Discharge Echo

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Before you can even start the process of moving towards a discharge day, you have to pass that DISCHARGE ECHO......
the one that brought me to tears and on my knees in despiration last trip.
The one that left Ivy being whisked to the OR for her 4th Mitral Valve surgery in November.
I feel almost too giddy and excited about the progress Ivy is making, the speed of her recovery, the way she is eating, the fact that she pushed a toy around the ENTIRE 41 bed unit yesterday, legs shaking with exhaustion in the end but when she got to her door she said, AGAIN and then plopped to sitting position exhausted!! How her cardiologists stops by her room and then pops back in just to peek again because he just can't beleive how good she really does look! How her nurses from ICU just can't believe the little girl they are looking at is the same one who came here with a good 5 pounds of excess fluid in her body and the same child that came out of her 5th open heart surgery in 10 months looking so lifeless.
And yet I am shaking with anxiety at the same time because I've done this before. I beleive that Ivy is doing as well as Ivy could possibly do. Left side really looking good. Right side suffering from the right coronary artery issue. We need todays echo to say that the RCA is as good as it can get in its tattered condition. That its hanging on and it is not going to stop her from coming home and living life. That is todays prayer. That the healing hands of our mighty God who made Ivy for all His glory and has brought her from near death so many times, will keep that right side well enough. Well enough to play. Well enough to be smothered with love and affection. Well enough to go to the park and swing on the swings and just be a little girl!! Well enough to learn all about Him and well enough to share her story and bring HOPE to anyone who feels they have none! That is my prayer!

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said,
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Pin It

The buffet on wheels

Pin It I'm just in awe of what is happening here!

In Ivy's heart. In my heart. In your heart. In hearts around the world. In AWE!

With an x-ray that showed no change in the air pockets from yesterday, the doctors took a close look at Ivy Joy today. No signs of distress. No change in sats. Eating like a teenage boy (non stop), awake and giving her barbie a bath in the wash tub that was supposed to be for her bath.... this little girl is amazing! She has been through so much. When the doctors doing rounds walk to her bedside to comment on her bow and her snacks and so forth she puts her head down as if they will not longer see her. I tell her to remember her manners and at least say hi. She very discreetly opens and closes her fingers without lifting her hand just to humor me. But when they walk away, head still pointed down, she says the loudest, BYE... you've ever heard from her tiny voice and they all smile and wave. She is so fierce, yet so frightened at what might be ahead.

And you know how we moms are. We get these hunches when we know somethings not quite right. And I have had way too many of  those hunches. And I am just so happy happy happy, that my hunch right now is that ALL IS WELL!!

My little girl feels good! So very good!

It took all morning, but at 2:30 it was decided that Ivy was more than ready to move to the floor! Out of ICU! And once I got her in that Go Cart... She was not getting out! I promised her it was just for rides to see babies and go out to eat! Well, that was that! Mention food..... DEAL SEALED!

While we were cruising the halls we had a special delivery from some sweet bloggy friends in Texas! Hand delivered and excitedly opened by a present loving toddler! It gets no better than this for Miss Ivy. Food Food Food!!!! She loaded it all in to her cart and we were not allowed to remove it! 

 Take a look at this spread! Fit for a princess indeed! Thank you Shari and Jane! We both felt so very loved by you today!!

Tonight the sparkle was back in Ivy's eyes! She is so much more relaxed. We have our tiny shared room now. Our room mate is an adorable 2 month old girl. Ivy had some Dora time in the room but for the most part, we spent 7 hours out walking the halls and feasting in her all you can eat, buffet on wheels. She is ready to go home and really wants no part of her new room. We take baby steps with her. What she is afraid of today, she has proven to be fearless of tomorrow! Trust 

Dr Baird will be making the decision on what to do with the chest tube tomorrow. And we continue to pray that the air pockets are smaller tomorrow. Better yet, GONE! 

We continue to work on getting Ivy's IVR therapeutic so we can get her off this Heparin pump. She starts PT here tomorrow. And we will likely be found strolling the halls with our Buffet on wheels the rest of the day! My sweet girl has earned every second of these special days! She can absolutely have whatever she wants! We will fix bad habits when we get home! Until then, the world is yours Ivy Joy. We love you baby!

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update and praise!!!

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Update

Ivy's chest is closed and looks sooooo great!!!!!!!

Her numbers remain fabulous!!!!

She is going to stay asleep and comfy until this evening.

We expect she will slowly come back to us tomorrow.

Ventilator out by Thursday night?

Her heart is already smaller, still big, but smaller!

Her liver is already functioning twice as good as before!!! 

Thank you God, bye bye heart failure!!!

Her labs and gasses all came back perfect!! 

Oh Lord, you hear the desires of our hearts and every day, you provide!

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Quiet, shhh

Pin It Just as I prayed for!!! 
It has been a quiet and completely uneventful day here in Room 9!! No activity whatsoever! So quiet and peaceful that I actually took a 1.5 hour power nap this afternoon, ordered by my fabulous nurses!!! 
Ivy's little heart is doing sensational. She is showing the doctors her determination and strong will to live once again! Both her doctors and her nurses say that there is not one thing they could expect to be better at this point! Woo hoo baby girl!!
So Im keeping it short today. Just wanted you all to know how ~our~ girl is doing. This village of prayer warriors really has become our special little big family!

Ivy will remain paralyzed and sedated until her chest gets closed. Dr Baird will not be at the hospital tomorrow and he wants to be the one to close it so that will happen first thing Tuesday morning. After that, it will be just a few more days of slowly waking her up and as soon as she is awake enough to breath, we will get that ventilator out and start our road to recovery!! I can hardly wait!!!!!

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Surgery tomorrow at 7am

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I absolutely can not wait to see this smile again!

Can you? It's contagious! 

And this sassy face?? Oh ya!

 She is readied up! Is that even a word? 

She has 3 IV's (they go bad quickly so better to get them while she is sedated) A picc line, her Art line and her IJ.  

                                               
                            We've been busy!

 Not the kind of busy we'd like to be, but ready we are!

Thank you for being patient today. Ivy and I waited patiently all day for surgery and found out around 5pm that it would not happen until tomorrow. A good nights rest for her surgeon was Gods plan all along. Mommy on the other hand had coffee at 4pm gearing up for the long night and might just be having trouble sleeping now. 

Thank you Abbey, Olivia, and Sophia for checking in on us every single day and loving our girls to pieces!! 

Thank you Annie Kate for your prayers today ~Fors God to makes Iby alls better berry soon!~
 Love you sweet girl!

Thank you for being on your knees for our girl today, regardless of the time and day, God hears our prayers and knows our hearts! 


Thank you to the absolutely amazing 
Minnesota  Team of Tweens 
that some how raised 400 dollars in the rain, in the dark, out of nowhere.... for Ivy today!  A total surprise to me and everyone I think!  The heart these girls have is just the most beautiful thing!!

Thank you Jamie, who I have never even met, who posted today that she is sewing her way to Valentines Day (our heart baby's Forever Family Day) and donating 25% to Ivy and her very expensive Air Ambulance ride to Boston! What a blessing you are Jamie!! https://www.facebook.com/KenzieNoelleDesigns?ref=stream

And thank you, to all of you, for praying circles around our little girl TOMORROW AT 7AM EST
All day, any time, let us flood the gates of heaven once again. 

Let us NOT be weary, we are full of JOY
Ivy has another chance, and for that we give thanks!!!

Put your shirts on TEAM! 

We've got to get this little girl healthy. 
She wants to play in the sand, chase a puppy, swing on a swing, ride a trike, meet Mickey Mouse, jump on a trampoline, make a mess when mommy's not looking, and all the other things that toddlers do! Another chance! Hope! Joy! Life!

Dear Lord,
This isn't easy, but tomorrow I must entrust my Hangzhou Princess in to the loving hands of her Surgeon once again 
Guide his hands please 
Fix every problem, address even the smallest concerns and let Ivy go on and then off of bypass easily 
Give me the strength and the patience to wait, and wait 
Give me the grace to trust 
Bring Ivy back to us healed, stronger than ever, alive and ready to tell her story 
We thank you for using us in ways we never imagined 
We thank you for using her in ways that are utterly amazing 
Thank you for equipping us with the strength and the armor to get through all of this
We are tired now 
We are ready to rest 
We love you always
Amen Pin It

Another Update From Boston!

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From Mary...

 Open heart surgery is on the board for tomorrow.   However, Doctor Baird has 2 other surgeries tomorrow. Small ones.  If for some reason he can't get her done tomorrow he is coming in Saturday early morning to put in this new valve. A tissue valve this time.

I have a really good feeling about this. Huge sense of peace! He's still in the miracle business folks, lets blow up our faith a notch or two and believe Ivy is going to sail through this surgery like 

nobody else could!!!!!

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ramblings from room 9

Pin It I was not going to post until tonight after Ivy was out of the cath lab. But sitting here with anticipation for what I pray will bring Hope, has left me with a need to ramble. Girls are like that. Or at least this girl is! My sweet husband is home with the precious family holding on to the same hope. And from afar, I feel so very lucky to be the family that we are. I was telling my girls earlier, that while I would not wish what we are going through on anyone, I am so grateful for who we all have become because of it. For I am sure that it for many, it feels good to be able to say, "we are so blessed by 3 healthy kids and a wonderful life and everything is just so perfect", but honestly, what would you ever gain? We have gained compassion and strength. We are enveloped in our faith and our family is closer than ever. My kids have a better relationship with their dad and their Father in heaven. We lean on each other better now. We are not afraid to ask each other for help. We find joy for all things, we know how to find joy in something as simple as a wet diaper! We know what it is like to miss each other desperately and we appreciate every moment differently now. We have seen suffering, real suffering, and we have seen pain that would break your heart. We know what love looks like in a whole new way, and no, we would never want to have life any other way. Do we wish that it was not this way? Of course, we are human, we love our darling little Ivy, we want her to be given no more of this suffering!! We beg God for this daily! But sometimes God answers our prayers differently than we expected. But he still answers. And this is our life, our family, our orchestrated by God time on earth. And at this time it doesn't involve bells and whistles, it involves a whole lot of faith, a whole lot of trust, a whole lot of hope, and a mountain of LOVE!!

Ivy Update
Ivy is in heart failure again and the large belly issues she has been dealing with is likely a result of that. The right and left ventricles have a lower function than she has ever seen. Her status was labeled critical on the consent form I just signed for the anesthesiologist due to the low cardiac function of her heart right now. She was ventilated this morning around 9am. They are performing a TEE Echo cardiogram (echo through the throat) and a heart catheterization as we speak. They are looking at the mitral valve and the right coronary artery. If there is anything they can do for the mitral valve they would need to do open heart surgery tomorrow and her surgeon is prepared for that. If there is anything they can do for the coronary artery they will do so in the cath lab today. I may update later tonight via Diana if she is still awake at that time and willing. 

Many of you have been texting emailing and FB messaging me about being here alone. I am not alone. I am wrapped in the loving arms of our father and surrounded so graciously by all of your prayers. I have a loving husband at home making sure our kids get the closest thing to normal while we go through this valley. And there is nothing that makes it easier to focus on Ivy and what we must face next through this valley than knowing all is well with the other half of my heart! We also need to remember that between the trip to China, the long PCH stay all the shorter PCH stays and the long Boston stay and a few more short PCH stays and now another Boston stay all in the course of 10 months........ My husband HAS to work so we can pay for Ivy's Cool Ranch Doritos my friends! So please don't worry about me. I am blessed with some very sweet new friends and old friends who would all be here in the drop of a hat if I just asked. And when the time comes, when I feel I am ready and the time is right, I will indeed make those calls. But for now, I am most calm and most comfortable, just being here alone. I can focus on Ivy, cling closely to God and have ZERO distractions! I am sure that all of you praying for peace for me has been a prayer God has not taken lightly. 
Our family is so blessed by my mom who will once again be flying in to help care for the crew (mostly Little Lexi) so that Daddy can go to work. After all, our hope is that Ivy is home eating her chips on her beloved couch in no time at all!!!

I asked for strength 
and God gave me difficulties and made me strong
I asked for wisdom 
and God gave me problems to solve
I asked for prosperity 
and God gave me the strength to work
I asked for courage 
and God gave me dangers to overcome
I asked for patience 
and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait on Him
I asked for Love 
and God gave me troubled people to help
I asked for favors 
and God gave me opportunities
I received nothing I wanted and received everything I needed.
My prayers have all been answered. Pin It

THIS IS IT

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There are so many pieces to the puzzle that makes up Ivy Joy's life. The daddy who said, what are we waiting for, she needs to get home. The mommy that fought the fight of her life from the second we said yes, and right until this very day and forever. The sisters and brother who gave things up, sacrificed, prayed, and loved this little girl more than life every single second. The grandma and Aunty who are different people now, more thankful, more aware, and ultimately, changed because of the head over heels love they were overcome with when they met this little girl. The friends of my own kids friends, who have been touched, changed, overwhelmed, by the life and value of this once very sick baby girl. The friend who I never met, praying with me at the wee hours of the night on the phone before we ever left for China. The friends, old and new who stepped in, offering anything they could come up with to make our decision to head to Boston, that much easier. The prayer warriors all around the world dedicating prayer after prayer after prayer to Ivy Joy while hearing God speak in thier own lives and finding new hope and stronger faith, all because God, and His works and this little girl. New families created because when we said yes, they found the faith to say yes too.  A dear friend of mine who insisted on praying for Friday discharge even though the doctors said we would be discharged by Monday and then stay in Boston a few more days. Even though we knew Friday was not an option, she continued to pray big because with God, all things are possible. She never gave up hope. All the people from family and home to China and France and all around the world, hearing over and over that we were on the road to recovery and over and over again, that we were not doing well and needed prayer yet again, they never gave up, they never lost hope, they never said it's over, and God stepped in, again! A dear friend from home who made so much of our travel arrangements for us and is here with me now, just waiting on Ivy and I hand and foot with the heart of a servant all because he fell in love with this little girl and was blown away and forever changed by the act of God and His ultimate plan for this ~once an orphan, labeled terminal, little girl~. A dear friend that I only met a week ago, who happened, not by accident, to be right here with me the moment I found out Ivy would need a 3rd open heart surgery. She became family that day as we cried together just picturing my tiny girls chest being opened once again and all the fighting, the pain, the suffering she would have to endure once again , and when the time comes, this beautiful friend of mine is having Ivy and I flown home in a private jet so that this little girl can have as little travel time as possible and be back with her family where she will blossom. The cardiologist who has built me up time and time again, always full of kind words about my heart, my soul, my parenting, my advocating, my nursing lol, my love, for this little girl. The surgeon, oh this surgeon, he is so much more than that. I cry as I type this knowing that he is the silver piece in this puzzle... God being the golden one. He looks at Ivy with these eyes that have so much compassion and he spends so much time with us, checking in on her often several times a day. But last night when he came in, still dressed in his O.R gear, it was dark in the room and Ivy was just falling asleep. He held her hand and stroked her wrist. And he told me a story. A story of a little girl who was born 13 years ago with a very complicated heart defect. And how her surgeon cut a hole in her aorta by accident as well as several other mistakes. This 13 year old girl is his daughter. His baby! She was on ECMO, she was in heart failure and at 6 months needed a heart transplant. She then went on to needing a kidney transplant by the time she was 2. His daughter. He looked at me with the kindest face and told me that he spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in the hospital, right here in my shoes! He was in med school when his little girl was born, and I am sure that his little girl is why he is a heart surgeon and why he has such a passion to bring Ivy home healed as best as her little heart can be. I did not know any of this before last night. But God did. God knew who Ivy needed and He brought me here. There are so many more pieces to this puzzle. Children all over praying and sharing Ivy's story. Having lemonade stands and praying those Huge, rock solid, big prayers with an unshakable faith in their fathers ability to do more than we could ever fathom! Nurses who have loved Ivy from head to toe every single day. Our DR family who has supported us from day one with love and prayers.  Our Ladybug family, praying fervently! Our Napa family and Vacaville family, that loves us so much and never gave up hope! My dear friend Jill who traveled to China with me and precious Maggie who is the kindest woman I know. The people who now know Christ, or have come back to Him, all because of His works through Ivy Joy. My China Heart mom family, I love you all! My church family. My precious nieces who have sent me text after text just to love on me and support me. Keith and Brandy, our dear friends in AZ who loves us so big! Nat, Chris, Laurie, Tina you are such vessels in all of this! I love you. Jane, Holly, Luciana, Paige, Annette and Alex, Melanie Mannos and family, Jilie Wingert, Kathie Hikade and lovely Sierra, Carmen Piper, Jennifer and Kim, Amy Roy, Ben and Amy, Stephanie Chu-ba, Karen McCarthy, Wendy, Beth Cario, Barb Whalen, Mary Ellen Meyer, Tonia Davis Evans, Sherri Zimmrman, Lyn Thomas, Elizabeth Rozman, Karen and Lily, Kendall, Todd, Avery and Chloe, Sharon, Sharyn and LiLi, Kelley and family, Gretchen Downey, Glenda, Penny, Susan Sims, Jo, Jen and Christian, Yvette, Georgia Grace Family, 
Thank you for your kind emails and constant prayers!! So many pieces! Too many to go on right now, but all, equally important, valued and loved! Amy Timberlake, I love so much and have loved every phone call and message! Sarah and Lee, Thank you for taking the leap too! I love you guys and cant wait for our babies to meet! I could go on forever, but I have a room to pack.
What you say???
Thats right! My buddy Diana, in Minnesota never put our mighty God in a box, she prayed big and she prayed out loud! And we are being discharged on FRIDAY!!!!!!!
Ivy is cleared to go!!!! HE Echo was great! She is eating like a football player. She is happy as can be, laughing and playing and talking and, well, eating some more! Not chocolate and chips either! Real food. Large amounts of regular, real food. Baby girl has energy to finally eat a full meal! And she is loving it! We are not at a perfect INR but her cardiologist is confident that she will be ok enough to get out of here by Friday. And they are so confident that mommy has no problem with her care that they do not even need to see us for a follow up here in Boston. We will see our new cardiologist, shortly after getting home. He is the new~ Head of Cardiology for Phoenix. He comes from CHOP! Praise the Lord. Another piece of the puzzle. We see him Tuesday. My friend Kim will be here Friday to escort us home on Saturday morning!! We will arrive at Williams Airport on Saturday around 1:30pm. I still can't believe it. I have said This Is It, over a dozen times in regards to my sweet girls healing. and here we are, finally, in God's timing..
THIS IS IT! Pin It

Another week begins

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Lots going on here in Boston!

An improved xray was the good news this afternoon!

More visitors, thank you Maggie and Kim M for your visits this weekend and your patience in allowing Ivy to decide when it was ok to get near her and interact with her. I loved watching her finally be able to have control over something. And I love how you both earned her trust by the end of the visit. It was a treat to be able to share this amazing sweet girl with the both of you. I look forward to a day when we can do it under much better circumstances.

 Pointing to the door when the unfamiliar surgical nurse came in to say hello. She did not recognize her so she said get out!

 Making a turkey with the volunteers, just like the big kids!

 Looking at pictures of our sweet friend Kim's little girl Annie.

 Modeling the adorable bunny coat that Miss Kim gave her!

 The nurse walked in as I was getting my camera out so all I got were these little pouty faces. She is such a hunny either way. But man am I ever excited to see my little flower blossom back at home. No one to be afraid of, nothing to scare her! 

Hilda, you know who I'm talking to.. Shame on you!! Please find a new hobby that does not involve my daughter or my blog. Perhaps pottery would be a good fit? I actually know an amazing Potter. Perhaps I could introduce you to Him! 
I have deleted your nasty comment and will continue to do so, so please go away. 

 The greasy hands and face are courtesy of her obsession with bacitracin! We use it on her nose as the rip from the ventilator is healing but she likes to take it and rub it all over her! And that is A ok with me!

Tomorrow is a big day. It will shape how much longer we will be here. And let me tell you...... we are really antsy to NOT be here any longer! Today is day 30 in Boston!
So we have the feeding team coming in the morning to watch her eat breakfast and drink. Then the feeding tube comes out. Next is a swallow test. Then an echo cardiogram. We specifically pray that the aspiration be gone. That the mitral valve is still doing well. That Ivy eats and drinks more with the feeding tube out. That we get the go ahead to be on a plane by Friday!!! Pin It

Little Child, Big Miracle

Pin It There is currently only one thing keeping us from going home!

Ivy can not drink and now it is becoming difficult for her to eat wet foods too. If it's not dry and crunchy, she cries when she tries to eat.

She had a test done yesterday where they put a flashlight down her nose and throat. They did this bedside and our precious girl lay there as still as a rock and waited. I am so proud of the incredible patience and tolerance of this little girl! She is just amazing!

What they discovered was a damaged vocal chord on her left side. It opens and stays open, thus allowing fluid, food, air to leak and cause her to aspirate.

So today at 1:30 pm she is having surgery. She will be ventilated and she will be sedated. This makes me so sad, but this is the ticket to getting out of here. They will inject a foam that will fill the opening. The hope is that it will fill the gap while it heals and allow Ivy to swallow and breathe without pain or aspiration. 

And if all goes well, we hope to be home by the end of next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im secretly hoping for midweek!!!!!!!!!!!! I miss my home!!! And I want to see my baby girl blossom with her family!!!!

We have had a wonderful week! We've had many visitors and Ivy made a new friend who is also from China. (Her brother is from the same orphanage as Ivy!) They were here for a cath and we were blessed with a new friendship! On the eve of my birthday a very large and special package arrived from my mom. My mom sent my sister to Boston!!!! She will be with me until Saturday morning! What a huge blessing!!! Thank you mom!

We are finding a little more of Ivy's joy every day!

 She has been showered with packages and special deliveries every day! We can not thank you enough for helping to make every day more tolerable. The delivery people know her by name now. 

 Thank you for all the beautiful edible arrangement (no card so we don't know who to thank), flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, cards, chocolates, Ivy Joy necklace, trinkets, stickers, snacks, care packages and fun things!!!!

Ivy in her Joy shirt!!

We have been here for 2 open heart surgeries, an earthquake, a hurricane and now snow!!! We are ready to go home!!!! 

 Having the freedom to walk around the hospital, go to lunch together, explore a little, is the best medicine for Ivy!

What One days mail looks like!

Is this not the sweetest thing??? We love all the kids who are praying and thinking about Ivy across the globe. Wouldn't a reunion be amazing??? A planned meet and greet when Ivy is well!! A chance to hug and thank all of you! And a chance for all of you to see sweetness in person? Thats my dream :)

Ha, her hand looks a bit HUGE in this picture but I had to post it since she was snuggling mommy in it :)

By faith, I will look forward to telling you all tonight that she is OFF the vent, had NO problem waking up from sedation, and IS drinking without aspirating!!!!  

Love you all!!!!!

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Ask, and you shall receive!

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Anything you ask for in prayer!

 As you can see, she has lost quite a few accessories in one short morning! What a day it has been!!!
I walked in to her room as usual this morning, but later than normal. I overslept and did not get to her room until 8am.
I did what I always do. Dropped my bag off. Washed my hands. Turned on the lights. Walked to the bed and kissed her head, held her hands and said good morning tiny miracle!
And she opened her eyes!! She looked at me for a few seconds, then around the room, then back at me. I began to talk to her. She shook her head NO to everything I said. You've been such a sleepy girl. NO
You are my brave little hero. NO
I love you so much and I missed you so much. NO
Laughing, crying, just overjoyed, I squeezed my tiny little miracle as long as I could and called the nurse.
Things began to move quickly. Ivy pulled off the Bi Pap mask. She was very graceful about it. It was big, annoying and oh so unsightly, so she just carefully removed it. Standing in awe as the doctors and other nurses came around to see Sleeping beauty had come back to us, her oxygen saturation only dropped to the high 80's, low 90's. So Respiratory came and skipped right passed the High Flow one would normally step down to, and went right to regular oxygen. They started her at 2 liters and then wanted to see just how amazing she was, dropped it to 1 liter and she remained at 99-100% saturation! Cheers began and cheers continue!!!
Next she had some lines removed. She had not needed them for a while but since no one really understood why she still was not waking up, they left them in, just in case. Out they came!!
She asked for water so we tried some. She drank way too much way too fast and choked a little. She asked for more so we took it slower. I asked her if she wanted to eat and she nodded NO.
She had a bath and got fresh clothes and even went for a ride in the go cart. She was not impressed with her walk, or all the people saying hello or even her mommy to be honest. She is not happy about all the junk on her arms and face and she is still in quite a fog. She knows what is going on basically, but she seems very dizzy still and very very tired obviously. We had a good amount of awake time, took a nap and then mommy got hold her baby girl!!

She had been rejecting me all day (totally a normal thing) and nodding NO when asked if she wanted me to hold her. But suddenly she decided to forgive me for all of this and she gave me some holding time. 

We ordered her some mac n cheese upon her request and she ate a great amount of it. She usually takes forever to chew and eat but today she just gobbled it up! She has a working heart now!! Lot's of things will come easier to her now!

 Her little body is so tiny and her legs have hanging skin from all the lack of muscle and fat. I have no doubt that will be a thing of the past in no time!~

The fluffy socks were requested by the nurses who always stop in her room to see her. We were happy to oblige!

 This picture gives you an idea of just what a bitty thing she is. My hand size in gloves is small... He feet are just adorable! Sorry for all the pictures but remember this is my documentation of the life of the girls and all that Ivy has been through and overcome. I think she should see this some day :)

It was a very busy morning so mommy put the do not disturb sign on the door and closed it! Leave this baby alone!

Thank you Team Ivy for asking!!! We indeed have received!!

Thank you Father in heaven for this family I am so unworthy of.  Thank you for carrying me through every day of this beautiful journey! Amen Pin It