. For The Love Of Grace: Day 19 2.8 pounds

Miracles never cease!

Have you ever heard the saying, "All good things must come to an end"? Well, Gracie proves that saying FALSE! She has had yet another miraculous day. Let's see...how do I begin? I came in this morning at normal time, 8 A.M. She had only 1 episode all night! Amazing! She is still just a little puffy from her heart surgery but the only thing that seems to be affecting is her weight. She was breathing nearly all on her own and her blood gases are great so they took her off of the respirator/ventilator this evening at 6. Yippee! Now she is on the CPAP. One step closer to being transported to Kadlec in Richland! She is back on room air, no oxygen. She was awake for quite a while too. Gracie and I got to snuggle down for a long winter's nap, oops...I mean a long restful nap together today. What a sweet face to look at, fall asleep and wake up to for 3 hours. First time since her surgery last Tuesday. Poor thing kept gagging on thick mucus in her breathing tube and needed to be suctioned out 4 times during touch time. Sounded like she was slurping milk through a straw. She was able to keep her temp better today too. Her bed temp came down which is a step closer to wearing clothes and staying warmer on her own. She also tolerates touching, talking and noises very well. The nurse today was saying that is what often times keeps micro-preemies in the isolettes. Gracie does very well during touch times and our holding times. She is conquering a lot of things now that her heart has been fixed. Go Gracie Go!
The next miracle is hearing from the insurance company that not only would they accept paying for her care at Kadlec but they would also fund 100% of the transport via ambulance to Richland, WA. This is a huge thing because they were possibly not going to pay for the $6-7,000 transport back. Which would have been a very difficult thing for my family and me since she will most likely be in the NICU for another 2 1/2 months. That is way too long to be 250 miles apart from each other. Thank you everyone for praying...miracles are happening every day! Here we come, Richland....well, soon that is.