The Sunde's

Wow, it feels like we are way behind on blogging because so much happens and changes each day.  Faith’s surgery for her Brain Shunt went well on Tuesday morning.  The anesthesia wore off sooner than expected.  It was so hard to see her in pain and not be able to do anything for her.  We tried to console her but felt completely helpless.  Once the pain medication took effect, she was able to rest comfortably and was calm.

On Wednesday morning at 2:40 am, Faith’s nurse went into her room to check on her and she had extubated (took her own ventilator) herself and her stats were great! J  Girl already thinks she knows what is best for her!  At 5:30 am, they did a CAT scan to verify correct placement of the shunt.  The pediatric radiologist confirmed that the placement is correct.  At Noon, she was able to have her first feeding since before surgery and did well. 

When will we get to bring her home?  That is a question they cannot answer.  The Pediatric Neurological Surgeon will monitor over the next week or so to be sure that the shunt is working properly.  Faith will also need to be consistently taking 60 ml (2 ounces) at each feeding (every 3 hours) by mouth for a minimum of 48 hours straight.  Before surgery, she was averaging about 1 ounce by mouth and 1 ounce by feeding tube.  They feel that she was progressing well on her feedings before surgery and feel that she will have no problem getting back to that quickly.  We have also started to receive training on Colostomy care. 

We are both holding up fairly well considering the circumstances.  Faith is our #1 priority and we spend as much time with her as possible.  We do know that it is important for us to take care of ourselves as well.  We are doing our best to find balance. 

Thank you to everyone for your love and support! Happy Holidays!

With Love,

Steve and Michele