Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thank you

Just called the hospital again to check in and Magnus is still doing well. He had one short period where his heart rate went way up and has had to be treated for low blood pressure, but these are the types of things they expect to see in a baby recovering from the Norwood procedure.

As I mentioned earlier, Iggy and I spent the night at home, catching up on sleep and on everything else, and one of the things on my list is trying to somehow acknowledge all the love, generosity, and support that has been heaped upon us in the past week. Our families and friends have been so amazing, with special gratitude being due to our friend Bobbi Cesare, who happens to work at the hospital and who, among other things, brought us lunch in the waiting room yesterday when we were waiting to hear how Magnus's surgery had gone.

We have also been tremendously grateful to all the wonderful doctors and nurses who have taken such good care of Magnus. It is a cliche to say "the nurses are amazing," but really, every single one we have dealt with has not only been tremendously skilled and knowledgeable, but also kind, friendly, and understanding. Again, here, I want to give special acknowledgement to nurse Ayanna, who took care of Magnus on his last two nights in the intensive care nursery, and who came down to the OR with us yesterday morning to see Magnus off for his surgery. She hugged us, and tried to make us feel like everything was going to be OK.

Anyway, we are far from through with all of this, but I feel bad about not being very good about answering all my e-mails and just wanted to thank everyone for everything!

4 comments:

  1. Thank *you* Jen! I can tell that posting to this blog is theraputic for you but it is also
    very nice for us to be kept so abreast of how you, Iggy and Baby Magnus are doing...Love to
    all again and can't wait to set my eyes on Baby Magnus in person!

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  2. You, my dear, need to get some sleep. I noticed that posting was at 4:26 a.m.! The package at the post office has nothing but books in it, so I'm sure there's no great rush to pick it up. I'm going to go to the used clothing store and buy a bunch of onesies for Magnus to wear once he gets home. I'll bring them when I come out there. Is there anything else you need. Shall I also get some receiving blankets?

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  3. I am praying Magnus continues to show you how strong he is. In case they haven't told you...stock up on sleepers and stuff that has buttons in the front. When he is hooked up to his 'stuff' they will probably let you dress him, but only in stuff that buttons up the front so they can easily access all his 'accessories'.

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  4. If you find a nurse that you really like, find the charge nurse and talk to him/her about that person becoming one of Magnus' primary caregivers for the duration of his stay on that floor/in that area. There's a lot to be said for continuity of care.
    We did that with one of our nurses in the NICU as soon as I found out I could. She was with us on day shift 4-5 days before Gabe's hybrid. She gave me the opportunity to pretty much do everything for him. I learned so much from her about how to take care of him.

    Hi Ruth! May I suggest some sleep sacks for after he comes home? Best jammies ever!

    Hope's Mom has a good suggestion. We have found Carter's brand to have a good selection of snap-front clothes & jammies.

    May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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