Tag: TAMC

Wednesday, 16 Feb 2005:

Yesterday, Gabriella made her weekly visit to the ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) clinic at Tripler. In order to minimize Ella’s exposure to the infectious environment of the hospital, each of these visits are very brief. The ENT staff is exceptionally helpful in this regard. They whisk us into a treatment room, well away from the other patients, as soon as we arrive.

The doctor then uses a thin fiber optic scope, which is inserted into Ella’s trach tube, to view her tracheal airway. Everything checked good, so we were on our way again in less than 15 minutes.

The doctors continue to emphasize the importance of keeping Ella healthy prior to her next surgery – currently scheduled for the second week in March.

Pictured left is Lucy doing one of her favorite things – using the instant hand sanitizing gel “Purell” so her hands are not “mucky”.  All for now…

Thank you for your prayers.

Monday, 31 Jan 2005 ( 7 am ):

Last night was another quiet and restful night – no problems with her trach tube and no DeSat’s. Yesterday was moving day for little Ella and although she traveled just a short distance, her (our) quality of life improved dramatically.

Her new room, which is the same two-bed room GG stayed in during her first visit to TAMC way back in August, is much quieter than the four-bed room. This morning Ella is scheduled to have a high-resolution scan of her kidneys.

This diagnostic procedure is one of several tests performed, following her urinary tract infection, to ensure her renal system is fully functional. Thus far, all indications are that everything is normal. Our search for a home healthcare nurse continues. Please feel free to offer any suggestions or to pass our contact information on to those who may be able to help.

God bless and thank you for your prayers.

Sunday, 30 Jan 2005 ( 10 am ):

Gabriella has done well over the past two days. She is stable and appears to be well on her way to establishing a routine. Mum and Dad continue their training which will enable them to properly care for Ella’s trach tube. Both need to be completely comfortable with the procedures for removing and reinserting the trach tube, as well as how to handle unexpected situations. Thankfully, the pediatrics ward is not quite as busy as it was earlier in the week.

Ella is in a four bed room, so it can be fairly stressful when all the beds are full. Currently, she only has one roommate. Lucy is also doing well but she misses having her family together. She especially misses her little sister. As you can probably imagine we are anxious to bring Ella home as soon as it is safe to do so. Please know our family is doing well.

We are blessed to have your support and friendship.

Thank you for your prayers.

Tuesday, 31 Aug 2004

Tuesday, 31 August:

Big News # 1 Gabriella has topped the 9 pound mark and is still growing!

Big News # 2 We now have a date for Gabriella’s heart surgery at Stanford – 28 September 2004.

The surgeon who will perform the operation, Dr John Lamberti, is in Hawaii this week and we are scheduled to meet with him this Thursday. We have great faith and confidence in the Stanford medical team, as they are exceptionally skilled in this type of surgery.

Please take a moment to read the following story about an operation the Stanford team performed on a tiny baby: Packard Heart Surgeon Performs Operation on Smallest Infant.

This morning we headed to Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) to meet with Gabriella’s Cardiologist, Dr. Mahnke, regarding her elevated temperature and the associated tests. All of the tests came back negative, so it is doubtful she has an infection. Nevertheless, we continue to give her Tylenol to keep the fever in check and that seems to be working.

Thank you for your prayers.

Monday, 02 Aug 2004

Gabriella ate fairly well yesterday, finishing off the last of her 325 ml just before mid-night. As you can imagine we were a bit disappointed that she didn’t top her mark set on Saturday. This afternoon we will be heading to the hospital (TAMC – Tripler Army Medical Center) for another weigh-in and check up – we will provide an update ASAP after we return home. Also, please sign our Guest Book below – your words do wonders! All for now.

Thank you for your prayers.