Daily Hope: Tuesday, January 20

Hope in her inauguration day hat

Today was a very, very big day for Hope. She had a lot of things happen, including her weekly cranial ultrasound.

Bad news first: Hope's blood cultures from the 17th ultimately did show continued infection, causing the doctors to decide to remove her central line. This has been a "semi-permanent"IV site that is located in her neck to allow her to easily receive blood products, medicine and nutrition. Having it removed was not a big deal for Hope, but it means 2 things: 1. For the next 72 hours or so, the nurses will have to use other IV sites to give Hope what she needs, likely meaning more pokes, and 2. The vein in Hope's neck that this IV was in will no longer be usable. It is possible that the surgeons will install a new central line next week.

For the good news: everything else!!! Hope had her eyes tested for the first time, and the doctors thought she was developing normally. Also, her echocardiogram came back this morning showing no signs of PDA (hole in her heart), so no heart surgery was needed! This was a surprise to the doctors, as well as for us.

Most importantly: Hope's cranial ultrasound came back showing that her damage and swelling was stable. This is wonderful news, and two weeks of stability are good all the way around. We are very, very thankful for this news, as well as for all of your prayers.

As you can see in the picture, Hope is indeed sporting her new Inaguration Day hat. She was very excited and proud today, and happy to be able to participate in the festivities.

Mommy and Daddy were so thrilled with today's news that they went out tonight to celebrate. Hope thanks everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers!!