Because of Rebekah's fever, she was not allowed to leave her room or go to the playroom today. We have spent a lot of today rocking in the rocking chair, watching Baby Einstein DVD's and baby sign language DVD's. Those are Rebekah's favorites! We were also able to bring some toys back to the room from the playroom, so we've been playing with Mega blocks in our room.
Overall Rebekah has had a good day despite the fevers. She has periods of fussiness and times when she very obviously does not feel good, but she has also had brief times of playing and being cute! After days of observing doctors and nurses and Mommy and Daddy washing their hands, Rebekah has now learned the sign for handwashing. It is really cute to see her laying in bed asking to wash her hands! :) We also "bent" the rules a little today and called the boys from Rebekah's room. Technically we should leave the patient area to make calls, but the boys really enjoyed talking to Rebekah. She held the phone a long time listening to them talk, and she kept waving every time we told her to tell the boys "hi." I think she misses those boys - I know Drew and I do!
I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog before, but a day or so after surgery, I noticed a large (maybe 2-inch) area behind Rebekah's left ear at her hairline. It is quite red and swollen. When I first brought it to Dr. Graham's attention, he felt that Rebekah may have been laying on something during the 8+ hours she was in the OR that caused a reaction with her skin. However, the area has not improved any in over a week. When I asked the resident about it this yesterday, he didn't really know what to think of it. After doing some thinking and researching, this morning he told me that he feels maybe Rebekah had some blood pool there during surgery and formed a clot that will take weeks to dissipate. He gave me a few signs to watch for (growing larger, becoming redder, fluid-filled) and said that if any of those things occurred, that they would want to know immediately. Otherwise, he said we pretty much just wait for her body to break it down over time. Has anyone else heard of this? I can't upload a picture right now to show you what it looks like (I couldn't get a clear/not blurry picture of it with my cell phone.). If we get home and it still looks like this, I will upload a picture so you all can see it. I know for sure that it was not there prior to surgery, and I know for sure I noticed it at least the Saturday evening after surgery.
So the plan is to stay put until this fever gets figured out. I am happy to say that Rebekah's lungs are much better-sounding today. We can hear (or not hear!) the lack of "junk" rattling around in her chest when she breathes. Oh, and if you missed the earlier picture, Rebekah is no longer on oxygen!!! Our night nurse was able to wean Rebekah down during the night, and we have not had to turn it back on today. There have been a few times when Rebekah's sats dip into the 70's, but she is always able to bring it right back up within a minute or two. The only concern would be is if it took her a long time to get her sats back up into the 90's. We are thrilled at the thought of going home without oxygen!!
Nancy
