Surgery

Today was exhausting. Surgery lasted 9 hours in addition to pre and post-op steps. It was very tiring for Ellis and all of us in the waiting room. She came through like a champ and is resting easy this evening. Now that the mass has been removed, the surgeons believe it was a lymphatic malformation as opposed to the teratoma we were hoping for. Removing the lymphangioma was harder and there will be some extra steps to go through to get everything the way it should be. The surgeons feel like it was a successful procedure. We'll have to wait and see how she heals and her body recovers to determine the next step.
For now, we are grateful for all of our blessings and the success of the day. Thank you all for the well wishes and prayer. We know it makes a difference.

Surgery Tomorrow

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family for the calls and texts and emails of concern and support. I am feeling better each day but can't believe how much energy it takes just to do the simplest things. Ellis will have surgery Wednesday morning at 11 am, and our surgeons feel pretty good about everything. We are praying that this tumor will be the kind that can be completely removed with one surgery. It will be tested, and we will have results in a couple of weeks that will let us know if more surgeries might be needed.
We look forward to sharing pictures of our beautiful baby girl when she is recovered from her surgery. She is a pretty healthy pink and has black hair and long fingers. :)
We will continue to update as we know more. Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement. We know God has already blessed her in so many ways we can't count them all.
Jessica

Day 5

It has been a busy day for Ellis. There has been a flurry of pre-op tests and medical staff checking in on things for surgery tomorrow. She has been tough and will surely amaze us all once again. This morning's visit was fun. A few times now she has opened her eyes for us and tracked us while we spoke to her. The nurses agree that she is pretty feisty. Her hands have been more active as she reaches for more and likes to stretch.

Jess has been enjoying the first day of being out of the hospital. We are still searching for the best balance between resting, healing, and visiting the baby. There is little warning as she runs out of energy and hits the wall, but we are learning how to plan around that and it will get better.

We are settling into the Ronald McDonald House. It is a great opportunity for us and a blessing that we have such a nice place to be. It is action packed and there is always something going on. Pretty nice digs. I am sitting in a commons area and enduring my first full episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Why do kids like this? I guess I've got the next few years to ponder on that one. I'm sure I only tortured my parents with awesome entertainment and it was easier for them...

Greg

Another Good Day

It's been another good day here in Cinci. Jess continues to mend and push a little further each day walking more and doing more on her own.

It was a fun day to play with Ellis. She is still quite sedated so she won't tug at the breathing tube, but we are finding ways to interact. We spent some time helping her stretch and flex, got to change some diapers, help take a bath and change bedding. She continues to be tough and impress everyone, which is great.

Uncle Grant even called from overseas to check in on things yesterday, which was a special treat. Hopefully tomorrow is another winner. It is possible Jessica is released tomorrow or Tuesday.

Day 2!!!!

Things are looking better and better. The surgeons saw Ellis this morning and like the way things are looking. Surgery is planned for Wednesday afternoon. Jessica is mending nicely. She had the chance to take a very short walk and then another wheel chair ride to visit Ellis. We'll go again this evening after some rest and dinner for both gals. More IVs were removed today and Ellis seems to be more comfortable and happy to put her hands wherever she wants to for a change. Wednesday will be a big day, but there's a lot of time for her to heal and get stronger between now and then. It's been a nice day of good news and kind visitors from Lexington and Paducah. Lucky Us!

Ellis is here!!!

Thursday afternoon Jess complained of some sharp pains when the baby moved. We went to the hospital to check things out on our way home from work and the doctors decided it was go time.

A few quick hours later and the team was assembled and Jessica was in surgery. Jessica's folks got to Cincinnati as surgery was beginning and Mom and Ken arrived later in the evening.

Everything went as planned with no surprises. Ellis was born at 10:30 pm Thursday July 8. She weighs 7 lbs. 3 oz. and is 19 3/4" long. As of now the plan is to remove the mass from her neck some time next week. She has a little help breathing, but is big and strong and the doctors believe she can wait for surgery, which will allow her to get more stable.

Jessica and Ellis are doing great. Both are resting easy and recovering from the big day. Jessica got to see Ellis Friday evening for the first time and it was fantastic.

We've been blessed at every step along the way and are grateful.

We’re in Cincinnati and things continue to be on track. The doctors have set a date and we hope to deliver on July 19, so long as Ellis agrees to wait until then. We’ve settled into the Hope Lodge and are being taken care of by kind folks. All of today’s tests and exams let us know that things are still looking good for mom and baby. We are pleased and so very blessed.
Tomorrow we’ll venture downtown and try to work in the Cinci office. It will be nice to have a little distraction.