Month: March 2016

One update from me, Kathleen, – the backup Ikus arrived on Wednesday and we have slowly been given back all of our out-of-the-room privileges.

Below is an entry from my sister Therese, from her visit with us a week ago.

How do you tell people that your vacation at a hospital was an amazing adventure? It was more fun than my recent day trip to Disneyland! I had soooo much fun with Hana that most times I forgot that it was all consumed inside a hospital. Yes I was reminded that Hana has special needs requiring a watchful eye to make sure she does not sit down, kinking the berlin heart. But adults all over the world are watching children making sure the toddlers does not venture too close to stairs or pools of water. Of course there were times I seized Hana’s hand abruptly to prevent her from wandering more than six feet from the Ikus. But I have seen parents in public briskly grasp their child’s arm to prevent them from crossing a busy street or clutch them tightly into their arms to keep them safe. And of course most followers of this blog are aware that my last couple of hours in my visit were scary and full of panic when the Ikus stopped working. But have you seen the YouTube videos of parents who have witnessed their children in close call incidents? Just the other day a friend told a time her daughter was about to stick a finger into a socket. Hospital or not guardians of children are protecting and caring for their children. Plus Hana’s heart is sick, but her giggles and smiles could fool anyone into believing she was just another toddler learning the world around her.

Speaking of giggles…..My niece’s laughter stole my heart every time we played one of her favorite games. Hana would heave herself against a couch, race into my hugging arms, then repeat this with wild bouts of squealing. There really is nothing sweeter than embracing a little loved one! This was one of many things we did to amuse Hana while entertaining ourselves with her laughter. Do you know how amusing it is to run down a hallway wheeling a 200 lbs machine alongside your sister who is pushing her daughter on a tricycle? Then after one breathlessly lap we switched roles and did it again!?!? Us sisters were sweaty, tired, but most of all delighted that Hana enjoyed her cruise around the third floor passing by the onlookers puzzled to see such an event in a hospital! We had a playdate on the weekend with a four-year-old, two-year-old, and their mothers. Our guests hosted the first tea party for the three children. There was no tea, but some juice, mini muffins, and lots of clanking of the cups on the tiny pink saucers. The “playground” which was a slide my sister bought to amuse Hana in her room, was set up in a seating area. The four-year-old girl loved the slid, but would patiently share a turn with Hana. The shy little boy had fun being chased by his mother as the little girls rolled a ball to each other. It was so much fun Hana fell asleep almost instantly for her nap!

For Kathleen and Paul I know it is hard for them to live in a hospital and raise Hana in such an environment. But what I loved about this trip is the quality time with Hana. I did not have to exit the hospital into the real world full of errands or shopping. Instead I got to spend all of Hana’s waking moments getting to know her. I now have a better understanding why parents make such a big deal about their child’s first steps and words. I was lucky enough to witness my niece who was learning words in sign language. It truly is AMAZING to watch these little human beings think and grow! During my visit Hana started signing new words every day! Our excitement to watch her learn words was overshadowed by the pleasant thrilled look on her face that we understood her! If you didn’t pay close attention to her hands you would miss a new word she was learning! The moment literally happens in a blink of the eye! Just like children who do not articulate their words such as “Dada” for “Dad”, Hana’s sign language is not perfect enunciations of the words. Her sign for “water” is only her index finger to her chin rather than three fingers. However every time I drank my water from a bottle or the fountain she would make her sign for “water!” But she is so smart and learning so fast! She was even saying a few words and signing them too!

Speaking of…speaking and signing words, my favorite pastime with Hana involved some babbling, lots of signing, and a whole lot of smiling! On the third floor of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Easter came early for the little supergirl in homemade kimono outfits. Instead of hunting for eggs Hana searched for colorful rainbows, fluttering butterflies, and twinkling stars! Isn’t that every little girl’s dream scavenger hunt?!?! Once, sometimes twice a day we would tape pictures to the walls so Hana could literally chase rainbows! She would walk down the hallway enthusiastically babblings and laughing. Hana would eagerly say and sign words for the treasured items she found. It was incredible to watch! Staff who know Hana were excited to see her doing things that were impossible a couple of months ago. Other patients and families observed in amusement as two to three grown adults chased a toddler, rolled the Ikus, and taped drawings to windows, furniture, anything within a toddler’s reach! But all spectators could not help but smile at the girl with the pigtails!
There are always moments of reality that remind me of Hana’s delicate heart. I know Hana lives in a hospital and it waiting for a heart transplant. However I cannot help but giggle like I was five again when I replay the videos of our adventures together. During my trip to California I found my inner child not at Disneyland but with my Hana. I find myself constantly looking at the pictures from my trip filling my head with happy thoughts that could make me fly like Peter Pan. This trip to the hospital was filled with love, laughter, and a little girl that has the magic to make any visit into an amazing vacation!

Love Aunt Therese

116 days in the hospital, 97 days post-Berlin Heart, 89 days on the transplant list.

So, since they don’t want to take any chances with the backup Ikus, while we wait for a new backup Ikus, Hana can not leave the room. This has been difficult and she was pretty cranky at times today. Health wise, she is completely like she has always been.

Of course, many people stopped by to see how we were doing. We were commended for staying so calm and collected. Really, I think that’s because the initial nurse was so composed and everyone else just took her lead and knew there parts and did it. I know I’ve complained about the nurses on 3 West last year but almost all of them have been really great and yesterday they proved they can also be exceptional.

I am honestly a little embarrassed or uncomfortable by all the praise of being calm. I kind of over react to this by nearly saying, “it was no big deal.” But it was a big deal and it was handled appropriately and swiftly and confidently. I never felt like Hana was in any great danger, there was potential for danger, but again, this was eliminated by a seamless emergency response. Now, I’d love it if other people, especially nurses, could chime in on how we can show how much we appreciate what they all did. Are words enough? A thank you card? Maybe put a sign on the Hana’s door?

But anyway, we picked a good time to be stuck in the room. We are lucky that we have lots of great activities. One of my aunts sent a huge box of activities and ideas for activities. We also received a very cool “busy book” personalized and created for Hana by Little Lennon Busy Books. So, we were able to keep busy and active on the slide Hana has in her room. We also just redocorated, see the photos below. This is how we bring the outdoors in and keep from going crazy. Therese and I did a lot of work making the room look like it does!

One more quick mention of the broken Ikus – we (okay, probably just me) may have pushed it to its limit (well past its limit)! It is not meant to be plugged in and out so often. Berlin Heart has requested the exact power cord and power strip so they can try to recreate it back in Texas (where their U. S. home base is.)

First, all is well now. Today was my sister Therese’s last day here. We had a lot of fun, unfortunately her time her kind of ended on a dramatic note.

The pink Ikus has been problematic, as I’ve written previously. Today, Berlin Heart looked at the log files sent over the weekend and the assured the team that everything was working fine even though we were getting the “battery discharging” alarm. They instructed us to continue using battery power despite the alarm and to pay attention to the lights that show how much battery life is left. They said that because we plug in and out so often it is messing with the alarming system and we should actually be trying to use up the battery power before plugging back in. So, this is what we did.

We had some great scavenger hunts for butterflies and rainbows on the third floor. The nurse accompanied us to the trains on the first floor. In the late afternoon we took out the tricycle and did another scavenger hunt. The ten minute alarm sounded. Then the “discharging battery” alarm sounded and we silenced it as instructed and continued with our business but watching the battery lights closely. Then the nurse found as to accompany us and help push the Ikus. A few minutes later the Ikus started making a chirping noise. It was hard to tell where it was coming from.

The nurse said we’d better go back. We got held up by the feeding pump but we hurried back down the hall to the room. The nurse checked her pump and noticed it was not filling and emptying which means that the pump stopped. That’s right, the pump was no longer pumping Hana’s blood. The Ikus still sounded just like it always does, like an air compressor, but now it was chirping. The computer monitor no longer had a wave form showing the pumping activity.

The nurse, cool and collected, pulled out the hand pump, attached it and started pumping manually. Now, by this time another nurse or nurses had come in and out. I actually called out, “we need to turn on the backup!” One nurse monitored the filling and emptying of the pump so she could instruct faster or slower hand pumps. One nurse was starting the backup Ikus that is plugged in outside Hana’s room at all times. Another nurse started helping me get Hana hooked up to the monitor so we could see her heart rate, pulse, oxygen level, respiratory rate, blood pressure. Paul was calming Hana and we were playing the iPad.

Two fellows showed up and one took over hand pumping. The other started monitoring Hana. The attending cardiologist (and Berlin Heart expert) must have run because he seemed a bit out of breath. The nurse practitioner that specializes in the Berlin Heart showed up (the last two we had seem ten minutes prior). Someone brought the crash cart. Then, a lot of people started showing up because they got a emergency alert text (and it said we might have to be prepared for ECMO!!!! Yikes). A nurse, Doctor and fellow from the CVICU, a respiratory therapist and a bunch of other people who I don’t know all showed up.

Hana was hooked up to the backup Ikus very quickly. Everyone wanted to look at her pump to make sure there wasn’t an increase in deposits (a period of low flow can cause an increase in deposits). To make this long story short, they are going to monitor her deposits more closely overnight and we are not to unplug the backup Ikus until the new backup arrives tomorrow. The pink Ikus was able to be made into the temporary backup (with some tinkering). The people at Berlin Heart said they have never, ever heard a chirping noise, ever, so this will be a new one for them. Hana is completely fine and seemed more annoyed and maybe a bit scared by all the people in her room. I was pretty calm and not too worried because I knew, from my conversation with the cardiologist yesterday, that Hana’s heart would do just fine if the pump stopped. Still, you want what is supposed to be working to work! Paul was calm as well. Therese did great.

I have to say that our nurse was amazing. She had good sense and was poised and professional. She seemed alarmed, but not at all ruffled.

In hindsight, I wish I had requested we switch to the backup when we first started getting the dishcharge battery alarm. I think the allure of the pink Ikus clouded my judgement. If it had been a plain, boring Ikus I know I would have wanted to switch it out immediately!