Thoughts from Ryan Rush

Feb 24, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 24th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

Lily has had a fantastic week. She is completely free from the virus symptoms she brought home from the hospital, and the soreness from surgery seems to have passed as well.

We saw our pediatrician, Dr. Jolet, on Wednesday. Lily has actually gained two pounds since her surgery – she’s over 13 now! Those are huge steps for us.
Thanks for all the continued prayers. Every day with no events is a wonderful day, and we’re starting to string together quite a few of those.

Feb 13, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 13th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

We’ve been home since last Friday, which has been a real blessing. Lily has had an up and down week with the virus and some soreness, but is eating great. With all of the meds and Lily’s tummy troubles, sleep has been at a premium at the Rush house. At least the precious sleep we do get is in our own bed!

I’ve posted some pictures that Lana’s mom took in the ICU, not to dwell on the gory details, but to help you understand a little of what I was trying to describe. Thanks for the continued prayers – we will be seen by Dr. Jolet – our pediatrician – next week, and Dr. Wong – our local cardiologist – next month. Hopefully by then we’ll be virus free and pain free!

Feb 9, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 9th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

Lana and I just left the hospital, where Lily received a sedated echocardiogram and follow-up exam. She has just a little fluid left in her right lung, which the cardiologist said is not uncommon and should heal on its own. Most importantly, her heart is doing great, and she is cleared to go.
Lily is still dealing with a the effects of a virus probably thanks to two weeks in the hospital, but we can treat that no matter where we are (which, for now, means extra fluids and changing lots of diapers.) So at long last… we are free to come to Austin. I’m about to call our apartment people and un-extend our room.

Can’t wait to be home!

Feb 8, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 8th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

We’ve managed to keep sufficient fluids in Lily, and avoided the hospital. We really don’t want her to have another IV before we go home. The girls got to escape the apartment with their Aunt Holly today, which was a bonus. We had visions of getting to “do the town” this week while we waited on clearance to go home, but that has not been the case. Lily’s recovery has, for the most part, meant a lot of TLC and sitting around. It was kind of depressing to call the apartment people and extend our stay. We are very ready to be back home in Austin and on to the next chapter in our lives – even if it’s for a few months in between surgeries.

One thing Lana didn’t mention yesterday was that during this week’s crying spells, Lily could only be consoled by being held by her daddy. There’s something about my chest and shoulder that is just the right size for her tummy trouble, apparently, but I think I’ve got mom a little jealous!

The multitude of dirty diapers continue, but hopefully if we can make it another 24 hours, we will escape another hospital stay.

Feb 7, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 7th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

Lily seemed to have a little bit better day today. She didn’t have as many “irritable moments” but she did continue to have lots of dirty diapers – too many! We were beginning to suspect that the antibiotic she’s taking was causing her tummy to be upset.

After dinner, I [Lana] called the cardiologist on call, hoping she would tell us to skip the antibiotic in the morning and give us something different. Instead, she told us that, based on our description of what was going on, she suspected that Lily had caught a virus during her stay in the hospital, a very common occurence, especially with long stays like we had. Not exactly what we were hoping she would say. Besides the fact that Lily has a very upset stomach, abdominal cramps are an upleasant side effect of this virus. So our poor little Lily just doesn’t feel good!

Our job now is to make sure she doesn’t become dehydrated. Otherwise, Lily will have to go back into the hospital for IV fluid treatment – not a fun prospect for anyone. The doctor felt good enough about our parenting skills to let us stay home tonight, with instructions to come straight to the hospital if we felt Lily’s condition was worsening in any way.

We made the decision to extend our apartment rental through the weekend because the doctor wants us to be nearby just in case.

We would really appreciate specific prayers – no dehydration for Lily! And no pain or tummy aches. We would just love to have a very uneventful recovery. The virus puts a little kink in things but another hospital stay would just be depressing at this point.

We’ll continue to keep you updated – hopefully, there won’t be anything exciting to report.

Feb 6, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 6th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

For the most part, the days since we were released have been uneventful. However, Lily has been in some pain the past day and a half, and it’s possible that the fluid around her heart is still causing some irritation. It’s hard to see her hurting. Most of the time, she looks like every other happy little baby, but every so often we’re reminded that she just had open-heart surgery.

We spoke to the nurse today, and they will continue to monitor her closely and be ready to have her back if necessary. We are just a few blocks from the hospital if we need to be there quickly – that’s why they keep us in Houston.

The past two days, ironically, have afforded fewer moments for updates, as we’re trying to catch up on time with our older girls, and there are no nurses here to assist with Lily. We’ll do our best to keep you posted, and we’re still very grateful for your continued prayers!

Feb 4, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 4th, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

Just wanted to send out a quick update and let all of you know that WE ARE HOME!!! Well, not exactly home since we’re still in Houston but one step closer to home. We were released from the hospital around 3 PM this afternoon. Lily is taking five different medications and we’ve been given strict orders to keep her well. We have some follow up visits this week in Houston and if all goes well, we should be back in Austin by next week.

We’ll have a visit with her pediatrician, Dr. Jolet as well as her cardiologist, Dr. Wong when we return to Austin. While Lily will still have to “hibernate” for at least another six weeks, it will be great to be home. Lily is feeling good right now and seems to be so much more relaxed, comfortable, and content. It is such a blessing to see her breathing easy.

We are enjoying having all three of our girls together again! We’re looking forward to having some family time this week to make up for all the hospital time. We also have plans to make & deliver some Valentine treats for everyone at the hospital who took such good care of Lily. Since Lily’s birth, our appreciation for doctors, nurses, and clinical assistants has grown immensely. We will never take excellent medical care for granted!

We will continue to keep you posted on Lily’s progress. We can’t wait to share lots of good news with you as she walks along the road to recovery and makes great strides each day. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Feb 3, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 3rd, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

We woke up this morning to the wonderful news that Lily will be released from the hospital some time today! Everything with the heart is looking great. We got the “debrief” from the surgeon’s nurse yesterday regarding our immediate future. We have to be in Houston at least another week in case she has any complications, and they will see her a week from today to do a follow-up EKG and echocardiogram.

Once we’re back in Austin, we were told once again that Lily has to be essentially isolated for six more weeks. Another of those SHE CANNOT GET SICK orders we’ve had before. That means Lana is in hibernation for a little while longer, but she would tell you that’s a small price to pay.

We met with the head of the urology department this morning, and he confirmed that he sees very little chance the reflux will heal on its own, and sees surgery some time in the future. He also confirmed, however, that this surgery has over a 99% success rate. We will see them again when Lily turns one to discuss the next step. So all things considered, that is a prognosis we can live with.

Those of you who have had the privilege of meeting Lily in the past might not recognize all of her newfound energy. I can’t imagine how much better she must feel. Thanks again for all your prayers, and we’ll try to strike a balance between keeping you posted and keeping you “over-posted” in the coming days. We are extremely grateful to God for restoring Lily’s heart, for bringing us through these last two weeks, for providing such a wonderful medical team all the way through this process, and for friends like you who have prayed us through.

Feb 1, 2007 Update on Lily

// February 1st, 2007 // No Comments » // Lily Rush

Thanks for all the prayers and kind words through email and this web page today. Lana’s parents spent most of the day sitting with Lily and the rest of the Rush’s made an escape for several hours. The older girls really enjoyed hanging out with mom and dad at the mall, and Lana bought two pairs of shoes (why she needs new shoes right now is beyond me, but she promises me it is “therapy.”)

For Lily’s part, she had a great day, and is looking more and more like her old self. In reality, she’s a much happier and healthier model of her old self, in that her oxygen saturation is near 100% – something we never saw until this week – and her heart rate is between 90 and 130 – numbers we never came close to. So she’s not working so hard to breath, eat, or just be awake with us. What a tremendous blessing!

The doctors told us today that, if improvement continues at this rate, Lily could be out of the hospital by this weekend. After discharge, we have to stay within close proximity of the hospital for at least another week, but it still will mean more routine living, and no more waking up four times a night for blood pressures, weighing, or medication.