Surprise!!

Guess what? Comfort came home today!!!!!! She had her surgery Friday and today (Tuesday) around noon they told me that everything looked really good and they were just waiting for one more x-ray and if that came out good she could go home. I WAS SHOCKED! Then I started to get a little freaked out because now she would be home with no nurses or monitors, did I forget that God Himself has sustained this little girl? What do I have to be afraid of?
So now we are at home, Comfort is happy, up and around, eating well and looks really good. Even her scar is healing so great, you can barely tell she was cut open. Praying we won't have any bumps in the road and that all will continue to go well.
I'm going to go spend time with all my kiddos!
Lanae

Out of ICU, YAY!!

We have moved to a regular room! Yesterday Comfort was 'finished' with ICU (her words). She tried to get up and leave and said 'Mom. I will not sleep here' in her cute Ghanaian accent. Once we got to the new room she was better, she just didn't want any more pokes or tubes removed. What a culture shock for her. I realized that today she has been in the hospital 8 days, so equal to the amount of time she spent at our house. Everyday I tell her she will still live at our house and mommy will be her mommy forever and she will still get to sleep in her new bed. It's been a very interesting process. Not quite by the book according to all the adoption info, but I haven't heard or read any advice on how to bring a child from a rural Ghanaian orphange to America for 8 days then put them in the hospital for heart surgery while they try to adjust to EVERYTHING being different, the food, the environment, the smells (which I think are much better here!) the people.......and on top of it getting poked and being in pain and not quite understanding the process. It's a lot for a little girl to take. I guess that's why God made her such a fighter.
We are expecting to bring her home this week, maybe even in a couple days!! WOW, isn't that amazing?? I can't even believe that the adoption is final, the kids are here, and Comfort has had her surgery and now she's almost ready to go home. YAY!!!!
I'm looking forward to finally getting back to 'normal' life. Yeah I know it will be a new normal, not quite the same as before but I also believe this is all God's plan, His timing and it will be good!
Lanae

ICU

Comfort is recovering well, she's still in ICU but they have removed her chest tube and are weaning her off some of the medications that you see in the second picture. As soon as they get her off some of the meds, she will be moved to the regular floor. She still needs prayer that her heart will function well without the medications and that she will continue to strengthen. She was in a lot of pain after surgery, but is doing better.

She has far surpassed the doctors expectations! Thank you Lord!!!

Lanae

Pre-Op

Here are some pictures of Comfort before the surgery

Day at the beach

While Mark and I were at the hospital Kelcey took the kids to the beach. Everyone seems to be adjusting well, but they all miss us!

PRAISE REPORT

Comfort went in to surgery today around 1:00 and at 4:30 the surgeon met us in the family room to give us the good news. The surgery went much better and quicker than expected. As soon as the blockage was removed from her heart the right ventricle began to work and did not need support, PRAISE GOD!!! It also reduced in size by 50% during the procedure!! Everything else looked great and everything on the monitors was also great. Really, really good news after all the 'just in case' preparations they gave us.
Comfort is still sedated and on a breathing tube until tomorrow morning, but that's much better than the original plan of possibly having her on a heart pump after surgery for days or weeks.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! I believe that God has heard and answered. He has a great plan for Comfort's life!!
Lanae

Surgery now on Friday

Comfort's surgery has been rescheduled for Friday. They needed to have a bed available for her in ICU and did not have one for Thursday so her surgery is now on Friday. Please continue to pray for her heart, specifically the right ventricle, also however God leads you to pray because He knows all the details that we don't.
Today she is doing great. The nurse showed her once how to unhook her monitor to get out of bed and use the bathroom, and she now unhooks all her wires, goes to the bathroom then gets back in bed and hooks everything back up. She's an amazing girl! And she always has a big smile for the doctors, so sweet!
Totally trusting Him for the outcome,
Lanae

Comfort update

Thank you so much for your prayers! Today Comfort was much better with no pain and was actually up talking and laughing. Yesterday really got the doctors attention though, they are very concerned and are not letting her go home until after surgery. The surgery is scheduled for Thursday, but I met with the surgeon today and that might change depending on if they have a bed available in ICU for her surgery recovery.
Our big prayer need is that her right ventricle in her heart will miraculously begin to function normally as soon as they remove her obstruction. The surgeon told me that the surgery would be relatively easy, the concern is that her right ventricle, which is now failing, will completely fail or not recover after surgery. I believe that God needs to miraculously heal that part of her heart and am praying that He will. The surgeon also said that there is no choice, she has to have surgery or she will not survive, but we knew that already it's just weird to hear the professional say it.
She is feeling good today, so we are also praying that she will continue to be pain free until the surgery.
God is good. He amazes me daily!
Lanae

Day 8

This morning we made an emergency trip to Children's Hospital. Comfort got out of bed early and was crying with chest pain, shortness of breath and drenched in sweat. The doctors at children's had just met this morning to discuss her surgery and had scheduled it for sometime within the next month, however she has now been admitted and is in ICU and they have re-scheduled her surgery for Thursday at the latest. She had 3 scary episodes while in the ER and one was right in front of the cardiologist. This really got them moving quick. Doctors and nurses ran in and did an amazing job giving her oxygen and morphine to relieve the pain. They are hoping to stabilize her and monitor her for a couple days then take her in for surgery Thursday, but are keeping a close eye on her in ICU and will take her in to emergency surgery if she continues to have problems overnight.
So as the title says......it's day 8 in the USA. That means if Comfort would have been in Ghana only 8 more days, she would have been in real trouble and probably would not have survived. The doctors described it as she has been walking a thin line balancing between doing okay and not doing okay and today she slipped over to the not doing okay side.
THE OTHER THING WE FOUND OUT TODAY IS THAT HER CONDITION IS MORE ADVANCED THAN FIRST THOUGHT. HER UPCOMING SURGERY IS VERY SERIOUS AND DIFFICULT AND RECOVERY IS EQUALLY AS DIFFICULT. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR HER SURGERY AND RECOVERY. WE BELIEVE THAT GOD PRESERVED HER LIFE WHILE IN GHANA AND WE NEED HIM TO CONTINUE TO SUSTAIN HER ALONG WITH THE EXCELLENT MEDICAL CARE THAT CHILDREN'S IS PROVIDING.

We can't begin to thank all of you for your prayers and support. It's a little overwhelming to be going through this so soon after all the adoption stuff, but we are so thankful that this happened here and not in Ghana. Comfort is so sweet and soooo funny! We love her so much and are so thankful for American medical care!
Brian and Josephine are still doing great. They love it here and are adjusting well. Today was a little scary for them, but they asked questions and were happy with the answers. They knew that Comfort would need to go to the hospital to get her heart fixed so they were expecting it and knew what was happening. They are great kids!

Lanae