happen? As I said I have faith and know it all works out. This is just another bump in the road called “Life”. Please keep us in your prayers. This accident seemed small compared to all that we’ve been through with Ava but it brought so much raw pain right back up to the surface. I’m still working through it all. I haven’t brought myself to cry quite yet but I feel it is coming any minute. I’m just happy she is feeling better and I can wrap my my arms around her. Right now she is laughing at the “Curious George” Movie when George runs in the bananas and apples and they go everywhere. Life sure has its twists and turns. The bad moments stick in our minds…I wish the good ones took priority. I know that if Jesus cares for the Sparrow He cares about me!

~Terri

Ava’s Ordeal tonight

So all was going well today until the window came down on Ava’s finger. One of my friends were over to visit with me from Idaho. We heard her cries…Brian got to her before I did. When I picked her up I noticed her finger looked odd. I looked a little closer and saw that it was hanging by skin at the tip. I asked Heidi to look at it but knew it was pretty bad. We all agreed we needed to hurry to the Emergency Room. I started feeling light headed and knew that was a sign for me that I was going to pass out. I reasoned with myself that the feeling would pass as I knew I needed to be the strong one in this very delicate situation as I had done so many times before. NOPE couldn’t control it. I awoke to chaos and knew I had fallen with Ava. It took me several minutes to “wake up” fully and realize that Brian had taken her to the ER. Thank God that Heidi was here… Heidi’s son was also born with CDH (Ava’s birth defect) She has had to become like me a make shift nurse. She was so calm and reassuring that everything was fine and that Ava was being taken care of and that I should just try and get better myself.

Marsha my sister in law rushed here and she took me to the ER. There I found Ava snuggled in her Daddy’s arms. I felt relieved. They took x rays and didn’t find any broken bones. We were glad to hear that.

Yes I did grab my small camera as I was heading out the door..…you know me. Still quite shaken up from falling but still aware that pictures are needed.

Prepare yourself. It actually looks good in this picture. The way they had her hand made it come back together. The underneath was the only skin holding it on.

Ava did well with them numbing her up. (A few very loud screams.) She watched every move the doctor made while sewing her finger back on. I’m still not feeling quite up to par but have to be here for Ava.

They bandaged her up and on the way home she feel asleep. May have been a good thing she skipped her nap today. I have to admit for her first “normal” kid thing it was no fun. Please keep Ava in your prayers.

~Terri

Living Life!

Hello Ava fans! Life is going spectacular for Ava! We are doing more and more exciting things as a family. This might sound odd to many, but I can count on one hand how many times Ava has been to the park in her three and a half years. She has needed to be extremely protected from the “outside” world. Lately though I’ve put my fears aside so that she can LIVE and enjoy being a three year old little darling! She is living it up! The park is her favorite place now. Our motto now, “So many parks, so little time!”

This has got to be one of my favorites! Her and swings go hand in hand.

Brian, Ava and I in the park, near this beautiful tree. Lexis and Emeline were at Tae Kwan Do class. I’m hoping to get a family picture soon. Our weather has been so wonderful!

 

How cute is she?

Ava had a hearing test today. She did so good that the lady told us if everyone did as good as Ava she would have the easiest job in the world. She sat there very still and was very patient. I have a partial hearing loss (since birth) so I know the tests very well. :)

Next we went to her ear doctor. He told us she passed the hearing test and her ears looked great. He wants to keep testing her every six months as we have been doing because her left ear was slightly different. We are unsure if this will be “an issue” but we’ll keep our eyes and ears on it!

The reason for the suspicion of a hearing loss is due to the many antibiotics and medicines she has had from birth to present because of complications with her birth defect, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. It adds to her chances since I also have a hearing loss. So far though none of the girls have any hearing issues.

She is growing so big as you can see. She just climbs up in the chair and waits for Dr. Lyons to come in. He is very animated and she likes him.

Naturally after she did so good I had to reward her by going to the park for a picnic and play time. See how excited she looks after I told her she must eat first!

And off she goes…..

 

She is not afraid of the big slides….unless they have a roof over them then she wants nothing to do with them. Otherwise, yes she goes down and has little worry. I again put aside my worries as well. I’m so happy she can be a little monkey.

Walking? No she runs everywhere.

I couldn’t resist snapping a few extra today. It was a gorgeous 75 degrees out!

Loved ALL these beautiful little pink flowers. It almost looked like snow. I’m in awe of God’s magnificent handiwork. I love Spring!

Thanks for stopping by and keep saying prayers that Ava remains healthy. We are so Blessed and know how lucky we are to have Ava. She has come so far!

~Terri