Thanksgiving and Overdue updates
In support of
Riley Herman
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Riley Herman
Happy Thanksgiving from the Herman Family!
We're still at the Hospital/Ronald McDonald. It wasn't the first Thanksgiving we have spent here, and the important thing is that we're together!
The morning started with William and me heading to the hospital in time for the start of the Thanksgiving parade. Both of them were so excited to watch it from CHOP! Riley loved the balloons and waving at anyone who waved at the screen.
A huge thank you to the teachers/staff at our school for the gift basket of board games, gift cards, and well wishes. It is definitely keeping the kids entertained as we have a longer week at the hospital, and bringing those family moments that are the most important!
We had our Thanksgiving dinner at PRMH. The food was delicious, and we raised a toast for the family we wish we could be with. Then we went upstairs so the boys and Kyle could watch a movie, and since the movie was not my thing, so Mommy took a Thanksgiving nap!
When we got back to CHOP, Riley was also taking a nap. Once she was more awake, she wanted to eat, but didn't know what she wanted. Fortunately, Mommy brought a Thanksgiving tradition from home- Pumpkin dip! (iykyk) Riley willingly ate some pumpkin pie with extra pumpkin dip for dinner!
Riley has been allowed to take walks around the unit floor, but since she is on precautions, she only can do it if she's being held with both hands so she doesn't touch anything (they don't want her to get any more infections). The last time I was here, she did 2 laps and got winded. On Wednesday she did four laps with her brother, Max. On Thanksgiving she did FIVE laps- a new record! These walks are important to her building strength and healing, and its a bonus that she enjoys them so much. She now expects big applause when she passes the nurses station!
It wasn't what Thanksgiving normally looks like for us, but we made the best of the day how we could. We miss our family, and hope that we can have a big meal around the table with Riley for Christmas. Sending love to our family, friends, church family, and everyone else we couldn't spend the holiday with, all the way from Philadelphia. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Overdue Updates:
We apologize that we haven't been posting updates recently. Unfortunately, our oldest was dealing with a week-long illness with a smattering of random symptoms that we couldn't figure out until the 2nd doctor visit. Turns out it was Walking Pneumonia. This left us both dealing with a sick child (and once we had to trade), so its been a busy few weeks. Thank you to my in-laws who could keep Max so I could run to see Riley when I could. This weekend was the first time Max saw his little sister in 2 weeks, and the reunion was definitely something they both needed!
We also had a little escape on top of that- our dog, Ringo, escaped and it took a few days to find him. Thank you to our community for helping in the search, and to those who found him/kept him safe until he could be caught and brought home. It took a few days for poor Ringo to act more like himself again, but we're thankful that he's home and he got lots of spoiled yet well deserved rest time on the couch.
Riley's heart cath went well and was very informative. They discovered that her lung issue was not hypertension in her lungs, but her left heart walls are stiff from being too small, so they took her off the medicine they were giving her for the lungs. She has shown improvement since then. However, the problem now is that what used to be the smaller side of her heart still is learning how to pump larger amounts of blood, and the left side is what pumps blood to the lungs. So her lungs are getting too much fluid. So far, she does best on IV diuretics, but she can't go home on that. We're still trying to find the right mix of medication that keeps Riley in a comfortable place, but doesn't overwhelm her lungs. The answer has been go slow, give her more time. That also means "can't go home yet." But we'd rather get this sorted now than go home just to turn around. We're hoping to see some small steps of improvement over the weekend, but only time will tell.
We're still at the Hospital/Ronald McDonald. It wasn't the first Thanksgiving we have spent here, and the important thing is that we're together!
The morning started with William and me heading to the hospital in time for the start of the Thanksgiving parade. Both of them were so excited to watch it from CHOP! Riley loved the balloons and waving at anyone who waved at the screen.
A huge thank you to the teachers/staff at our school for the gift basket of board games, gift cards, and well wishes. It is definitely keeping the kids entertained as we have a longer week at the hospital, and bringing those family moments that are the most important!
We had our Thanksgiving dinner at PRMH. The food was delicious, and we raised a toast for the family we wish we could be with. Then we went upstairs so the boys and Kyle could watch a movie, and since the movie was not my thing, so Mommy took a Thanksgiving nap!
When we got back to CHOP, Riley was also taking a nap. Once she was more awake, she wanted to eat, but didn't know what she wanted. Fortunately, Mommy brought a Thanksgiving tradition from home- Pumpkin dip! (iykyk) Riley willingly ate some pumpkin pie with extra pumpkin dip for dinner!
Riley has been allowed to take walks around the unit floor, but since she is on precautions, she only can do it if she's being held with both hands so she doesn't touch anything (they don't want her to get any more infections). The last time I was here, she did 2 laps and got winded. On Wednesday she did four laps with her brother, Max. On Thanksgiving she did FIVE laps- a new record! These walks are important to her building strength and healing, and its a bonus that she enjoys them so much. She now expects big applause when she passes the nurses station!
It wasn't what Thanksgiving normally looks like for us, but we made the best of the day how we could. We miss our family, and hope that we can have a big meal around the table with Riley for Christmas. Sending love to our family, friends, church family, and everyone else we couldn't spend the holiday with, all the way from Philadelphia. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Overdue Updates:
We apologize that we haven't been posting updates recently. Unfortunately, our oldest was dealing with a week-long illness with a smattering of random symptoms that we couldn't figure out until the 2nd doctor visit. Turns out it was Walking Pneumonia. This left us both dealing with a sick child (and once we had to trade), so its been a busy few weeks. Thank you to my in-laws who could keep Max so I could run to see Riley when I could. This weekend was the first time Max saw his little sister in 2 weeks, and the reunion was definitely something they both needed!
We also had a little escape on top of that- our dog, Ringo, escaped and it took a few days to find him. Thank you to our community for helping in the search, and to those who found him/kept him safe until he could be caught and brought home. It took a few days for poor Ringo to act more like himself again, but we're thankful that he's home and he got lots of spoiled yet well deserved rest time on the couch.
Riley's heart cath went well and was very informative. They discovered that her lung issue was not hypertension in her lungs, but her left heart walls are stiff from being too small, so they took her off the medicine they were giving her for the lungs. She has shown improvement since then. However, the problem now is that what used to be the smaller side of her heart still is learning how to pump larger amounts of blood, and the left side is what pumps blood to the lungs. So her lungs are getting too much fluid. So far, she does best on IV diuretics, but she can't go home on that. We're still trying to find the right mix of medication that keeps Riley in a comfortable place, but doesn't overwhelm her lungs. The answer has been go slow, give her more time. That also means "can't go home yet." But we'd rather get this sorted now than go home just to turn around. We're hoping to see some small steps of improvement over the weekend, but only time will tell.
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Amy Faga
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