Up, Up and Preparing for Away!

Maci's Nephrologist ends her rotation this week and another Nephrologist is on call beginning this weekend.  Dr. Ault is planning on bumping Maci up from 80 mLs to 90 mLs on Friday so she can go off call with a bang.  :)  Reminder that 100 mL is the goal for going home!

Rick and I will begin the 2 week training on the dialysis machine and the process of taking care of Moo at home as soon as Maci is up to 100 mLs.  **happy dance**

Another good piece of news.....I CAN be tested to see if I can give my baby a kidney!!!  All this time, we thought the blood type had to match exactly and only Rick would be tested.  Rick and Maci are both A+ and I am A-.  It's only the A that matters, not the Rh factor.....so Rick and I will both be tested when the time comes (end of this year, first of next).  Due to the difficulty of removing a kidney, I will have to lose some weight but if I can't do it for the best little thing that has ever happened in my life, then what reason would motivate me?

Maci is still doing well with taking her bottles by mouth.  If she has to have any milk tubed, it's a minimal amount. 

She is just an every day blessing to me.  I look at her and my heart feels so full.  I honestly never thought I could love her as much as I do and to love her more and more each day.  Oh, I knew I would love her A LOT but I had no idea that my heart could grow, just to hold my love and joy for this baby!!!

Maci has nurses here that have not taken care of her that come visit her and nurses that have taken care of her come to visit when they have other babies and aren't her nurse that day.  It makes my heart smile.  Her Nephrologist said today she was gorgeous.  Of course, I think I have a beautiful baby but I just love hearing other people say it....especially when they aren't family.  LOL 
Coming back from lunch today, we walked up to some nurses who were talking about a baby that was "so pretty" and one asked if Ashley was our daughter.  We politely said no and the one nurse said that the baby they were speaking of had all sorts of Alabama stuff in her room, a flag, stuffed animals.......we asked if her room was at the end of the hall and guess what, OH well yes, that's our baby but her name is Maci....Ashley is her nurse today.  :)  She was just thinking of her nurse's name instead of Maci's.
I just had to brag a little.....I can't help but be a proud Mom.

I love that she has so many people who love her, who pray for her, who pray for us, who visit her....

I feel very fortunate too that we live close to one of the best children's hospital in the nation.  U.S. News ranked LeBonheur #37 as Best Children's Hospitals in Nephrology, #25 in Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery, #28 in Pediatric Orthopedics, #29 in Orthopedics. 
There are so many parents who do not get to visit their babies as frequently as they would like because of the distance, expense of travel, having to work and who can't be here often. 

I will say that these nurses here LOVE their job and LOVE these babies.  I know every job has it's bad days but if any of Maci's nurses have had a bad day, you would never know it.  I hold MANY of these nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors in high regard.  It is going to be one JOYFUL day when we walk out the front doors of this hospital but it will sure be a bittersweet one.  As difficult as it will be for me to leave Maci on Sunday night for me to go back to work on Monday.....it will be as difficult to leave the comfort of this hospital and the company of this fantastic medical team.  I say that Rick and I are playing the lottery so we can win and buy some mega land and build houses for each one of the willing takers so that Maci can grow up close to those who took care of her for the first few months of her life and sometimes took care of her Mom and Dad too (even when they didn't know they were doing a thing to help).  We are even going to extend a new home invitation to some of those back at Methodist Germantown that we still miss boocoodles.         

To any of her "caretakers" that read this....THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  I'll owe you for eternity knowing that a mere thank you will never be enough.