Merry Christmas from CHOP!

The past week has been a blessed and busy blur. Cooking, cleaning, present wrapping, baking, laundry, and packing for a road trip and a hospital stay. We enjoyed a wonderful time with my family on the 24-26th (Christmas Eve at our house, then Christmas Day after church at Justin and Lita's house, then a surprise birthday party for Nana on the 26th on our way north). We then braved the traffic and headed to Tom's folks in New Jersey, where we left Jared and Anna with cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents; Tom, Lilly, and I departed New Jersey at 5am on the 27th for a 6:30 show time in surgery reception at CHOP.

She was in the OR for about 80-90 minutes total; then transferred to the PICU for overnight observation. While she was in surgery, Tom and I busied ourselves in the waiting area pulling together a digital photo frame filled with photos of many of Dr. Campbells' current and former patients that I had gathered via a new VEPTR facebook page to give him as a thank you from all of us. It was a wonderful distraction while she was in surgery, and we finished our project just before Dr. Campbell emerged to let us know all had gone well in the OR.

He removed the upper portion of her remaining left side VEPTR, as well as the rib-rib VEPTR on that side, in the hopes that any remaining bacteria that might have been harbored there would be removed. Surgery went well, and we were soon able to go to the PICU to be with her. She spent most of the afternoon and evening in a groggy semi-conscious daze, awakanening more fully in the evening (as I was feeling ready to crash). Her pain was managed well with morphine at first, and by late night we were able to manage the pain with oxycodone and tylenol by mouth. She got lots of IV fluids overnight as she was quite dehydrated, and by 4am-given all the sleep the day prior and the need to empty her bladder--she was pretty wide awake and hungry. After some snacks and early morning TV, she dozed back off for about an hour or so until the lab showed up for blood draw and the various residents began their rounds.

As for me, I did not sleep much at all Tuesday night, between construction noise outside our window and the inevitable bells and alarms throughout the night.

Today, Lilly continued to make great strides in her recovery---no more IV fluids or meds, no more need for pulse ox monitoring, and she even walked from our room to the play room on our floor to play for a bit. Much of the day--other than a late afternoon nap--she was alert and active, with minimal pain always managed by oral pain meds. Tonight before bed, she developed a very itchy rash under her dressings and the mesh tube that holds her dressings in place, so we added some benadryl to the mix. Hoping she's not developing an allergy to the antibiotic.

We moved downstairs to a regular floor, with a wonderful private room. No pulse ox monitors or any other type of monitor is attached to her, so I am hopeful for better sleep tonight. We are also hopeful we could be discharged as early as late tomorrow...almost certainly by Friday sometime. The infectious disease team that is offering their expertise to Dr. C feels that she doesn't need any further antibiotics upon discharge; ultimately it will be Dr. C's decision how long or whether she continues any antibiotics for the next few days or weeks.


While the timing of surgery over Christmas break eliminates any missed school and makes care for the older two a lot easier, it is a little stinky for Lilly to have to leave behind newly unwrapped gifts and toys so you can spend your Christmas vacation in a hospital room. Jared and Anna, for their part, have been having a great time in NJ...shopping with Grammy, playing with cousins Peter and Naomi, dining/movies with cousin Tanya and her new husband Jeff, and today spending the day in New York City with Uncle Rob, Aunt Wen, and cousins Keiran and Kaylla. Thank the Lord for wonderful supportive family. Grammy and Pop Pop came to spend a few hours at CHOP with us today as well, which Lilly enjoyed.

What Lilly is most looking forward to, however, is the coming weekend at Grammy and Pop Pop's,when the Cantilina clan will celebvrate Christmas a week late and exchange gifts and eat great food. SHe mentioned it to her nurses today, and one of them asked if he could come get some presents too! It has been fun to see some of our nurses from previous hospitalizations (Tom keeps asking if we can get frequent flyer miles)...

We are graeteful for wonderful care here, and are thankful for all of you reading and praying with us.

Cantilina Christmas Letter 2011

Merry Christmas 2011 and Happy 2012!  

Photo Update

Lots has been happening here between Thanksgiving and now.  I have been bad at regular updates here, so let me catch you up a little:

 A chance to catch up with dear friend, Susan House Schrock, for dinner and some shopping...so cool that we live a drivable distance from one another for the first time in many many years!

A visit from our dear friend Gracie--and a night out at the Cheesecake Factory and Jared's football game.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the fall colors this year--it has been so many years since we've lived somewhere with four seasons!  (though it doesn't quite feel like winter here yet)...

Tad nearly pulls my arm off when he sees geese or ducks swimming in our neighborhood ponds.  He wants so badly to jump in, swim to them, and retrieve them.

 Thanksgiving held a "friendship feast" at Lilly's school...

Thanksgiving dinner at Justin and Lita's house....mmmmmmm....turkey...

 And a visit to Mount Vernon with Justin and Lita's family and Nana, Pap Pap, and Uncle Doug on "Black Friday".

ooopps...back to November briefly...Lilly enjoyed having cousins Delaney and Elianna spend the night on Thanksgiving evening...while Jared and Anna stayed with Joshua and Abby

And, in December....

 

 Tom was selected for Colonel (one year "below the zone" or one year early), and will pin on his new rank in 2013.

 We visited the National Harbor with Tom's sister Judi, her husband Doug, and our niece Brittany to experience "Christmas on the Potomac"

We cound teh long-lost "Awakening" sculpture...

We went to see "ICE!" which is ice sculptures carved by artists from China.  This year's theme was "Merry Madagascar", featuring cartoon figures from the kids' movie.  I was thrilled, however, to see the final room displaying a nativity scene with the Christmas story being read:

 .Lilly loves her Brittany!

 Tom, Jared, and I spent quite a lot of time rehearsing Christmas music for the Christmas orchestra at church...

 And we've done a bit of ice skating at a local ice rink--Reston Town Center.  The girls' school had a "skate night" and Anna invited her friend, Rachel, from China, to join us. 

Anna also chose ice skating for her December family date night...fun!

 The girls and I have been doing a lot of Christmas baking...and they worked hard on chocolate covered pretzels to give to teachers and neighbors as well as our annual gingerbread nativity scene...

 And today, being the first day of Christmas break, will be filled with cleaning the house and continuing to prepare goodies for tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner and dessert!  We are excited to be hosting Nana, Pap Pap, Uncle Doug, Uncle Justin and Auntie Lita, JOshua, Abby, Delaney, and Elianna at our house for Christmas Eve.

THen Christmas Day we'll go to Justin and LIta's house after church.

Then the 26th we'll head north to New Jersey to drop off the big kiddos while Tom and I bring LIlly back down to CHOP on the 27th for surgery to--=Lord willing--finally clear her of this nasty lingering infection.

Looking ahead, January will be full with lots planned for the weekend...and we are hoping to have our Article 5 and travel approval for China prior to Chinese New Year.  Our trip to bring home Isabel could, Lord willing, be as early as early February.  Though I realize the timing (all in God's hands) could slip and it might be late February or early March before we go...  We got some new photos of her yesterday so I'll close with one of those!

I-800A Provisional Approval is in the House

After a busy day of decorating for Christmas, making grocery lists, taking the dog for a long run, preparing dinner early so it would be ready after my typical afternoon marathon in the car with the kids, and then running around from doctors to pharmacies to labs to swim team to track practice to the grocery store to home...then getting dinner on the table, eating, clearing the table, cleaning the kitchen, hanging ornaments on the tree with the kids, getting everyone tucked in, making tomorrow's lunches, and FINALLY sitting down with a cup of decaf green tea to decompress with my man, I realized I had not yet checked today's mail.

And I had a nagging feeling that I should go out in the dark to bring it in.

SO glad I did. 

There it was--the envelope from Homeland Security, containing our all-important I-800 A Provisional Approval for Isabel's immigration to the United States.  Lots of alphabet soup in the adoption world...but what this means is we are in the final stages of the adoption process before the actual travel.  Hoo--Ray!

Just scanned it in (realized after the fact that Tom was only joking when he suggested getting right onto the computer and scanning it in so it's in our agency's inbox first thing tomorrow) and e-mailed it off. 

Then I realized I had to let all of you know these details.

Now--at long last--to bed.

'night.