Alivia Update

12 days ago when Alivia was placed in my arms for the very first time, I never imagined being where we are today. So far I've spent 3 nights, by her side at CHEO in Ottawa, and we will be staying at least 1 more. As if the sleepless nights due to feedings & worry aren't long enough as it is, Jonathan can't even stay to keep me company - hospital policy.
It's amazing how much you can worry when it comes to your own child. I could never understand why mom would cry so much when I was sick, but I get it now. Seeing Alivia attached to so many different wires & machines breaks my heart. Watching them hook up her IV & take blood samples while she cries her little heart out, kills me. Nobody should ever have to watch their child go through that. And as much as it sucks, I feel like we are the lucky ones.. I look around and see all the terminally ill children here on the 4th floor, and thank the Lord that I am not facing what they, or their parents are dealing with.

On Sunday while Jonathan was preparing lunch, we noticed that Alivia's breathing was very shallow. Jon was immediately concerned and decided it was best to take her to the emergency room. When I went upstairs to get changed and to pack Alivia's diaper bag, Jonathan held Alivia to watch her closely. All of a sudden, she stopped breathing, her eyes rolled back, she went completely limp and turned blue. This lasted for around 30 seconds. Jon reacted fast by putting his cold hand on her belly and she immediatly came too again. About a minute later, it happened again. Needless to say, it didn't take us very long to get to the hospital. They took her in immediately and decided it was best for her to be seen at CHEO in Ottawa.
We got here Sunday night, and I haven't left the hospital once. Since only one parent can stay at night, Jonathan has been going to his parent's house. As if dealing with what's going on isn't enough, it's harder not having Jon around when I need him the most.
They have had a few different ideas about what may have caused these episodes, and have done countless tests on her to rule the bigger things out. So far, they have done countless blood work, she's had a CT scan, a chest Xray, a spinal tap, upper GI and today she had an EEG. She was even put on antibiotics and an IV - which had to be re-done & moved 3 times. Some of the blood work they had done on Sunday when we got here was somehow contaminated and needed to be re-done yesterday. So now those are the only results we are waiting for.
So far they have ruled out possible seizures, and with the spinal tap they ruled out possible infection in her brain. They are leaning towards thinking it was just bad reflux, and that she choked on some spit up. The Upper GI that was done yesterday was supposed to confirm that for us, however it didn't really confirm anything, which is a good thing because if it was bad reflux, then it's a sign it doesn't happen all the time. All of the other tests came back perfectly fine - which we couldn't be anymore thankful for! They are keeping her here one more night until the can confirm that there is nothing wrong with the blood they took yesterday. A few minutes ago her doctor came in and said there was no more need for the IV & antibiotics, so her nurse just came in and took the IV out of her foot! So now she is no longer hooked up to any machines, and we are so happy about that!
Hopefully all goes well with the results of the blood work and we can go home tomorrow by noon.
Even though Alivia has been through so much, she is doing really well! She is still eating extremely well, doesn't hesitate to keep me up all night, and otherwise seems perfectly healthy. We are so proud of her, and can't wait to take her home.
We want to thank everyone for the constant prayers, and encouragement through these past few days. Hopefully we will never have to go through this again!