Sorry for not updating the blog! =)

Hi Everybody,

I've been doing short updates in my Facebook status, but I haven't put enough effort into actually setting up my laptop and taking the time to write an update on here.

Mia is doing better, which is wonderful! God knew she needed to be here. I had planned on going up to Sacramento with Mercedes this past Wednesday so Robert and I could work on Christmas gifts, then we'd all come back down today, but seeing that Mia wasn't doing too great last Sunday, I called him and told him not to count on me going up to our home because I had a feeling Mia was going to be sent out to the PICU this week. Two days later, she was. And I'm glad she was! She needed the extra care, the quiet, the rest, maybe not all the crazy poking, but... =/ I needed the break, too. On Sunday night, I was getting pretty stressed out. I told Robert I wish I could just go away from everything for a week. On Monday, I needed to get away, so I went to visit Mia for about an hour and a half, then I went Christmas shopping for the girls, then I took myself out for lunch. I don't think I've never really done that. It was nice that I wasn't in a rush to go anywhere... just having a slow lunch alone while reading a book - another thing I haven't done in a long time!! I have so many books I want to read, I just haven't found the time to do it yet!

Anyway... coming to the PICU is also what I needed. Knowing that I need to be with Mia and that I'm not worried about needing to rush back to Mercedes has relieved stress right there. My parents never tell me when I need to be back, I just want to be respectful of their time and want to give them their own time to do whatever they need to do. It's been nice having the break and just being able to rest here in the super quiet PICU with Mia. =)

About Mia:
Wednesday Tuesday night and Wednesday were super crazy for my poor baby girl! Dr. Smyklo really wanted to get a PICC Line in Mia, so a team came to Mia's bed on Tuesday night and poked her multiple times in both feet, legs, and her right arm trying to get the PICC in - for a little over an hour. Of course, Mia was on morphine, sedated and also paralyzed so she wouldn't move. But they still couldn't get it and they didn't want to poke her again.

Wednesday morning, Dr. Smyklo decided just to try to get a central line in, so they did the same drug routine to knock Mia out, then tried... for an hour and a half. She did get an artery line so they don't have to poke her every time they need blood, so at least that's good. =) She wasn't able to get the central line, though. A few hours later, they sent Mia down to Radiology so they could use their lighting so they could see her veins and they tried to get the PICC line in her left arm. They used contrast dye so they could see her veins better, too, and after poking her about 4 different times in her arm, they couldn't feed the PICC past her shoulder, so she never got a PICC or Central line because her veins were too tiny and didn't have one that was straight enough. While she was down in Radiology, though, they did get the CT Scan of her brain. I'll post those images in the next blog and tell a little more about it then. (Above pictures are of Mia in Radiology.)

Wednesday, after all that poking, Mia was really uncomfortable, so they sedated her just so she could relax and rest. She hasn't needed any pain medicine at all since Thursday, so that's good! =)

Dr. Silva's rotation started in the PICU now, so he's her Dr. here for the weekend. He had said she was good enough to go back yesterday, but I didn't like that idea. Brooke, Leslie and Amy (CRC nurses) came to visit on Thursday and they agreed with me and encouraged me to tell Dr. Silva that I didn't want her to leave until Monday. With all the kids just getting over the fevers that were going around at CRC, Mia definitely needs to rest here in the PICU where it's quiet.. and where there are only two patients - herself included. I think Dr. Silva is going to let us stay. He hasn't said anything otherwise. =) I went to CRC yesterday to get some socks for Mia and I talked to Jay and Audrey (both RT's) and told them of her vent settings here in the PICU and Jay doesn't want her back on how high of settings she's on! So, I know he won't let Dr. Silva bring her back until Monday either. =)

Mia has had lots of visitors, which has been wonderful! Right now it's only parents and grandparents who can visit at CRC, but as long as you're over 14 and healthy, anybody can visit at the PICU. Her extended family, especially, has loved that Mia's in the PICU so they can finally visit! =)

That's about it!

I'll keep you all posted...

Rachael <3