Sunday Afternoon

Movin' on up...

Rana was moved upstairs to a regular children's unit today.

She seemed to be happy with her new surroundings...

الحمدلله اليوم رنا خرجت من العناية المركزة

وكان مزاجها طيب الحمدلله بعد مارضعت الحليب ولعبنا معاها أكثر من ساعة

الان اتكلمنا مع الدكتور وقال انو حيسولها اشعة للدماغ يوم الخميس وممكن بعدها تروح

معانا البيت على نهاية الاسبوع ان شاء الله

لاتنسونا من الدعاء

Routine

Rana has been in the intensive care unit for two weeks now.

Because fewer tests have been conducted this week, she seems to be establishing a good routine - waking, sleeping, and eating in fairly regular intervals. We're hoping it stays that way when she comes home!

Change is in the air...

One of Rana's doctors informed us today that most of her test results are in. The good news is that they have ruled out all sorts of illnesses. The bad news is that we still don't know what caused Rana's blood to clot--and we may never figure it out!

For now, we continue to treat her symptoms and hope that healing continues. Rana's anti-seizure meds and blood thinners are being altered so that we can start to talk about taking her home (no more IV's!). She will likely remain in the ICU for at least the rest of this week and then probably spend some time in a regular children's unit, but we should be able to take her home sometime in the near future!!

Two Weeks Old!

While she is pretty big for her age, some of the

hospital staff seem to have over-estimated Rana's size,

putting her in a diaper that was three sizes too big...

...and giving her an enormous bottle!

No wonder she got the hiccups! ;)

An Encouraging Afternoon

Rana woke up for and was quite alert

during our visit this afternoon.

Days like this are very encouraging...

Sleeping Beauty

Rana pretty much just slept the day away today.

We were glad to see her dressed in real clothes again,

but had to laugh at her missed-matched outfit!

Another Clot...

Unfortunately, Rana's MRI showed a second clotted blood vessel in her brain. It is not clear when or how this second episode occurred, especially since she has been being monitored constantly for over a week. The doctors have been running a score of tests,

searching for the cause.

We were still able to take her out of her incubator, but she is receiving more meds and is therefore pretty groggy. We're hoping the next few days bring some clarity...

Bright-Eyed

We had another lovely afternoon with Rana.

She now stays awake for extended periods of time.

Some of her wires have been removed since she has

been so stable, so it is easier to take her out of her incubator.

Tomorrow will be a telling day. Rana is going to be transported to another hospital for an MRI of her head and neck. It has been a week since her last MRI, which was how her stroke was diagnosed. Other tests have shown that circulation has improved in her brain, so we are hoping the MRI provides a more detailed look at the affected areas.

One Week Old!

We were able to cuddle with Rana again this afternoon

and thoroughly enjoyed feeding her a bottle.

She definitely enjoyed the bonding time, as she smiled in her sleep.

Sweet dreams, Rana!

Good Day

Rana was awake for the first time during our visit today!

She is stable and not twitching much anymore.

We were glad to watch her gulp down her bottle.

And Annie even got to hold her for the first time in four days...

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم والحمدلله على نعمه

اليوم كنا عند رنا طول اليوم وقضينا معاها اكثر من 4 ساعات

لأول مره من يوم الخميس 12.06.08 الفايت نشوفها صاحيه ساعه تقريبا

وشفناها ترضع من الرضاعه

واليوم كمان قدرت أني تشيلها في حضنها لأول مره من يوم الخميس

بكره رايحين عندها الصباح علشان نتكلم مع الدكتوره عن حالتها

المهم لا تنسونا من دعائكم

Rana in the NICU

Rana was taken to the NICU early in the morning of June 12 after we noticed twitching on the right side of her body.

It appears that she has had a stroke.

While the doctors are running a plethora of tests, Rana has been given anti-seizure medication and spends most of her time sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the twitches.

Our Daughter, Rana

Rana Hamood was born on Monday, June 9, 2008 at 4:56pm.

She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and was 21 inches long.