Police

Glad the girls know policemen and -women are our friends.  Or... do they? :-)

Here's a quote:

Rhea on the "phone" this morning:
"Yes, hello, Mr. Policeman. Please come at once. Alexa just scratched me with my fingernails. Thank you." 
*pause* 
"But ... can you please not kill her?"

Final Doctor's Appointment

To all who continue to wonder about Alexa's improvement:
On Thursday we had a final doctor's appointment and x-ray of her lungs.  We are going home on Tuesday (WOOOHOOO!!!) :-) (26th) and wanted to make sure that she had improved enough to fly.  The doctor who met with us pulled up her x-rays from the day of discharge (2/14), and then the one from Thursday, side by side, and it was amazing how different they looked.  The one taken in February was mostly milky-white on the right side, an indication that there was still both some liquid and inflammation remaining, as well as inadequate air supply of her lung.  The new x-ray looked MUCH better, with mostly dark space on the right side like the picture of healthy lungs below shows.  As you can see, the bottom of each lung should have a tip , but even in the new x-ray Alexa's right lung still had a rounded bottom with no dark tip visible.  The doctor said that was likely either minimal fluid remaining or "organized matter" left over from the fluid... basically pus and gunk. Also, the rim on the outside edge of her right lung was slightly thicker than on her left side; more remnant from the fluid and infection. He was fairly certain that her body would take care of that over time and that she would have no long-term complications.  Praise God!  So... we are looking forward to returning home on Tuesday, reuniting with our dear Papa/husband and finding our way back into a routine.  Thankfully, my dear mother is accompanying us back on the flight and staying for two weeks to help us get over jet lag.  It would be tough without her!! :-)  So... again, thanks to you all who have been praying for Alexa and our whole family in this very unexpected turn of events, and we are so, so happy and grateful that this chapter seems to be closed, and with a happy ending.


These images are not Alexa's x-rays, but you can get an idea of what hers looked like when she had fluid build-up.  (Though, unfortunately, hers was considerably worse than the one on the top.)

Pleural effusion                                                        


Healthy lungs

Berwang II

More pics of our little ski trip. :)  If I wait too much longer, I'll be sitting in sunny TX and this will seem like it never happened!

 

David and I enjoying some kid-free time on the slopes.  Thanks one hundred MILLION, Oma and Opa!!! :D

Our little village from the lift

 Action shot of David :)

Checking in on Lucia during her class

Getting a little risky and riské on the Schlepplift. :-x

Beautiful.  No other word does it justice.  'It' being the view, the weather, the experience, the get-away, the reality of vacation with your love.  (Did this REALLY happen??!?)

How the girls unwound and recovered from their strenuous classes: Watching Tom and Jerry.  Or Popeye.

Practicing with Lucia, who had some trouble getting the plow at first.  By the end of the week, actually, on the very last day, all of a sudden it all clicked in her brain and she was going down the hill so fast that David had a hard time keeping up with her!  So fun!!  Wish we could go back for another week and connect where we left off.

More fun in the snow. (By the lighting you can tell we tended to do this sort of thing in the early evening, after David and I had already gotten in a full day of skiing, and came home to pull the kids around for a bit before dark.)

Always-crazy Rhea-Bea. :-)

Opa and Alexa on a little outing to a café in town.

Taking in a little snack and enjoying the beautiful view. ;)

At the café.  Our only treat "out" -- but that doesn't mean that we didn't feast like kings and queens in our little apartment!!  Oma and Opa always had the perfect meal ready and waiting for hungry and tired skiers. :)

They had so much fun together!

 Alexa came along to drop off Rhea at her class, and since I had my skis on I thought I'd give her a little ride.  She absolutely loved it!  Maybe by the time we can go again, she'll be old enough to have her own!

Touching base with my parents at the top of the lift...

Lucia's first ride on the lift.

 The girls each got a medal at the end of their classes, and Rhea's teacher jokingly said they didn't even have the kind of medal Rhea earned ... meaning something to the effect of her being the class "squirt". :-)  She certainly has a way of getting into people's hearts!!

 Some more quality sister time and R&R.

 Lucia on the last day.  She absolutely loved flying down the hill! :)

 And up again!  (See Papa in the background?)

Packing up to leave :( 

 Bye, wonderful house!

 Hello, being-stuck-in-the-car-for-hours-with-goofy-girls.

Can you tell Oma really loved sitting in the back seat with Rhea and Lucia? :)  Lucia was reading Mickey Mouse.  A major favorite.

Finally, #1.

#2.

Alexa was already sleeping at this point. :)

All in all, a wonderful vacation with lots of fun, fresh air, change of scenery, pace and activity.  Could've stayed in Berwang another month without getting tired of it.  And what an amazing celebration of Alexa's continuing recovery, discharge from the hospital, and regaining of strength!!  God certainly has been gracious to our family.

Skiing in Berwang!

Finally a few pictures of our little vacation in the Alps. :-)  This was in the van on the way there.  Alexa napping, and we had tied an orange string to her bunny's ear, since she kept throwing it between her seat and the door, and we couldn't reach it without unbuckling and fishing around for it.  So... the string was very helpful.  Bunny on a leash. :-)

Lucia excited that we finally crossed the border to Austria.

Alexa taking in the view from our apartment after she woke up the first morning.

The first morning: sitting in the living room on the heater vent. So glad they have each other. :-)

Our view out the kitchen window

First attempts on skis with Rhea.  We took her to her little class, and Papa and I were soaked in sweat by the time we got her dropped off.  Who knew trying to keep a 3yr old upright on skis AND make it somewhere by a certain time could be so exhausting?! :-)

Rhea getting ready for class

First day in ski school

How much of the other time was spent:  Reading Mickey Mouse with Opa. :-)

Lucia climbed the little mound of snow between our house and the neighbor's. :-)

 Alexa's first outing in Austria.  You can see: she loved it!

Again: Good thing Papa is so strong and can pull two kids up the mountain at the same time. :)

Enjoying my baby girl.

Yummy supper. :-)  (Being out in the snow makes you hungry and everything taste twice as good!)

More Mickey Mouse, this time with Oma.  And, yes, Rhea wore/wears mittens in the house, for hours on end sometimes.  :-)

Lucia's first attempts on skis.

More pictures to come.  Now it's time for bed. :-)