Fabuhls: Home Again

Now this post is happier than the last one! After 15 days in the hospital, we have been released as of last week Thursday, a day after David arrived in Germany. Alexa still has a road of recovery ahead of her... each day is different: some are good and full of energy, and some are harder, with no strength and little spunk. Today, for example, she is walking around some on her own, but for some reason is unable to get up by herself... her legs just don't have the strength today to push her body up off the floor. She gets to a high squat, and then ends up disappointedly sitting back down after having exerted all the energy she has. It's really sad to look at her little arms and legs that used to be so plump with baby muscle -- she was one solid and strong little girl! Now they look and feel flabby, like an elderly person's arms ... lots of skin and no muscle to fill it out. We're not sure how much weight she lost, but thankfully she had it in order to lose it!

The doctors allowed her to go home last Thursday because she had been fever free for two or three days in a row, a sign that her body had finally gained the upper hand against the infections it had been fighting for so long. Unfortunately, a day or two after we got home, she started having a higher temperature, but after another couple of days of rest and recovery, she began to have more energy, appetite and interest in the world around her again. We know it is going to be several weeks to a month of good days and bad days, of slow recovery and building up her strength, but we are SO grateful to be home again and to have our little girl back. She was so sick, and we are grateful for a side of the medical community that we don't come into contact with very often (thankfully). Without the help of modern medicine, it is very doubtful that Alexa would have survived this.

One positive experience that came of this is that, while she had mostly given up nursing before the hospital stay, after a few days in the hospital she began really wanting the comfort and closeness of nursing again. It was a source of peace and comfort for me too, since I felt like I could actually provide something she wanted and needed, where we felt so "out of control" with regard to everything else. (What a good reminder, in a sense... when are we ever in control?!?) I was so glad that we hadn't completely severed the nursing bond yet and were able to rekindle it for all it had to offer both of us.

It is also great to finally have David over here ... six weeks of separation was long enough, but especially with all of this going on, we'd been counting the days until we could be a complete family again. He arrived last Friday night (after a two-day work related stay in England), and came straight to the hospital (see pictures below). All three girls are SO glad to have their Papa around again (Rhea said just this morning at breakfast, "I'm so happy that you're here today, Papa!"), and though Alexa is still fairly clingy and needy, she knows who her Papa is. :-) Here's to many more good days ahead!

Alexa in ICU, taking a little nap while hooked up to two chest drainage tubes, oxygen monitor, oxygen support, IV, and EKG. I could hardly get her out of bed... :-/

Patiently "suffering through" her physical therapy. (Notice both bunnies... she was frequently double-fisting her little animals during procedures.)

During a brief moment of energy she was pretending to talk to Papa on the phone

The first time in weeks when she ate a decent amount of food and actually fininshed her plate!! (Made Mama SO happy!! :-) )

Reading a book with Oma

First time out of bed in about 10 days. Playing with Mama's make-up kit. :-) (This picture shows her scrawniness... her little neck and a big, bobbly head that often seems too heavy for her to hold up.)