7:28AM  Tia finally got some rest last night, she slept in 2 hour increments from 11:00 until 5:00.  Her nurse was very quiet each time she came in and kept the disruptions as gentle as possible.  Tia's Oxygen Saturation in her blood (O2 sat) dropped several times last night in the 80% (she was 98-100% in the ICU).  The 80's are not dangerous, however the fact that there were trends of the numbers dropping are concerning.   At 5:00 we brought her down to Radiology for a x-rays of her chest to look at her lungs.  The x-rays didn't show any fluid around her lungs, which is good, but the x-ray cannot pick up any small collapses in the lung.  The doctor that just came in said that he thinks she may be experiencing small collapses.  Tia was excited to hear that she was on TV last night and wants to see the video clip.  She tried to wake up about 20 minutes ago but she fell right back to sleep.  Poor kid is really tired
 

Meet Tia's new friend Herby the Elf, who she Skyped with today from the North Pole!  Tia got the great news that she made the NICE LIST!!
 
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11:47AM CST It has been an eventful morning!  Tia had her heart pace wires removed as well as her two chest tubes (she knows them as big straws).  It was a difficult procedure for her.  The team at Children's Medical Center did a fantastic job listening to her wishes of going slow, giving her information and stopping for breaks when she asked for them.  She has been moved to a new room on the regular Cardiac Floor instead of ICU.  Her chest x-ray showed some 'gunk' in her lungs this morning so we are going to try to get her up and walking around.  We don't want her having a repeat of the pneumonia that we know so well!  Pastor Kory from our awesome church, Argyle United Methodist Church brought Tia a prayer shawl.  We all said a prayer together asking God for a quick recovery.  Tia is resting comfortably right now with lots of pain meds on board.

 
9:55PM Tia still hasn't slept much.  This evening her nurse (with the assistance of TeamTia) took off  the dressing on her her chest incision and changed the dressing on her chest tubes.  She was very brave.  Her poor sensitive skin really bothered her in trying to get the Tegaderm off.  We have learned that the keys to a painless process involving the removal of Tagaderm is to 1)  use the pink adhesive removal stick 2) go S-L-O-W and let the adhesive removal soak in and work.  Her blood pressure has come down slightly but it is still higher than we'd like it to be.  It seems like she is responding well to the BP medication she is now on.  She isn't mobile yet, however she is breathing room air and is able to take some pills.  She still has IV's in both hands.  The antibiotic burns as it goes through the IV. It's beneficial that she has two IV's so we can switch off half-way through the treatment each time she receives the antibiotic.  She just took more pain med and she is finally sleeping.  Hopefully she will rest peacefully tonight.
 
5:41AM  Tia has been up most of the night.  She complained about pain initially, but was given morphine and strong ibuprofen.  She really really really wants to drink water.  Unfortunately, her blood pressure has been high all night and her nurse isn't comfortable letting her drink too much in case the blood pressure issue gets worse.  Sometimes high blood pressure is an indicator of pain.  Luckily, at 7 years old she can tell us if she is hurting.  She just had her third dose of morphine since she initially woke up at 11:00PM.  We're praying for comfort for Tia and that her blood pressure comes down.
 
11:21PM Tia is awake!  She opened her eyes and shook her head to respond when we asked her if she was ready to wake up.  The CVICU staff at Children's Medical Center Dallas was excellent!  Once she was fully awake, they immediately prepared to extubate her (remove the breathing tube).  Of course, she helped by following the directions they gave her and it was a piece of cake!  She really wants some water, but her tummy is not ready to accept anything and it will be very painful for her if she vomits.  So we have to wait four more hours until princess can have a beverage....here's hoping she sleeps for another four hours starting now.  We thank God for getting us through another milestone.
 
Hello Team Tia! Couple of details for you all - if you come to visit Tia, call or send her something, you need to use her full first name SANTINA HACKETT. It's a security measure at the hospital. Also, we are in the Main Hospital at Children's Medical Center Dallas (not the Pavilion Building that is the first building you see off of the highway). Take 35 to Medical Center Drive, left at the end of the ramp, through 2 sets of lights. Before the 3rd set take a left into the main entrance of the hospital. Valet parking is $5 and is worth it so you don't have to navigate the very challenging parking lots!