Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to post a quick update because I know you all are praying for and thinking about Cliff, Dani and Cordelia.
It's been a bit of a tough day... all good progress, but tough for Cordelia. She underwent a very short surgery this morning (about 45 minutes) where the Doctors went in and stitched up all of the abdominal muscles that they had left unstitched after her surgery last week to leave room for inflammation and to allow for healing and in case they needed to go in and do more surgery on her liver, which they have not needed to do (a blessing!).
My dad said that Cordelia is actually in more pain after this surgery than after her liver transplant last Tuesday because everything around her organs and abdomen in now very tight and because of the surgery, very sore. Please pray for baby Cordelia tonight...that the pain would subside, that she would be calm and peaceful, that God's hand would be on her.
Dani is recovering slowly. She was discharged today and is going to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House with her mother tonight. It will be nice for her to have a nights sleep without nurses, etc. coming in to do stats and check on her.
She is still feeling pretty nauseous and moving slowly. My parents leave tomorrow and Dani's mom leaves on/around Wednesday at which point Cliff and Dani will be back at this on their own. They could use extra prayers and blessings this week for strength and energy--- For Dani to start to feel better in the midst of taking care of herself and Cordelia and for Cliff as he navigates trying to care for his wife and his daughter.
If all goes well, Cordelia will be in ICU for just a few more days. Cliff said that later this week the nurses will allow them to do a "trial run" up in ICU where they are standing by as Cliff and/or Dani administer Cordelia's medications and do everything else necessary to care for her right now. After that she will be in a regular room for 2 weeks or so and then they will be discharged. Once they are discharged they will remain at the Ronald McDonald House for another 6-8 weeks for outpatient treatments.
P.S. Cliff and Dani received a new I-Pad from some of you today!! They are THRILLED. There are many things they are going to be able to do wit it...Thank you all for the very sweet gift and blessing! They have been checking all of their email, doing internet searches, etc. from their cell phones. The I-Pad will allow them to listen to their own music in their room, email much easier, do internet searches, etc. etc. If they are really ambitious maybe they'll even be willing to skype in a few weeks!
Cliff joked today that he has been checking Bills updates/coverage on his cell phone (when he actually has a free moment!) so now he'll be able to check updates more easily! (:
Also, a great big THANK YOU to the many of you who donated food cards to them. Cliff said they will be able to easily each eat 3 meals a day for the remainder of their time in the hospital without a worry!!! Food is, after all, on of the great medicines, right?!!
Thank you Lisa for this greatnidea. Thank you to all those who contributedas well. Your generosity is so humbling. We appreciate this so much! It will come in very handy. I believe I should be able to figure Skype out. Although I am a bit of a Luddite and generally speaking err toward the old fashioned way of doing things part of my job at Verizon was helping people set up their devices. I ve never really used much of the stuff myself though. If anyone who would like to Try skype with us and is quite patient, please contact one of our phones or Facebook and we'll give it a go.
ReplyDeleteI know Cliff misses watching football with George, it's a bit of a tradition. I think being able to watch the game and at least guy talk with him later will really make him happy!! Previously he's been trying to do that on a 3x5 screen at least when we're not trying to make sure our little ninja isn't trying to take tubes out. I was concerned for the potential eye damage it was causing.
We really appreciate the outpouring of love with meal cards. You've all been more than generous. I'm still humbled by the generosity we've experienced. I lost a bit of weight in the surgery recovery process and really appreciate the meal cards. Thank you. I think Cliff was able to catch a picture of Cordelia smiling this morning and I will try to post it later. I know we're not totally out of the woods" yet and won't be for awhile. Up until now the best we hoped for is that she wouldn't get worse, that she would hold steady. God gave her a fighters spirit. This is the first time in 5 months I can look at her daily and see Cordelia getting better. It is a miracle! God is so good!