Jenna Comes Home
Finally, after 3 surgeries and over seven weeks in the ICN, Jenna was able to come home. It was both a happy and frightening day for our family. Jenna could only eat by a G-tube, meaning I had to learn how to feed and change the button that went into her tummy. Jenna was also having some breathing problems due to her narrow trachea, so her positioning was very important. We also would have to watch her like a hawk and keep her isolated indefinitely to keep her from any outside germs.
Life was not at all easy with Jenna, yet it was often rewarding for me. Being able to introduce Jenna to her big brother for the first time & watching Bryce's face light up when he would come in and yell "baby, baby" is something I won't forget. Getting to hold, dress, sing to and play with Jenna in our home was priceless. Watching her grab onto her gym toys with her two fingers for the first time was enough to bring on tears. She had such a brave and unbreakable spirit and such a content nature to deal with all the things she had to deal with in her life. Jenna's time at home was short, however. She was never home for more than 3 weeks at a time before respiratory distress or failure necessitated another hospital admission. Resuscitation efforts were even necessary once.
By June, Jenna's condition was clearly deteriorating. I could see that she was dying before our very eyes and none of her doctors seemed to be able to do anything about it. I didn't know how much longer I could watch her fade away, her breathing becoming more labored each day. In tears and despair I prayed to the Lord for help because the burden was becoming more than what we could bear. Very soon He answered that prayer though not in the way we had expected.
