Life as a Leach

...but have your tissues handy.  Oh my goodness. In a nutshell, this couple was dating when the man got in a car accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.  His girlfriend was faithful and they got married in 2010.  Wow.  What faith this girl has.  I love this video!

Last Saturday, we changed Abby's trach just like we do every Saturday.  This time, she just kept coughing after we finished and couldn't stop.  Her face turned a dark shade of purple and we quickly suctioned her to get whatever was in there out.  That didn't seem to help, but then I noticed that her trach ties were really loose.  For whatever reason, now that the tube that goes inside is longer, it really bothers her if the trach ties are loose and the trach can shift a bit.  We tightened the ties and she finally settled down.  Just to be safe, I hooked up a nebulizer treatment to give her some Albuterol (the equivalent of a fast-acting inhaler).  Once things calmed down a bit and Abby started breathing normally again, Matt and I did our typical post-semi-emergency ritual and collapsed in a heap on the floor.  This kind of thing hadn't happened in a while and it started without warning, so it certainly got our heart pumping.  The ...

During a recent conversation, I was explaining just how rare Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome is.  In reply, the person I was talking to commented sarcastically: And you're the chosen ones! I paused for a moment before answering very sincerely, yes, we are. We were chosen to be Abby's parents by a God who doesn't let anything happen by accident. Before I was born, I was chosen to be the mom to a boy who is always ready to cuddle and a girl whose smile just melts my heart. Before Matt was born, he was chosen to be the dad to a boy who loves to wrestle and a girl who's got him wrapped around her finger. Matt and I had a conversation the other night reflecting on how God had been preparing us to be Abby's parents for many years.  I recalled being an assistant to a girl in high school who had a trach.  Working with her was my first experience in seeing how a trach doesn't make people different.  Matt commented on how he has always had a real sensitivit...

...I gave birth to a beautiful, dark haired 4 lb baby girl named Abigail Elizabeth Joy.  Now that I have had processing time, I want to relive that night a bit. I remember that she flew out so fast (because of all of the extra fluid) that the doctor nearly dropped her!  I'm glad I didn't actually see it, because I would have been totally freaked out by that! I remember that I didn't hear her cry, and that worried me immediately.  Everyone wants to hear the baby cry. I remember that we were unable to see her even for a second before the NICU staff wisked her away.  While we knew that her care was of utmost importance, it was difficult not to be able to bond with your daughter like under normal circumstances. I remember the kind anesthesiologist being the one to give us occasional updates on her condition while they worked on her in the room across the hall.  He was the only one who was able to give us any information, and it was so helpful. I remember ...