Poor little London

So I would like to say that London's puking ended last week and that she had a fabulous birthday...but that would be stretching the truth...okay, that would be a flat out lie. Truth is she is still sick. Her and I got to celebrate her 1st birthday in the ER at the Alberta Children's Hospital. And we have been here ever since. London could not keep anything down, and what she was able to keep down went right through her and out the other end. I felt so bad for her. I have been watching her get weaker and sicker by the minute. My little, smily, happy and bright eyed baby has turned into a weak, sleepy, lethargic sick little girl. The doctors said that she has Rotavirus, which is a gastrointestinal virus, but because her little body is so comprimised already it is hitting her very hard. So hard infact that they think that her intestines are extremely damaged.

After 2 plus days of trying to get food into her and keep it in her, the doctors decided to put a PICC line in. It is like a really long IV that threads from your arm all the way to your heart. They have stopped trying to feed her all together to try and let her intestines rest, and have started her on TPN, which is like a liquid form of food that they administer through her PICC line. They started that yesterday at about 6, after a bit of a scare with her newly placed PICC line. I had just settled her and she was just drifting off to sleep and I thought that I would run downstairs quickly and grab a bite to eat. That was when I noticed the blood pooling and driping from her PICC line dressing. I paniced a bit. I know that the site can bleed slightly at first, but this was a bit exessive. I called her nurse and immediately we had 6 other nurses in the room, one yelling to get the doctor, another yelling for gauze, another for pressure on the site..... needless to say it was a bit chaotic. After some pressure and repositioning they managed to get the bleeding under control and rebanaged her little arm with an additional pressure dressing (just incase). Once the dust had settled a bit and we were confident that her line was still okay to use, they started the TPN.

I was really hoping that she might perk up a bit after a couple hours on the TPN. No such luck though. My baby who normally doesnt take a nap until 3pm (after being up all day) has now fallen asleep twice and it is only 10 am.

I feel totally helpless as her mother, knowing that there is absolutely nothing physically that I can do to make her better. It is just a matter of time. I know though that she will get better. We have so many good friends and family that are praying for her and have been for quite some time. I am so grateful for you all. I have felt your strength. I appreciate your help with my other children. I am grateful for the meals, the visits and the phone calls and texts asking, and making sure that we are doing okay. I am so beyond grateful for Ben and for him doing a great job holding down the fort with our four other children, so that I can be here with London. Mom, you are amazing. You have helped us out so much. I am so blessed. Thank you everyone.