Well, it took us a bit longer than we expected (we were told Ruthlande would be discharged at 8 AM, which turned into 1 PM), but Ruthlande was released from the hospital today! We’ve already had our first visit from the home health care nurse – It seems like the IV antibiotics are going to be really easy to give her – not a problem at all. I uploaded some more pictures to Snapfish (Sara – I’ll try sending more to you too), so feel free to check them out. Tonight will be Ruthlande’s first in-home bath and I’m going to try to wash and comb out that hair of hers – wish me luck – after two weeks in the hospital with nothing done to her hair, I’m going to need it! :-) I honestly think I’m more nervous about her hair care than her medical care!
Ruthlande is able to sit up with some help – she’s still having a bit of trouble holding her head up, but the doctors say her neck will get stronger. Nothing’s changed as far as the hydrocephalus is concerned – I’m just watching for any signs that she’s not tolerating it. If she doesn’t end up getting a shunt, it might be good if she could still visit those specialists that come to PaP once a year so that they can evaluate her to see if it’s getting any worse.
Ruthlande isn’t yet smiling, but she is definitely responding. Dr. Ruge says it is possible that she may have partial paralysis in the face, causing her to actually not be able to smile. This condition can sometimes be associated with spina bifida. I think this might be the case because she will sometimes do something that looks like she might be trying to smile, but it doesn’t quite come through. She is definitely playing with toys more and “talking” to them a lot – it’s really cute. I got a little bit of it on video, but not much because she clams up if she sees the camera! And she now cries when I leave the room or if I put her down after I’ve been holding her. I see this as a good sign because it shows that she cares enough to want people around her. She was SO quiet before that it was really strange. The only time she made any sort of noise at all was when she cried when we would move her or change her diaper or something. Otherwise, she would just lay in the crib, completely silent. So, I was very excited when she starting making noises when playing and was even happy when she started crying when I left her. She’s showing lots of improvement. I think she just needed to get rid of those fevers to start feeling well enough to show some personality!
So, all is well in the Hewitt household! We’re looking forward to figuring out our new daily routine and taking care of the sweet little girl who we already love!
Ruthlande is able to sit up with some help – she’s still having a bit of trouble holding her head up, but the doctors say her neck will get stronger. Nothing’s changed as far as the hydrocephalus is concerned – I’m just watching for any signs that she’s not tolerating it. If she doesn’t end up getting a shunt, it might be good if she could still visit those specialists that come to PaP once a year so that they can evaluate her to see if it’s getting any worse.
Ruthlande isn’t yet smiling, but she is definitely responding. Dr. Ruge says it is possible that she may have partial paralysis in the face, causing her to actually not be able to smile. This condition can sometimes be associated with spina bifida. I think this might be the case because she will sometimes do something that looks like she might be trying to smile, but it doesn’t quite come through. She is definitely playing with toys more and “talking” to them a lot – it’s really cute. I got a little bit of it on video, but not much because she clams up if she sees the camera! And she now cries when I leave the room or if I put her down after I’ve been holding her. I see this as a good sign because it shows that she cares enough to want people around her. She was SO quiet before that it was really strange. The only time she made any sort of noise at all was when she cried when we would move her or change her diaper or something. Otherwise, she would just lay in the crib, completely silent. So, I was very excited when she starting making noises when playing and was even happy when she started crying when I left her. She’s showing lots of improvement. I think she just needed to get rid of those fevers to start feeling well enough to show some personality!
So, all is well in the Hewitt household! We’re looking forward to figuring out our new daily routine and taking care of the sweet little girl who we already love!
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