I am so thankful for a kind and loving Father in Heaven that watched over and cared for our little girl. I am thankful for the priesthood. For the many blessings that she was given. For the promise of a full recovery. I am thankful that our little Heidi is still with us. She is a blessing in all of our lives.
March 27,2011 On Thursday Heidi woke up and had a small fever and was complaining that her tummy hurt. She has complained about her belly for about a month now. She said that it was hard to go potty (bowel movement) So I just figured that she was constipated. She has been running around and as active as ever. But when she started getting a fever on Thursday and complaining about her belly I started to get concerned. She was very lathargic most of the day. But was not in a tremendous amount of pain. I thought maybe she was getting a flu bug. But in the back of my mind I also thought it could be appendicitis. So before I went to work Thursday night I told dad to make sure that she slept next to him and to call me if she got worse. He reassured me that she would be fine but that he would call if she got worse. About 3:30 am I was paged over head that I had a phone call on line 1. My heart immediatly dropped. I was in a panic. I rushed to the phone. Dad told me that I better come home. That she was not doing well. He said that she got up and went to the bathroom and then came back to bed. A few minutes later she got up again and this time he followed her. He said that she went and knelt down by the toilet. Dad asked her if she felt like throwing up. She said no that her tummy hurt. So he called me. I came home and took her to Holy Rosary. When we got there the nurse was doing her vitals. He asked her to jump. He wanted to see if her belly hurt when she jumped. She just stood there and stared at him. And then she looked over and Cassandra and gave this look like "is he kidding" It was funny. So she jumped 1 time for him. Any way, they did all there stardard test to see if she had appendicitis. The doctor thought she might have it. But wasn't really sure. And then he told me that they couldn't do anything for her there because she was to small. She would have to come to Boise for a pediatric surgeon. But they could do blood tests. I told them that I would just watch her for a few more hours. If she got worse I would take her to Boise and they could do the blood tests on her there. So we came home. It was 6:30am when we crawled into bed. She slept very sound until 10:30am. She woke up crying saying her tummy hurt. I asked her if I could feel it. I started palpating it on the left side. When I got to the right side she pulled my hand away and groaned. I knew then that it was definetly appendicitis. So I showered her and got her ready. And we went to Meridian St. Lukes. I wasn't sure where the emergency room was. So we went in the front door and asked the receptionist. She told us to go back to the car and drive around to the back of the building. And she would call the ER and tell them that we where on our way. On our way to the car Heidi was breathing really hard. I asked her if she was okay. She said that she couldn't walk anymore. So I carried her to the car. She was really hurting at this point. In Meridian the took a blood sample. Her white cell count came back at 25,000. Which is very high. The only pediatric surgeon on for St Lukes was in Boise St Lukes. So they transported her by ambulance to Boise. Before we left the doctor told us that we where very lucky to get this surgeon. She was the best in the valley. That was reassuring.
She went into surgery at 7:15pm Friday night. We where told before she went in that the surgery would only be about a half and hour to an hour. By 9:00 we still had not heard anything. I started pacing the floor. I knew something was wrong. About 9:15 the surgeon came out with a very grave look on her face. She told us that when she opened her up that all she could see was a big mass. She wasn't sure if it was a tumor or just some kind of a mass. And she couldn't find the appendics any where. She said that she has done hundreds of these surgeries. She has never seen anything like this. She looked at dad and I and said, "I am not going to lie to you. I am very concerned." She reassured us that she would do everything she could to help her. We told her to do whatever it took. About an hour later we got a phone call from the O. R. Nurse. He said that the pathology reports came back that it wasn't a tumor it was just a mass that had formed around the appendics. So they where going to remove it and then the appendics. After the surgery Dr. Renolds came out and told us that it was a hard mass that had grown around this appendics. Just like it was sheilding it. She said that she literally had to chisel the appendics out. The appendics had ruptured about a month or so ago. Of course Heidi didn't show any sign of being sick so we had no idea. Grandpa Winegar passed away about that time. So I was so preoccupied with that. I may have just missed the signs. But all the toxin stayed inside of this mass. The mass was on her bowel. So the part of the bowel that the toxin was on rotted. So they had to remove part of her bowel. She sewed it back together. In hopes that it will heal and not leak. The surgery lasted for 4 hours. If that mass had not been there to protect her from those toxins, Heidi would probably not be with us today. It was a miracle. Devine intervention took place. And her life was spared.
Today she is going for walks around the ward. She does not like it and cries the whole time. and begs to go back to bed. But they reassure me that each day will get better. They have added another pain medication to go along with her morphin. So that is keeping the pain down better today. The respritory therapist is coming in a couple of times a day doing therapy on her. So she keeps her lungs open. That will prevent pneamonia. She is also getting 2 different kinds of antibiotics by iv every 2 hours. They just came in and took an exray of her belly and her chest. The surgeon was concerned because her tummy is very distended today and her white cell count is still pretty high. But the exrays came back and showed no other problems. So they are going to give her a supository and see if they can't get her to poop. That might help the gas and bring that belly down. It is pretty painful for her. We are still not sure why the cell count is so high. So they are just going to watch that. She is on lots and lots of antibiotics which will help with infection. They also moved her to the cancer ward of the peds unit. So she wont be around anything that is contagious that will make her sick. I am very glad about that. It is much quieter over here as well.
She will be here for at least 1 week maybe 2. She has had 3 blessings. Each one has promised her a full recovery. So I have complete faith that this will happen. She is a little fighter. She may only be 41 pounds but she has a lot of fight in her. She will pull through this. It is just so hard to see her in so much pain and going through all of this. It just breaks my heart. Her name is in temples all around the world. People from all over the world, races and religions are praying for her. I have felt those prayers and witnessed the answers to those prayers. Tonight she went for a walk around the ward. She has been since last night. But tonight she went and stood straighter and walked faster. She cried the whole time and begged to go back to bed. But she did an awesome job. I see small improvements all the time. I know that tomorrow is going to be a good day. I can just feel it. I will try and be on here in the morning in case you want to email me. I will also send you an update daily. If you get a chance to check it.
March 29Sorry I didn't get you written last night. I had every intention of doing it. But as things go, it has been a roller coaster ride. Her day yesterday started out really, really good. She just seemed to make one improvement after another. She was walking and going potty without crying all afternoon. I just kept saying WOW! because it was such a huge change. At about 4:00 yesterday afternoon she sat straight up in her bed all by herself! She hasn't even wanted to move her legs up to this point. So it was very shocking. I asked her what she was doing and she said she wanted to go for a walk. That was amazing. She usually cried and tells us she just wants to stay in bed a little while longer. But not then, she wanted to go! So we walked down to the fish tank and looked at all the fish. She was standing there and then said, "I've got to poop!" I have never been so excited about poop in all my life! We have been wanting her to do that for days. Her tummy has been so destended and hard. So we went back to the room and she went. After that her tummy is no longer hard. So that is good. But the bowel movement took everything out of her. She got so tired. And then to make matters worse they took her off her morphin and put her on another med instead. We had a pretty hard night last night. She cried and cried. Finally at 4:00 this morning I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father what I should do to help comfort her. My next thought was to crawl into bed with her and cuddle. So I wrapped my blanket around us and cuddled. Within seconds she was asleep. I left the blanket there when I got out of bed. It seems to be giving her a little comfort. She is sleeping soundly at the moment. The surgeon will be in here soon to check her. Hopefully they will take this tube out of her throat today. It is really bothering her. And work on her pain meds a little. We will have to see. I feel like we are on a really bad roller coaster ride that just never ends. We are having alot of up and down moments. But I feel like she is making progress in the healing process. Her white cell count went from 25,000 to 14,000 so that is very good. She coloring is better. And her tummy is no longer hard and is not a destended today. So I think she is healing.
I will keep you posted. Just continue to pray for her. Not only for the healing process, but for her comfort as well. Iove you~Mom
April 3I first want to appologize to you for not giving you an update the other day. I kind of did it on purpose. Because I didn't know how to write that her pickline leaked into her tissues and that she had to have 250cc of fluid taken out from around her lungs. I knew that if I gave you that update you would be frantic. But in return I worried you by not giving you some kind of an update. And for that I am sorry. One thing I will tell you is that this whole thing has been like a roller coaster. Just when we think she is rounding the bin towards better days, bam we get knocked down again. It is so exhausting and frusterating! Yesterday was such a great day for her. She played, smiled, talked and laughed all day long. It was like we had our Heidi back again. We where really hoping that it was the end of this nightmare and that we would be getting her home soon. But unfortunately that didn't last through the night. She started vomiting and did throughout the day today. Her tummy swelled up and got hard again. The doctor told us that she has a bunch of bile and junk in her stomach. For some reason her body just isn't processing it. He said that we just need to be patient. That sometimes these things take awhile to start working. Her surgeon is off for the weekend. But she will be back tomorrow. So in the meantime they decided the best course of action will be to put the tube back into her stomach to drain all this bile out. Can I just say that when she woke up and figured out that the tube was back in her throat again, she was ticked! So Dad gave her another blessing. This time he commanded her body, by the power of the priesthood, to heal. It was a very powerful blessing. Right after that she went to sleep. She has been sleeping alot since then. And has been reasonably comfortable.
Because of this set back, I am thinking we will be here for at least another week. I am hoping that when her doctor comes back tomorrow that she will have a few answers for us. And some kind of a game plan for this week. I wish I could give you better news this week. I hate these kind of emails. But I know that you will worry without them just as you worry with them. With all that being said just remember tomorrow is a new day. I will try and get back on here and give you a new update early enough that you can check it. Just because she feels like this now, doesn't mean she will be this way tomorrow. We may have a wonderful day tomorrow. What is getting me through each day is the knowledge and faith of the gospel, my Savior and the Preisthood blessings she has recieved. Dad gave Josh some very good council the other night before he gave Heidi a blessing. He told her that what ever you say or promise in a blessing will come to pass. I truely believe that . It may not happen immediately. But it will happen. I know that she is going to heal completely. And some day this will just be a memory. It is hard when we are going through it. The trial is ours. It's not for her, it's for us. She is so young she will forget all of this. We are the ones that need to learn and grow from this experience. I loved and appreciated conference so much this weekend. I needed that extra strength.
April 4Heidi's Dr. just came in and checked her. She was hopeful because Heidi let her press on her belly without crying or pulling her hands away. But she still has alot of fluid being pulled out of her stomach. So the plan is they are going to leave the tube in her stomach for a few more days. Tomorrow they are going to do another CT scan of her belly. And Wednesday if there is still alot of fluid going through that tube, she will take her back into surgery and repair that bowel. She said that she is not trying to avoid it because she doesn't want to do the surgery. She just wants to be patient and see if her body will start working on it's own. So that is the plan for now.
April 5 Heidi had to have another surgery today. Part of her bowel died. Her other intestine recognized it as something foreign or dead. So it sucked it in, like it was going to get rid of it. The dr said it is just like folding a sock. The correct term for it is called, Intussuception. It was a 3 hour surgery. They cut out the dead bowel. And then sewed the small and large intestine together. The dr thinks that she should start healing pretty quickly now. Tomorrow they want to take the tube out of her nose. And start having her drink. Thursday they want to start her on soft foods. And by Saturday we should be bringing her home.
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April 6 Well we are on day 12 of our hospital stay. Last night was challenging and worrisom especially for the nurses. They spent most of the night at Heidi's bedside. Heidi's blood pressure was elevated all through the night and into the morning. At the same time they where struggling to keep up with the morphine for the pain. They finally put an IV drip of morphine and gave her a little thing she could press a button on if she wanted more. It would deliver a little extra to her. About an hour later she started crying again. I asked her if she pressed the button. She said, "I did but no one came." She thought that it was a button to call the nurse so that she could put the medicine in her. After we explained that if she pressed the button the machine would put it in her arm. She held that button close and has not let it go unless she has too. This afternoon her blood pressure is about down to normal. They took the tube out of her nose that went into her stomach. And the took her catheter out. That made her feel much better. They lowered the amount of pain meds. She seems to be doing fine with that tonight. She is getting up and walking to the bathroom. She is super sore. But not crying in pain tonight. She even played a board game with her dad and I. She thought that was all kinds of fun. She had some company. And now everyone is gone for the night. So she is sound asleep again. She looks so much better tonight. She looks tired but not sick like she has looked. I think tomorrow should be a good day for us. I am hopeful. I think they will want her up and walking tomorrow. They should start her on liquids tomorrow as well. Maybe by Friday she will even be eatting something. We will see.
Ashley and I were laughing tonight because she told her that "her bum rotted so they had to take it out." LOL! She also told us that she doesn't like turtles. So she dreams that the nurses and doctor are turtles. You can tell she doesn't like them or trust them any more. They come around her and she turns to ice. She stares straight ahead and will not even acknowledge that they are there. She told me she wants out of here so she can go home and eat her food and play with her toys. I am hopeful that we will be able to do that soon!
April 7So Heidi has had a fabulous day today. She is back to her spunky self. We spent the day painting her toenails and finernails. She has went on 6 walks. Watched movies, played games, colored and drank lots of lemonade. She has been a happy girl all day long.
I have to tell you a couple of funny stories from today. This morning I got her all cleaned up and put a ponytail in her hair and curled it. The nurse came in and said, "Heidi you look so cute today!" Heidi said, "No I don't." The nurse said, "Why not?" Heidi said, " Because I'm wearing this!"(she points to her ugly blue hospital gown that had astronauts all over it.) So the nurse told her that she could put on her own pajamas today if she wanted. That made Heidi very happy!
Later that morning the nurse came in the room to shut her machine off. It had constently been going off all morning. The oxymeter on her finger needed to be changed so it was not registering on the machine, therefore making it beep. So she asked Heidi which finger she wanted it to be on. Heidi, very seriously, said,"I dont care. You can put it on my flipoff finger if you want." The nurse and I started to giggle. I had tears running down my face. I couldn't believe she just said that! The nurse said, "That would be perfect! Then you can show it to me every time I walk in the room!" I appologized to the nurse and explained to her that Heidi is 5 years old and hasn't learned to filter her thoughts before they come out of her mouth. But I have to say it was funny!
On a more serious note. The doctor visited with me this afternoon. She said that Heidi's pathology results came back. It showed alot of swelling in her bowels. Things that should not be there. She said that this appendicitis was not normal. Nothing about it was normal. Between the mass that grew on her bowel. The bowel that died and then the intussusception (One bowel sucking the other bowel in). She thinks that Heidi may have Irritable Bowel Disease. She said that the surgeries that have been done might be enough to settle it down. If not then she may need to be on medication to keep it under control. We are going to take her to see a Gastoenterologist next week. they will probably do a colonoscopy. And then we will have a followup appointment with her surgeon Dr. Renolds. Dr. Renolds is not concerned. But she does feel that this might explain the problems she has been having
April 8It is hard to believe that 2 weeks ago Heidi was in surgery. We where sitting in the waiting room unaware of what was about to transpire. It has been an emotional, stressful roller coaster. That has had good days mixed in with bad. Just crazy! Today Heidi is GREAT! She ate ice cream and chocolate pudding this afternoon. She kept saying, "mmmm this is good!" She loved every bite! She is smiling and happy today. She is still having a hard time walking. I am hoping with each passing day that gets better. But she did walk to the fish tank and back 6 times today. So she got a prize out of the prize box. She is a little trooper. The doctor is off tomorrow. So it will be pretty much the same thing for tomorrow. Sunday she will be back. And she will determine then if she can go home or needs to stay a little longer.
April 10The doctor came in and was pleased that Heidi is eatting so well and keeping everything down. So they are going to stop all her Lipids (nutrients they where giving by IV). And stop all her antibiotics. Yesterday they stopped her morphine drip. And where just giving her a miligram as needed. She has had it quit regularly today. Last night she had a complete melt down because it wore off. She was in alot of pain and discomfort. It took the nurse and I a good half an hour to calm her back down. After that I crawled back into bed. Tanner had spent the night with us. He just didn't want to leave us again. He despritely wanted to stay. So I let him. He slept in the chair with me. When I got back into bed. Tanner was laying there with tears streaming down his cheeks. I asked him if he was okay, and he just sobbed. It was really hard for him to see his little sister in so much pain. He stuck right by her side the entire day. Any thing she needed or wanted he did for her. They played game after game. He crawled in to bed with her and watched movies. Those two really missed each other. They are best friends. It is fun to watch them. So the plan for pain control is they are going to start giving her advil regularly instead of the morphin. Of course if the pain is to much they will go back to the morphin. But as long as she is on that, they wont send her home. So we may experience some withdrawls tonight. I've seen her go through it before. It's not pretty. But it is necessary.
With this being said, we are here at least 1 more night. They will come in the morning and do another blood workup. The doctor will determine then if she can go home or not.
April 11Heidi is home!!!
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