End of September Updates

Well lots has been going on, but at the same time it seems like very little to write about. Thankfully, life has begun to settle into a new normal.

Alegria is doing very well, and seems to be learning new things constantly. She is trying very hard to learn to sit up, but still hasn't quite managed yet. She is controlling her head much better now. She is even able to hold her head up for short periods while she is laying on her belly now! She has been able to sit/jump in her johnny jumper now and seems to enjoy that quite a bit (so does big sister Anica!) Anica thought it was a swing and tried to push Ali in it at first. Now that she understands it is for jumping, she tries to help Ali do that too. We are working on being gentle! :-)

We have had some more problems with Alegria's g-tube this month, and I was very frustrated. Again God answered my prayers for wisdom though. Sometimes (but increasingly more and more) Alegria's stoma (the area surrounding the g-tube) was leaking milk, often times so much that she would soak both her clothes and mine! This made it very difficult to keep her fed! I was very confused as sometimes her g-tube seemed too long and sometimes it seemed too short. After talking with the manufacturer and asking other parents online, the solution appeared two-fold, the most important of which was to change her g-tube out again for a smaller one, and secondly not to fill the balloon as full.

This was the first time I had ever switched out the button myself, and although I was confident I could do it, I was a bit nervous. I switched it Saturday morning, and it went very smoothly. Unlike the previous switches, this one was completely painless due to the type of g-tube we switched to last time. Praise God we have had NO MAJOR LEAKING since!!!

Tuesday we head to Ft. Wayne for Alegria's ECHO and cardiologist appointment (this was a rescheduled appointment from earlier in the month). She has not had an ECHO since April, and I am very interested to see what her heart looks like now.

Then next Monday she will have her preop appointment with the plastic surgeon as we prepare for the surgery scheduled for 10/20.

Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray
that Alegria's heart and lungs will remain strong through surgery.
that she will tolerate intubation and anesthesia much better than last time.
that she will also do well recovering and dealing with the pain and that she will have no more apnea episodes.
that her lip will heal quickly and stay free from infection.

Thank you all for your continued prayers!
Jill