Day 12

Still no update on the underlying autoimmune condition today, but tests did produce an unexpected result. Zoey has a heart defect, Atrial Septal Defect. What this means is Zoey was likely born with a hole in her heart and it never closed on it's own. Not at all something any of us were prepared to hear, but we're also thankful to be aware of it. Without all the testing for a possible autoimmune condition, this diagnosis probably would have continued to go unnoticed. In future months, she will likely have it treated by a cardiac catheterization procedure, but it's not a high priority at the moment. Her doctors agree that her body first needs time to recover from all her surgeries in the last week!

Doctors are hopeful that Zoey should be able to come home by the weekend, so long as nothing changes between now and then. They were hoping she would be able to regain some strength, which being able to eat solid food would help. But as of yet she has had little to no appetite. They are talking about sending her home with the feeding tube still in place, to make sure she continues to get the much needed nutrients to continue her healing and recovery.

Today is Bryan's birthday, so we brought the girls down to surprise daddy for a visit. When we arrived, Zoey was out for a quick stroll to the play room in her newest mode of transportation. What a breath of fresh air it was for Valorie, Bryan, and little miss Zoey to get out of her room for a short while! Looks like a cozy ride to me! :) I think I'm going to try and find her one for when she comes home to make moving about a lot easier and pain free!

Here is Zoey playing with a tiara and happily exclaiming, "I'm the princess!" Yes you are a little princess, sweet girl! Oh how my heart melted to see that beautiful smile coming back!

 Zoey got lots of lovins today. Sweet kisses from her Mammie:

And kisses and snuggles from sissy Hayley. Zoey said "Hayley come lay down with me" So precious!

Here's the birthday guy posing for a quick photo with Mama (Cindy). Happy birthday Bryan! We all love you!

More photos from day 11

Zoey waking up from surgery. Hello precious <3

 Her leg all bandaged up after surgery.

Sweet baby girl in her natural sleep pose, anesthesia still wearing off  :) 

Sleep well our precious little one. You are loved. Oh so loved. <3 

Road to Recovery Begins!

Huge praise report today! Zoey has done a huge turnaround!! She just came out of surgery #8, and for now the doctors were able to get the incisions closed up enough without having to do a skin graft!! Should she need any more surgeries, they won't be in the immediate future. Her precious little body is going to have a chance to recover now! Doctors are hopeful that Zoey should be able to come home this weekend! Zoey just needs to regain her strength enough to be able to eat on her own. For now they are confident that all the infection is gone and under control. Further testing, treatments, physical therapy and the rest of her recovery should be able to be done on an outpatient basis! Bryan and Valorie will need to keep a close eye on her for awhile, since we all know just how fast spreading of a bacteria this was. But, this is a total answer to prayer and we are all in awe of this amazing news!! There is still not an answer yet as to what the possible autoimmune condition could be, or if it was all a result of the trauma her body has gone through.

To every person who has faithfully been in prayer for our sweet girl, the family thanks you! To every person and family who has generously donated to Zoey's Medical Fund, THANK YOU! This will help lift a little bit of the burden off Bryan and Valorie's shoulders over the next weeks during Zoey's recovery. We are eternally grateful!

In the Media

Though exhausted after a roller coaster 10 days, Bryan and Valorie were brave to do interviews with the media to bring public awareness about Zoey's condition. Necrotizing Fasciitis, also known as flesh eating bacteria, is extremely rare but without early intervention can be deadly. To see their interviews, follow the links below.

Q13 Fox News: http://q13fox.com/2013/06/03/marysville-toddler-fighting-flesh-eating-bacteria/#axzz2VBr42PtT

Komo 4 News: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Marysville-toddler-hospitalized-with-flesh-eating-bacteria-210175931.html

For more information about flesh-eating bacteria, you can go to the CDC's website: http://www.cdc.gov/features/necrotizingfasciitis/

Eventful Day

Today was quite the eventful day. This was by far the best day Zoey has had since this all began.

The girls got to come down to visit with Zoey in her room! The quarantine has been lifted as of today!! The whole family got to spend some sweet moments at Zoey's bedside. Here is sister Peyton singing Zoey a song:

Hayley enjoyed a trip to get pizza with Daddy:

Q13 Fox news came to interview Bryan and Valorie about Zoey's condition. Tune in tonight at 10 o'clock to see the interview. 

Zoey had a lot of imaging done today, including an MRI and echocardiogram. The rash on her body has not subsided. Doctors are at this point still baffled as to what the cause is, and unsure what autoimmune disease she may or may not have. They continue to do more testing and cultures of her blood. Today Zoey also pulled out her feeding tube again, and this evening they had to put in another one. This time they put some mitts on her hands to keep her from pulling on the tube. We're praying that she gets lots of rest tonight in preparation for tomorrow's surgery, which will begin the reconstruction phase. Please cover our sweet girl  and her parents in prayer tomorrow during surgery. 

Uncertainty and heavy hearts

Coming from a heavy heart and uncertainty...please don't stop the chain of prayer for our precious little Zoey, and for Bryan, Valorie, and the team of doctors. Zoey is undergoing some more testing today. The doctors found inflammation in the biopsy of her blood vessels, which leads them to believe she has a rare autoimmune disease of the blood. Specifics are unknown at this point, and we have no clue what this is going to mean for her treatment and for her future. She woke up today with swelling in her leg and a rash up her stomach....as of now doctors feel the rash/swelling is not from the bacterial infection like before, but rather from the unknown possible autoimmune disease. Our hearts are breaking for what Zoey continues to go through. Please keep Bryan Valorie and all of the family in your prayers as well, there's so much uncertainty and fear in the unknown. 

This evening the doctors decided that Zoey truly needed the NG tube put back in. They sedated her to put in the tube in less traumatically for Zoey. We are praying that she can keep this one in, for her body is weak and needs the nutrients. 

Princesses visit with Mommy

Last night Bryan came home to get some much needed rest, get some more clothes and items needed from home, and to spend some one on one time with Peyton and Hayley. Then in the morning we brought the big girls to the hospital for a surprise visit with Mommy!

Not wanting to go far from Zoey at the hospital, we went to a nearby shopping mall and played at the park. It was a refreshing time for Valorie to get out of the hospital, and spend some much needed time with the big girls. Mommy bought the girls a special animal at a toy shop, Peyton picked a cute little hootie owl and Hayley a kitten. The girls were dressed in their favorite princess dresses.... it was a princess parade through the mall!

Today was a mostly refreshing day. There was some concern from doctors about biopsy results, but we don't know anything yet. More information should come tomorrow.