Part 4 at last. Soooo... hmmm... where was I? O yeah...
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9AM
Belle and I would alternate with praying in the Spirit or singing worship songs. We didn't know what else to do. We started getting texts from people, asking for updates of Hannah's condition. "Sorry, no word yet."
After what seemed like forever, the doors opened and Dra. Arceo came out.
"Great news. Hannah's heart's beating again!"
We were so relieved to hear those words. Dra. Arceo then began to explain that they're prepping Hannah to be brought back into the operating room to find and address the bleeding problem. We were given several forms to sign, which we immediately signed. Dra. Arceo described what needed to happen, that Dr. Nicolas was going to look for the bleeders, and that he had to close the holes.
After we signed the papers, they wheeled Hannah into the operating room. We were asked to go back to our rooms and to await an update.
"Mommy, Daddy, please keep on praying for Hannah and that we find what's causing the bleeding..."
And pray we did. Thank you again for everyone who prayed with us for our baby.
12NN
I think it was around lunch time that we got a call from the nurse that Hannah was already out of the operating room, and that they were able to successfully find and close all the bleeders.
We were so happy and asked when we could see Hannah again. We were informed that we could see Hannah again later that day, and that our pedia cardio Dr. Jonas will be coming to our room to explain everything that happened in a few hours.
Family and friends came by the room to say hi, pray with us, try to donate blood, and some even brought us edible food. (I now understand that food, real home-cooked food is the best gift to bring to people in the hospital. Hospital food is too... healthy for my taste buds. And junk food, you can only eat oh so much junk food.)
3PM
Dr. Jonas came by our room at around 3PM to give us an update on Hannah's condition. That's when we found out that Hannah's heart wasn't beating for 14 minutes! Good thing they were able to track that her blood pressure was dropping and alerted Dra. Arceo and Dr. Nicholas about the situation early so they were able to respond to the crisis immediately.
After Hannah's heart started beating again, Doc Randy wheeled her in to the operating room to find and seal the bleeders. They found it, and shortly after they closed her chest cavity area.
Doc Jonas also explained to us that they will be keeping Hannah for a few a short while in the recovery area for observation, then when everyone (the team of doctors) agrees, Hannah would be brought to the pedia ICU for the duration of her recovery. He then cautioned us that the operation was 50%, the rest is now up to Hannah, and how she responds to the procedure and the recovery period. He also coined the term "Hannah Paquiao", dahil (1) pinakyaw nya ang mga heart diseases, and (2) because she was a fighter.
We later found out that Dr. Nicholas never even left the operating area, but had opted to sleep in the doctor's locker area to try to recoup some strength after the very tiring and very long first operation. If he went home, he wouldn't have been able to be there to handle the situation. Literally handle it, as what i heard was he had to manually massage Hannah's heart. (Thanks again, Doc Randy!)
From this point the dates and times are pretty blurry for me, i kinda lost track of time. What I remember was that we were able to see Hannah again a few hours after Doc Jonas' update, then they were able to get her to the ICU. Hannah recovered steadily, and the doctors were happy with her progress.
Two incidents stand out in my memory: when Hannah experienced slight seizure-looking twitches, and when she turned blue because she stopped breathing and had to get resuscitated.
First, the time when she stopped breathing. Because of everything Hannah went through, her left lung was collapsed, and there was fluids in her lungs. She was undergoing therapy to help her with her lung situation. So every now and then, the nurses would have to move Hannah and roll her to her side, or prop her up on a pillow, to help her breathing. One time, Belle and the nurse were moving Hannah to a better position. Just as they started moving her, we noticed Hannah's lips turn blue. Shortly after that, we heard the machine start to beep. Hannah wasn't breathing! Wow, I'm telling you, Belle and I were soooooo freaked!
The nurse calmly took over and called the intern in charge. Our ICU doctor, Doc Daisy, had just gone on their much-deserved break but had to be beeped to come back ASAP. She and the other doctor who was assigned to the ICU came running back and the ICU team was able to resuscitate Hannah, and stabilize her breathing and heart rate.
I remember we were crying in the corridor while the doctors and nurses were rushing in and out of the ICU room. That was such a traumatic experience for us, especially since we were right there when it happened! We literally watched her turn blue! I don't think I even had the presence of mind to text a quick prayer request, I was so panicked. Good thing the doctors in PGH PICU are the best. Doc Daisy later went up to us to explain what happened, then after everything settled down, we were joking around about how Hannah didn't like the doctors to take their break. (I found that laughter, humorous banter, silly antics and very corny jokes in times like are very much needed.) So a few hours later, Belle and I had pizza delivered, and treated the doctors to some much needed food (which they wouldn't accept, but we forced them to, they were so principled, I love it.)
And finally, the seizures. When we were in ICU, the doctors noted that Hannah's face, left hand and leg started twitching. After tests and observations, the possibility of a stroke was one of the viable options to the cause. Since her heart already stopped beating for around 14 minutes, we were already praying against any brain damage. So we intensified our praying for her brain. When Hannah was a bit more stable, we wheeled her in for an MRI. She was also on the medicine normally given to stroke patients.
Our neurologist, Dra. Sanchez, checked on her very regularly, but since it was going to take time before we could determine the extent of the problem, we met with her a month after we went home for follow-up check-ups for Hannah. By the third check-up, Dra. Sanchez was very pleased with Hannah's motor skills, responsiveness, and growth! We're ruling out any brain damage! The way I see it, God went to great pains to heal her and keep her alive, iiwan pa ba Niya yung problema sa utak?
We were able to bring Hannah home on April 30, 2007. I remember it so clearly because it was labor day the next day, a holiday. I can't tell you how emotional it was for us to come back to our house with Hannah.
Hannah's been recovering steadily, and our doctors are very satisfied with her progress. For those who've asked about whether she needs some kind of maintenance, the answer is no. She's just like a normal child. Probably healthier, our doc said, since she has regular checkups with her cardio.
Again, our deep gratitude and appreciation to everyone who stood by us, supported us, visited us, prayed with us, helped us out in small and very big ways. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. May God return to you a hundred fold what you've sown in our lives.
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there, finally finished it. (hehehe, actually the lack of detail in the last post is indicative that i could no longer remember most of it.) hope you're encouraged to keep holding to God in the midst of adversity and seemingly impossible situations. God is faithful. Nothing's impossible for Him. And He's a good Father that looks after His children.
