Francesca is home!

Francesca is 14 months today and on this Sunday afternoon we got to come home with Francesca!  After 9 long days in the hospital ... it has been quite a ride.  Francesca was released from the pediatric ICU on Thursday, and we received good news that the pneumonia had not spread, rather her scary episode was due to her airways closing up from not have had as many breathing treatments on Wednesday.  Wednesday night was the longest night of my life, but some interesting good has come from our stay there and the extra attention from the medical staff.

As a result of being in the PICU, Francesca was also given an ecocardigram, was attended by a pediatric specialist and pulmonologist the night we were admitted, and had a PT/OT consultation.  There are two concerns that have arisen: 1) the eco revealed some fluid surrounding her heart, and 2) the recurring pneumonia suggests that Francesca may be aspirating while feeding.   Although the fluid surrounding her heart is not serious, it is often an indicator of hypothyroidism, a common health concern for people with Down syndrome.  Of more concern is the recurring pneumonia for which we hope to quickly find the cause.  

The doctors at Children's have scheduled a Swallow Test for Monday to check whether Francesca is aspirating while eating/drinking.  Depending on those findings, we might undergo one or two other tests.  We also have an appointment with an endochrinologist on Tuesday regarding a probable hypothyroid diagnosis. Our hope is that we will be able to begin to resolve some of these health concerns and continue to get better.

Please continue to pray for our little angel.