Bye Bye Umbilical Cord!

Umbilical Cord. Third Arm. Weird Tube Thing.  These are the names that Jamie have given her feeding tube over the last three months.  Thankfully, we are DONE with it!! Jamie got her PEG tube out this week and it seems to have been an easy transition.  I don't think she had any side effects and is still eating well.  Sometimes it takes a bit of prompting, but we don't have to keep track of the percentages anymore.  Evidently, watching the percentages of how much she ate of each meal was so that she could get off the tube.  (I didn't know that until after the tube was out!) At any rate, we are all excited about this next progression!

Jamie has had two special visitors this week! Aunt Carla came down on Saturday, and cousin Debbie is in town for a training in San Jose, and has been able to stop by and see our girl.  The last time Debbie came down was almost two months ago, and so much has changed.  The last time the Portland family saw Jamie, reality was very different.  Jamie hadn't yet started walking, and was just learning how to hold her head up.  Most of the time she was in her chair, she would rest her head in her hand, like it took too much energy just to sit up straight.  As for her speech, about 90% was jibberish, and we would all work extra hard to pick out 1 or 2 words that make sense.  Transferring in and out of her chair took two people, and she could only have a few visitors at a time.  I think she had just gotten her trach out, so she still had the opening in her neck, and was having "air leakage". (This is the more appropriate term for the farting noise coming out of her neck. :) hehe.) Carla and Debbie were both blown away by how far Jamie has coming.  Their reactions have really gotten me jazzed up, because its a nice reminder that we are still moving forward.  It is a reminder that Jamie is still healing, bit by bit.  Those baby steps really are adding up to big changes!!

Now on to business.  :) We really need everyone's prayer's right now for the next phase of Jamie's recovery.  The plan we were banking on may be falling through, so we are needing all of your prayers for wisdom and guidance.  We have been told that the residential treatment facility we were planning on transferring Jamie to is the best thing, and her team in San Jose were all in favor of it.  Now its not looking so great, but we are still just waiting to see what's best.  We need a lot of prayers to know exactly what to do and how to proceed. 

love love love you all!