Saturday, January 8, 2011

TGIF

Only 1 nose tube left! :)

It wasn't "Good Friday" yesterday, but for us & Ella it was a great one.  Our little lady just continues to surprise & amaze us with her fighting spirit.  We are excited to share all the latest news - which has been plentiful & encouraging the past 2 days - so here's what's been happening since our last blog:

1.  Ella has handled the feeding well.  So well, in fact, that as of this morning she has already moved from a continuous drip feed to bottle feeds every 3 hours (including nursing time with Mama twice a day).  Since the bottle takes less energy than breastfeeding, they are going to see how she handles this set up before transitioning toward more frequent breastfeeds.  Given how "enthusiastic" Ella gets when nursing (and who could blame her, since she's basically had an empty belly for 2 months), we suspect & hope she will progress to more nursing times very quickly.

2.  I spoke with the cardiologist about the latest Echo and basically its all great news.  Her ejection fraction was estimated at 70% (!!!).  Pretty much normal & acceptable.  What?!  Its just amazing...  There are a couple of lingering, minor concerns - mild thickening of both a left ventricle wall and the pulmonary artery, as well as some evidence of diastolic dysfunction (for all you medical people out there who actually understand).  But all-in-all, her heart has shown that it is "remodeling" itself & becoming functional & sustainable.  Even her heart size is essentially normal now, after being so grossly enlarged.

3.  Last night she weighed in at 6 lbs, 1 oz - breaking the 6 lb barrier!  Now, it might not be like Roger Bannister running the 1st sub 4-minute mile, but it is definitely cause for celebration!!

With all these exciting progressions we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we have a sense that perhaps we are glimpsing the beginning of the end of her healing process.  Its a scenario that once seemed impossible, but now appears that God foresaw, planned & is now pleased to bring to reality - to the amazement of us all.

Now we are just looking forward to the end of this hospital stay.  If she can prove the ability to handle normal, regular feedings & gains a little more weight, there's no reason she can't come home.  We will be able to continue to give her the medications she needs (which are quite a few) in the comforts of our own home.  Our dreams may not be that far off!  Stay tuned... We love you all!

24 comments:

Christy said...

I've been following this for a while now and it's so amazing to read your story. It truly touches my heart, especially as a mother, to hear the love and joy in your words.

Unknown said...

Go Ella you can do it. I love reading these updates.

DahlHouse Co. said...

What great news!

Linda said...

OH MY! ALL praise and glory be to the HEALER..our Heavenly Father!!
I am SO excited for you all! This is a great testimony to the power of prayer!
We send you hugs and love!!
Bob and Linda

Angie said...

Simply amazing! Lord you are so good!

Coby said...

I am praising God for His miracles! So amazing! What a fighter Ella is!
Standing with you in prayer and faith!!!

Anonymous said...

This makes my heart giddy!!! It was doing flip flops all the way through your update. SOOO happy to hear all the progress and still praying for her to come home and be healthy. We are blessed by an amazing God!

Unknown said...

Praise God!!! Keep it up little girl, you'll be home before you know it:)

The Liezen Family said...

Wow! What incredible news. We are so happy for Ella and your family and we will keep the prayers coming!
JoEne Liezen

Jen said...

Crying and smiling - all at the same time! God is so good!!! All our love to you!

jonesfamily said...

That is amazing!!!!

Julie

Linda said...

Our God is and AWESOME God...He REIGNS!! This is exciting news and I am PRAISING Him with you!
Love and Blessings to you, Linda - (Andi's mom)

Unknown said...

Enjoying tears of JOY as I read this...God is good! Continuing to pray for this next step, love Robi

Amy Hook said...

I have goosebumps right now. I just read your blog and wish I would've given you a huge hug this morning when I saw you. We're still praying...and are rejoicing with you because of this exciting news. Praise the Lord!

Sarah said...

Absolutely amazing, what beautiful news to start a new week tomorrow!!! Always praying and so much love to the Dordal family!

Becca said...

God is so good. All the healing He has done is so amazing! So so good to read this blog post! I'll be praying that she can come home soon! Of course you know this- but what a little strong brave fighter you have! Much love to you!

Ruth said...

Hallelujah! We'll keep praying for more good news than you can handle!

-The Stoops Family

NW Gal said...

Many prayers here for all of you and thank you for the regular updates... yeahhhhh!!

Chelle said...

David and Annabelle and I can't stop smiling and saying wow to eachother after reading yet another miraculous report of your sweet + amazing baby Ella. Thank you Jesus! We are in awe with you at what He has done and is doing and how He has used your tiny daughter to draw us all closer to His heart and show us so first hand what a a good + merciful Savior we have. We love you guys!

The Lochheads said...

a GREAT Friday!!! Congratulations, Dordals! This is such amazing "GOD-DID-IT!" news!!! What a precious time for your family. All our love--the Lochheads

Marcia said...

This is such great news! We are TRULY happy for you!Give a kiss to Ella for us and celebrate this moment!God is GREAT!

K.C. said...

Hooray Ella! Congratulations. What a miracle girl. My kids will be so happy to hear the news. They still remind each other to pray for Baby Ella.

Unknown said...

Awesome, awesome news. God is soooo good. Thank you Jesus!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I can barely imagine how difficult it has been to leave your child at the hospital with all of the tubes and such. And now, you are so close to coming home with your darling baby "Ella Belle" in arms. I am so happy for you!!

Rebekah said...

She's a miracle!