The Mitchells

It's Tuesday morning after Memorial Day weekend. Joe and I spent the entire weekend, literally, at the hospital. Since he usually only gets to see Ella from 8p-10p during the week it was nice to have our family together and hanging out, eventhough it is at the hospital.

• Ella had a spinal tap/lumbar puncutre last Friday. The results came back negative for the infection (PRAISE GOD!!) but there is still some "goo" left over and more white blood cells and protein than they would like...SO, we are doing the antibiotics for another week. This also means she'll probably have another spinal tap towards the end of this week, but if it's super clear then we'll be off antibiotics by next Sunday.
• Also, thanks to your prayers Ella is starting to take a pacifier. It's a VERY SLOW process and pretty frustrating at times, but she is sucking 3-4 times in a row, which is a start. We do oral stimulation every day to try and work on her reconnecting that automatic reflex.
• Her arms and legs seem to be more reactive and reflexes are getting better. They have been weening her off meds that sedate her so she's becoming a lot more alert.
• Ella has a spot on her left wrist that is concerning Joe and I so we are having the doctors take a look at it today, I'll update you if there is anything to report.
• Please pray for her left hand, sounds funny, but she holds her thumb inside when she makes a fist...so they have this thing called a "thumb loop" to keep it from being inside. The thumb being inside the fist is a sign of neurological damage...which is concerning.
• Oh, and we got to give Ella a bath this past Saturday and we get to do it again tonight...Joe did most of the work and he's doing GREAT as a dad!!
• Also, she weighed in at 6 lbs, 15 oz...so she's doing really good in her weight.

People have asked about time frames for everything, and when she'll be home...HA, ME TOO!!! The doctors always give the longest date out...she'll be on meds at LEAST until next Sunday. She also needs to start to feed by at least a bottle (and hopefully breast) so that is our prayer right now.

Thank you to the people who have commented on the site, sent emails, prayed, and sent letters. It has been amazing to watch God work in our friends and family. We love each of you, even those of you who we have not met and may never meet...thank you for praying for our little girl and our family.

Here are some pictures (the fun part!!):