Sisters on the Move

Those of you who know Ella know that she is fairly laid back and easygoing.  She was especially so as a baby and hardly every cried.  Ariana on the other hand does not hesitate to let us know she is unhappy, uncomfortable or in pain.  She was so upset this morning they moved her into her own room today.  She is so very edematous they had to take her off the paralytics to get some of the swelling to go down by getting her to move around.  She is super swollen and can’t open her eyes or move her torso.  She is able to move her arms and legs though which will help the puffiness go away.  They gave her a few days rest from stretching after the surgery but started up again yesterday.  We’re really hoping that they’ll be able to connect the esophagus soon.

As we have been in Boston for 44 days and counting, our good friends and family that live near Chicago have taken in Ella and Matt for a couple weeks.  Matt's Aunt Debbie and Cousin Meghan and Brendan haven't met Ella yet, so this will be the first time.  Cousin Meghan also had a baby, Mason, that was born a day before Ariana, so it will be good to meet that little guy.  Our friends that we know from the Tri-Cities, Steve and Angela Barnes were gracious enough to suggest a little change of scenery might be good for everybody.  Ella is having a blast playing with their 4 year old and 19 month old and all the new toys.  Matt had his first good night of sleep in over a month which is much appreciated, Ella only woke up briefly at 2:39am but fell back to sleep fairly quickly.  More importantly, this is allowing Nina to spend her entire time and energy at the hospital with Ariana and give our little baby all the mommy love that she desperately needs right now.

A few new challenges lie ahead for Ariana but we are still confident that everything will be ok.