Moving Towards the Exit

Today was a big day for Ginny.  You may have seen my Facebook post on how the morning started, but if you missed it, Rachel and I have been sleeping in shifts.  My shift started a little before 4 a.m.  Ginny started whispering to me at about 4:30, and kept talking (quietly) through 7 o'clock nurse's shift change. During rounds we discussed the plan for the next few days, including the plan for discharge.  Yes, I said the "D" word.  She did manage to get a little nap in before too much commotion, but she's still really tired.

All of Ginny's IV medications have been discontinued.  We've switched her to oral methadone and an oral antibiotic. We (me & her nurse Katie) pulled her PICC line this morning.  She still wasn't thrilled about anyone getting near her, especially if they were wearing scrubs.  Slowly she's started to eat, beginning with a Popsicle this morning, and (as a bribe to take her meds) some chocolate ice cream.

In the early afternoon, we got everything straightened out and headed to the 4th Floor (General Pediatrics).  It's nice down here, but we miss all our peeps in the PICU.  Ironically, we feel comfortable up there.  When we got down here, we (me & her nurse Lynsey) pulled one of Ginny's peripheral IV's so there was one less tube sticking out of her.  Now she only has the one left in her foot.  There are a lot of things that we need to do tomorrow, but if we push the issue, I think there is a possibility we could be home tomorrow night.  That being said, I'm pretty sure we will be home Sunday at the latest.
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Ginny has really perked up and is comfortably watching movies (thankfully, it's Wall-E, instead of The Little Mermaid for the 15th time today).  She still has a pretty hefty cough, but she's moving air and exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide... pretty important stuff.  In addition to the cardiology follow up, she'll start to see a pulmonologist to make sure her lungs are functioning properly and we don't have any other underlying issues, and most importantly we don't have a repeat of this episode. She is a brave kid.