We really are very fortunate to live fairly close to such an incredible hospital. The whole reason for being Life Flighted to this hospital was mostly precautionary in case she might need surgery if there was an obstruction. Apparently this hospital has some of the very best surgeons for this situation and this is where we would need to be if that were the case, which thankfully it was not. Here she is all hooked up to EVERYTHING. Basically they shut sown her intestines, only allowing her IV fluids, resulting in jaundice. She had to wear this mask and be under the lights, nearly all day for 3 or 4 days.
Somehow, with being moved around so much and having tape put on for this and that, and then being removed, we noticed this smiley face on her tummy.
This was Jemma's nurse, Rondie. She took such good care of her and kept me company for many, many hours. I sort of felt like I was living there sometimes. At first it was really hard, because I didn't know where anything was or who anybody was and I was alone almost all of the first day. It all seemed a little surreal. After going back though, day after day, I met a lot of really nice people.
They ended up doing a lot of different tests and a water enema which totally helped clean her out. After that they allowed her to eat, only small amounts at first and then more later. Once she was eating and things were moving through her properly, the jaundice went away and she no longer needed the IV.
As things started getting better I felt more comfortable leaving her. Nothing fancy just out to pizza with the kids. This is THE BIGGEST pizza I have ever seen. It filled that whole box! This picture just does not do it justice. We only ate like an eighth of it and gave the rest to the college kids working behind the counter at the hotel. We stayed at the Marriott just a half a mile from the hospital. The beds are great and they allow a discount for guests with patients at the hospital, such a blessing. Our children stayed with us for 2 nights and at Derrick's bothers house for the other 3. That was a tremendous to us, I don't know what we would have done without their help. The kids actually though of this like a vacation. They played with cousins and birthday parties. Visited Temple Square and rode the Trax to the Children's Museum.
Eventually all of the cords came off. Derrick is burping her. He has always been better at that than me.
Finally, it was time to go home. Derrick and I had to pass a few tests first, like CPR and car seat safety, but after 6 long days we were definitely ready. I suppose since Jemma is our last baby, she felt like we needed to go out with a BANG! It was definitely an adventure. I'm just so grateful our sweet baby girl is healthy.
