Hospital Life isn't Glamorous

After we got Anna, she was still very sleepy.  She finally stirred and started crying, so we got her pain medication which helped her relax again.  She had 4 spots where they tried the IV (after she was asleep in surgery) and a fifth spot (her ankle) where it finally worked.  We got almost no sleep that night as the nurses came in and out.  Vital signs were to be checked every four hours, and Anna's pain med was every four hours, but it was two hours off from the scheduled vital checks.  Every time we would get  to sleep it was time for vitals or pain meds.  Anna was very difficult to hold because she was hooked up to so many different wires.  She had a catheter, the IV, and a wires to monitor oxygen, heart rate, and respirations.  She got tangled up several times, and I was really worried we would pull out the IV or the catheter.  The good thing was that she would let either Matt or me comfort her.  How far we've come since China!  Finally morning came, and the Dr made rounds.  They said they would remove the catheter and once she went potty on her own, we could go home.  We left around noon, so ready to get home.

She is hoarse from the respiratory tube used during the surgery. 

She has a incision on her waist under her ribs that is more than the two inches the Dr. had anticipated (more like three inches).  It was closed with stitches on the inside and Dermabond (glue) on the outside.  She probably won't be wearing any bikinis! Of course, Daddy says she wouldn't be anyway. :-)

She hates the pain med and spit it out this morning at 3 am when she needed it.

Overall, she is doing well for having part of a kidney removed, and we are already seeing some "quality of life" improvements from the removal of the duplicated ureter.

I have two verses that keep swirling around in my head. 

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well.  Psalms 139:13-14 (KJV)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

As I typed out the first verse, I thought about reins and I remembered somewhere being taught that reins was where we get the modern word renal (kidney).  A quick search found this:

Smith's Bible Dictionary - Reins (i.e. kidneys). In the ancient system of physiology the kidneys were believed to be the seat of desire and longing, which accounts for their often being coupled with the heart. (Psalms 7:9; 26:2; Jeremiah 11:20; 17:10), etc. http://av1611godsword.yuku.com/topic/2380

I know that without Anna's kidney issue she would not have come to us, so I found it especially touching that this verse was the one that came to my mind during all this.  I know that God made Anna just the way she is and that this was no surprise to Him.  I know that God is in control and that he has a plan for our lives and Anna's life. I don't know why this all came to be, but I trust God. 

I think often of Anna's birth parents who left a note with her at the SWI stating that they hoped she would be adopted by a good family.  I wonder if they knew she had a health problem, or if economic or social conditions caused them to give her up.  I pray for them...that they have peace and that somehow they will know that she is loved and being cared for.