Our little miracle

Samantha's Birthday March 4th 2010

Wow I don't even know where to begin, tomorrow will mark Samantha's 3 week birthday and what an amazing 3 weeks it has been. The Lord has been truly mindful of her and our family. All of our prayers and yours have been heard and answered in miraculous ways. She has done beyond wonderful and the doctors and nurses have just been amazed at her progress. So here is a photo time-line to get caught up and share her amazing journey.

Day 2- Friday
(3/5/10)
This is the first time we got to really see and touch (not hold) her.
After she was born Samantha was life-flighted to Tucson Medical Center (TMC) where the pediatric surgeon (Dr. Greenfield) was waiting with his team. She was taken into surgery and he was able to put half of her intestine back into her and the rest he put into a silo to slowly add in later. He contacted us after the surgery and gave us a update on our little girl. He informed us that along with her small intestine she also had part of her large intestine out as well as her appendix.
After I was released Friday afternoon we headed down to Tucson as a family and stayed at the Ronald McDonald House

Day 3-Saturday
(3/6/10)
The pediatric surgeons come by every morning and check on Samantha. As you can see from the photo they are beginning to tie off the silo and begin the process of putting everything back.


Day 4- Sunday
(3/7/10)

Samantha was covered in tubes and wires, so I will try and explain what they all are.
Our little girl was on a constant dose of morphine, to ease her pain and also to keep her from moving (the silo was only loosely stitched into place). Because of the morphine and the added pressure in her abdomen they had her on a ventilator to help with her breathing. (Even though she was born early her lungs were fully developed). Sam also had a tube going down her nose that feed into her stomach, this tube pumped out the gastric juices to help reduce the swelling of her intestines, and also the morphine slows the digestion process down. She had a central line that feed into an artery in her leg where she got her nutrients and morphine; it is also where they were able to draw blood. In her left hand she had the IV live the nurse put in right after she was born. On her foot she had her O2 counter, and then she had three lines on her belly. One measured her heart rate, another body temp., and the third measured chest contractions for her breathing.

Steven also left to go back home to Thatcher to get caught up with school. So I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house with the other 3 kids because my mom was flying in to Tucson Monday night.

Day 5- Monday
(3/8/10)

It was amazing to see the progress of the intestine going back inside. Every time we saw her there was less and less. Every morning the surgeon would tie another line further down the silo. (The little black thing hanging out is her umbilical cord)

Eyes wide open

Day 6-Tuesday
(3/9/10)

All inside!!!!
It was amazing to see the opening the body had naturally created as a result of having her intestines outside her body.
Next step surgery...

Day 7- Wednesday
(3/10/10)

Samantha was scheduled to have her closure surgery done on Thursday. However, Wednesday morning I got a call from the hospital letting me know the surgeon had time that day so they were going to go ahead and get it done. There were 2 options in closing her abdomen. The first was called a primary closure were they used her own skin (the best choice). Or secondary closure were they used a piece of artificial material as a patch to help close the wound because the skin cannot stretch. It was allot harder this time around for her surgery. With her first we where still in the hospital in Safford and we didn't have to see her get wheeled away. This time it broke my heart, but I knew it had to be done and the sooner the better.

It was also hard because Steven wasn't there with me, Before they took her in, the surgeon (Dr. O Connor) spoke with both of us (Steven was on the phone) and that really helped. We tried to support Samantha as best as possible as both parents, during this whole process.
Her surgery went so quick, and she looked wonderful when I got to see her. They were able to do a primary closure on her and I really could not be happier.

Getting ready to hold our little girl for the FIRST time!!!!
Saturday
(3/13/10)

Steven got to hold her first, you never saw a prouder father. We had been told we could not hold her until she was off the ventilator but we later found out that it had more to do with what nurse was on duty. Steven came back down Friday night, and my mom took the kids with her back to Thatcher so Steven and I could just focus on Samantha and her needs and just spend some time together, it was really nice.

It felt SO wonderful to hold Samantha for the first time, for the first time I felt like a mother of four. She was so tiny, I felt like I was going to break her.

Sunday
(3/14/10)
When we came to the hospital the next day we could not believe what we saw. She was off the ventilator. In fact when we walked into the NICU I heard a baby crying and it was coming from the area where Samantha was staying and in my mind I wondered if it was her, it was!!! It was the first time I heard her cry, (while she was on the ventilator we could she her crying but no sound was coming out) what a wonderful sound! She had actually ripped out her ventilator herself, and she was breathing for the most part on her own so they just kept it off. It was also really wonderful for Steven because he was leaving early Monday morning to fly to North Carolina to get all our stuff out of Storage and wouldn't be able to see her until Saturday

(3/15/10)
We were so amazing how quickly she was healing up, slowing but surely she was starting to lose wires and tubes and her opening was getting so small in fact it began to look just like a stub of an umbilical cord. Now we are just waiting for her to have a bowel movement so they will take out the tube in her nose and she will get to start eating.

(3/16/10)
Her beautiful Face!!!!!!!
Yea!!! We get to see her beautiful face, no tubes!!!! She hasn't had a bowel movement yet but the surgeon said to go ahead and take it out and see how she does, she is defiantly much much happier

(3/17/10)
The Surgon gave the go head for the first feed, all my pumping finally gets to pay off. She only gets 10cc, which is basically a teaspoon, hardly anything but they have to start off slow and see how she handles it.

"real" food for the first time
she downed that 10cc in about 2 seconds, and wanted more!

(3/20/10)
How can I even begin to express how well she is doing, she has increased her feeding my 5cc everyday, she is pooping like crazy, her closer looks wonderful and I would by the looks of things she is going to have a normal looking belly button, oh and she has all the nurses and doctors wrapped around her little finger

Sunday
(3/21/10)
I can't believe how time is flying by here, She is up to 30cc and I got to try nursing her for the first time today and she latched on right away. I get to nurse her once a day and as her feeding increases and she gains weight I get to do even more


We can't believe it but as we were leaving the hospital today our nurse told us that our little Samantha was doing so well that she will probably come home this weekend!!! What happened to the 8-10 weeks she was going to be in the hospital, Nothing short of miracles and answers to many many prayers has been happening in her behalf.
Well because of that Steven and I decided to rush home Sunday night and help finish all the many house projects to get our home ready for our little girl.

So we went home and finished taping the drywall, sanded, textured, and painted, oh and organizing all of our things. We are so grateful for all the help we had, Steven's parents and mine, so between all of us we were able to get a lot done.

SHE IS HOME!!!!!!
3 Weeks later
(3/25/10)
I came back to the hospital Wednesday morning to spend the rest of Samantha's stay in the hospital with her. We had been told that she would possible be going home this weekend. So Thursday morning when I meet with the surgeon I could not believe it when he told me that we could go home... TODAY!!! 3 weeks to the day she was coming home! They took out her central line. The last tube going inside her, and the last one they had to take out. Steven came down to ride home with us and be there for the discharge. We had such a wonderful experience there at TMC but we were ready to be a family once again and get our life back in order.
McKay just loves his baby sister, he watches over her and protects her from everyone
Aubrey and Brigham are so excited to FINALLY be with their little sister.

We just want to thank all of you for your many prayers in our behalf and especially for Samantha. Her recovery is nothing short of a miracle. We are so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who watched over during this time, for the priesthood that blessed our family beyond measure, for the Holy Ghost that was our constant companion through it all and was always there with his peaceful calm assurance, but most of all for our Savior Jesus Christ who made all things possible.