Spent alot of time with the hospital priest yesterday - Italian born, funny as can be. Likes to talk, it was nice to hear some of his stories. He's offered to bring us communion whenever we want it.
Small world - this priest had just had lunch with this guy on Tuesday when we were getting him to bless Ellie. Msgr. spent a year at our parish a few years ago and was so smart and so humble - the perfect "mix" of those things. The two are good, good friends and it's fun to feel a connection to home.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Study
In the mail Saturday we got a brochure and letter asking us to be a part of a study being done by the Emory Genetics Lab here in Atlanta. Emory is awesome, this hospital is awesome, we love everyone and we say yes to whatever we can do for them.
So I let them know we were coming up Tuesday and the study team has been following us since we got here - waiting with us, getting to know us, filling out papers, getting blood samples from Ellie in the OR and having Jeff and I spit in little specimen cups! The study is specifically going to place Ellie in a "group" of children that have Down syndrome and a heart defect. The statistic is like 40% of kids with DS have the heart problems. We have a 3 year old girl on our street with DS and no heart defect. That makes a statistic of 50% for our neighborhood. :)
Lots of interesting questions about lifestyle, diet, habbits, family history, health questions. All reassuring to confirm that DS happens on a cellular level before the pregnacy even begins but they are just hoping there is something, anything to try to prevent the heart defect part of it. They are expecting not to find much but that is why they do these studies because you just never know.
We also got confirmation that our children have absolutely no greater risk of having a child with DS than we did. I was especially curious for Julia as a girl but Ellie has the type of DS that is "flukey" not the very very rare kind (less than 5%) that comes from the father's DNA and can be hereditary. The chick was just meant to be our daughter and their sister and she is most definitely one of a kind. But aren't we all? :)
So I let them know we were coming up Tuesday and the study team has been following us since we got here - waiting with us, getting to know us, filling out papers, getting blood samples from Ellie in the OR and having Jeff and I spit in little specimen cups! The study is specifically going to place Ellie in a "group" of children that have Down syndrome and a heart defect. The statistic is like 40% of kids with DS have the heart problems. We have a 3 year old girl on our street with DS and no heart defect. That makes a statistic of 50% for our neighborhood. :)
Lots of interesting questions about lifestyle, diet, habbits, family history, health questions. All reassuring to confirm that DS happens on a cellular level before the pregnacy even begins but they are just hoping there is something, anything to try to prevent the heart defect part of it. They are expecting not to find much but that is why they do these studies because you just never know.
We also got confirmation that our children have absolutely no greater risk of having a child with DS than we did. I was especially curious for Julia as a girl but Ellie has the type of DS that is "flukey" not the very very rare kind (less than 5%) that comes from the father's DNA and can be hereditary. The chick was just meant to be our daughter and their sister and she is most definitely one of a kind. But aren't we all? :)
Tube out
Morning!
Ellie was sleepy most of the day yesterday but got cranky at 9:00 p.m. last night. We were there to see her spike a fever, make some gagging motions (which is very hard to watch with a tube down her throat) but it was having to do with relieving herself, which she did. She then fell asleep, fever was ruled out after cultures and blood draws and skin tests and she slept great all night.
This morning she was approved to have the breathing tube taken out. At the time it was getting ready to come out she started to get aggitated (which means she was at the right stage of "wakefullness" to breathe on her own but it's a fine balance between her being like "what is this down my throat?!"). She thrashed and even managed to knock an IV out of her arm BUT it came out. She and Jeff and I then had some loving gazes with her licking her lips, making sounds, swallowing and fading off to sleep on her own.
She's still on morphine but we've been cleared to hold her in about 30 minutes when the "tamper not" period expires. Is that a hilarious phrase or what? I'm going to tell the other kids I'm on "tamper not" precautions next time I want to take a rest.
Ellie was sleepy most of the day yesterday but got cranky at 9:00 p.m. last night. We were there to see her spike a fever, make some gagging motions (which is very hard to watch with a tube down her throat) but it was having to do with relieving herself, which she did. She then fell asleep, fever was ruled out after cultures and blood draws and skin tests and she slept great all night.
This morning she was approved to have the breathing tube taken out. At the time it was getting ready to come out she started to get aggitated (which means she was at the right stage of "wakefullness" to breathe on her own but it's a fine balance between her being like "what is this down my throat?!"). She thrashed and even managed to knock an IV out of her arm BUT it came out. She and Jeff and I then had some loving gazes with her licking her lips, making sounds, swallowing and fading off to sleep on her own.
She's still on morphine but we've been cleared to hold her in about 30 minutes when the "tamper not" period expires. Is that a hilarious phrase or what? I'm going to tell the other kids I'm on "tamper not" precautions next time I want to take a rest.
Nails
Last night during our "down time" from 7:00-8:30 we ate dinner at the R.McD. house and noticed a civic group was giving manicures!
I could not resist checking it out and paying tribute to our children.
Red is Jacob's favorite color.
Orange is Xavier's.
Yellow is Julia's.
All of those color selections happened for them naturally if you can beleive that. So when it was time to pick a favorite color for Ellie, the kids said it had to be green to go along with ROY G BIV.
So they had a wide variety of colors and I finished off the thumb with Jeff's favorite color, purple.
I could not resist checking it out and paying tribute to our children.
Red is Jacob's favorite color.
Orange is Xavier's.
Yellow is Julia's.
All of those color selections happened for them naturally if you can beleive that. So when it was time to pick a favorite color for Ellie, the kids said it had to be green to go along with ROY G BIV.
So they had a wide variety of colors and I finished off the thumb with Jeff's favorite color, purple.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Saintly connection
A note from my sister from another mother and father in California (mom of our new nephew John Paul):
"You have been asking Grandma Eleanor for her prayers for Ellie.
I have been asking Blessed John Paul for his prayers for Ellie.
John Paul canonized Faustina in 2000. When that happened, I clipped out
the article from the newspaper and sent it to Grandma Eleanor, who was
very happy about the new Polish saint. I remember clearly sending it
to her and her replying to me in the mail.
Only last night John was reading a book called John Paul the Great and it mentioned Faustina. Our heavenly friends are smiling down on you and sending you signs that they hear our prayers and are watching over Ellie."
Only weeks before her surgery, Ellie's Aunt Louise heard a homily where the priest encouraged the congregation to remember: Jesus, I trust in you.
"You have been asking Grandma Eleanor for her prayers for Ellie.
I have been asking Blessed John Paul for his prayers for Ellie.
John Paul canonized Faustina in 2000. When that happened, I clipped out
the article from the newspaper and sent it to Grandma Eleanor, who was
very happy about the new Polish saint. I remember clearly sending it
to her and her replying to me in the mail.
Only last night John was reading a book called John Paul the Great and it mentioned Faustina. Our heavenly friends are smiling down on you and sending you signs that they hear our prayers and are watching over Ellie."
Only weeks before her surgery, Ellie's Aunt Louise heard a homily where the priest encouraged the congregation to remember: Jesus, I trust in you.
Uneventful
Hello!
A late afternoon update for everyone. We were really holding our breath (not Ellie) waiting for her to get the breathing tube out today. They tried at about 3:00 and she did fine but they just thought she was still too aggetated and fussy when they were messing with her. That's the way it goes - it's a judgement call at that moment and once it's made it's made. So they won't do it at night, babies don't play well at night with staff decreases. So it should be tomorrow morning.
She's doing just fine though, I think she just wanted another day of rest. With all she's been through, she can have whatever she wants.
In other news, the surgeon came by and thinks she looks great. Big plans for looking at her new numbers in a few days after she's breathing on her own.
Would you like to know some details of the surgery? If no, stop reading now. If yes, turn the page.
When they opened her chest they actually used a saw to sever the sternum and spread her chest open very wide. The right side of the heart was indeed very oversized. Her entire heart was the size of a small orange which is way too big for a 9 month old. When the repair was made, after just a few minutes her heart became the size of a plum thanks to blood moving correctly now. Some metal stiches were put in to get the bone back together.
A new dressing change on her incision and kicking her blankie off when she got hot.
A late afternoon update for everyone. We were really holding our breath (not Ellie) waiting for her to get the breathing tube out today. They tried at about 3:00 and she did fine but they just thought she was still too aggetated and fussy when they were messing with her. That's the way it goes - it's a judgement call at that moment and once it's made it's made. So they won't do it at night, babies don't play well at night with staff decreases. So it should be tomorrow morning.
She's doing just fine though, I think she just wanted another day of rest. With all she's been through, she can have whatever she wants.
In other news, the surgeon came by and thinks she looks great. Big plans for looking at her new numbers in a few days after she's breathing on her own.
Would you like to know some details of the surgery? If no, stop reading now. If yes, turn the page.
When they opened her chest they actually used a saw to sever the sternum and spread her chest open very wide. The right side of the heart was indeed very oversized. Her entire heart was the size of a small orange which is way too big for a 9 month old. When the repair was made, after just a few minutes her heart became the size of a plum thanks to blood moving correctly now. Some metal stiches were put in to get the bone back together.
A new dressing change on her incision and kicking her blankie off when she got hot.
Day 2
We got to be the first family to meet with the doctors this morning!
Night was uneventful, thank God. She's still heavily sedated but things are going to move in the direction of letting her wake up today and possibly start breathing on her own.
The news about her "pulmonary hypertension" is that the surgery worked to bring that under control, praise God! Her heart and lungs both seem to be tolerating the new dynamics well.
But Ellie, because she is Ellie, will always have some form of underlying Pulmary Vascular Disease (poor transportation between lungs and heart). BUT the goal we are all optimistically moving toward is that she can live a full, normal life without symptoms, medications or hospitalizations. Closing the hole in her heart, continuing to give her lungs time to settle down, getting fluid off the lungs (with medicines) and giving her the support of oxygen for a little longer (couple months maybe?) will get her towards that normal life.
We are on our way to that goal and have faith that it will happen. Like always it will just take time and it's all out of our hands.
We're hoping to hold her today! Oh, and our nurse is Faustina today, we've had her before and she's awesome!
Night was uneventful, thank God. She's still heavily sedated but things are going to move in the direction of letting her wake up today and possibly start breathing on her own.
The news about her "pulmonary hypertension" is that the surgery worked to bring that under control, praise God! Her heart and lungs both seem to be tolerating the new dynamics well.
But Ellie, because she is Ellie, will always have some form of underlying Pulmary Vascular Disease (poor transportation between lungs and heart). BUT the goal we are all optimistically moving toward is that she can live a full, normal life without symptoms, medications or hospitalizations. Closing the hole in her heart, continuing to give her lungs time to settle down, getting fluid off the lungs (with medicines) and giving her the support of oxygen for a little longer (couple months maybe?) will get her towards that normal life.
We are on our way to that goal and have faith that it will happen. Like always it will just take time and it's all out of our hands.
We're hoping to hold her today! Oh, and our nurse is Faustina today, we've had her before and she's awesome!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Good night
Wish I had more to report about our girl but we're just now able to get in and see after being kicked out for two hours due to shift change and some restrictions in the ICU. So after we give her a kiss we'll be heading back for what might be the best sleep we've had in nine months.
I can tell you that our favorite pizza restaurant up here did not disappoint.
I can tell you that our favorite pizza restaurant up here did not disappoint.
Tweet
Pretending to have Twitter account (no, that is not next).
Monitoring her blood loss, very routine.
Surgeon liked the candied almonds we made him.
We're getting hungry.
Monitoring her blood loss, very routine.
Surgeon liked the candied almonds we made him.
We're getting hungry.
We saw her!
Hello again!
In an effort to stay awake I did some journalistic work and bring you "almost" live pictures of our girl.
She's going to stay asleep the rest of the day and they'll start weaning off the anesthetics tomorrow morning we hope. Still too soon to tell for sure, but it looks like she's already benefiting from the surgery. Things have calmed down, gone in the right direction, moved at the right speed...all those things our bodies do and we absolutely take it for granted!
Bottom line is the heart surgery did help her pulmonary hypertension from what we can tell at this point. Hopefully with time she'll have the chance to totally heal from the ph and turn a corner to total health. For now the closing did not make it worse which was a small possibility. Other things we'd like to not think about anymore:
1- The extremely candid answer by the surgeon at 6:45 this morning when I asked "how many cases do you see of this seriousness of pulmonary issues when you go in to operate" and he said "none". Oh my, Ellie and her trail blazing. Talk about the ground shaking at that moment! He said the truth is he always fixes the kids with "just heart conditions" or if they have PH it's already responding to drugs by the time he goes in for the repair. He measured the pressures with the hole totally closed and was most pleasantly surprised. The plan was to leave a tiny hole as an emergency place for blood to escape if the lungs totally backed up with fluid but that did not happen in his test during the operation.
2- Only about 30 min after the surgery started the loud (very loud) alarms went off for "Code Blue in the OR". That's "someone is crashing in the operating room" to you and me. I grabbed the arm of my seat as if I was on a roller coaster ride (are we not?) and only 10 seconds later it was "cancelled" probably from the button accidentally getting pushed.
Having said all that, things are now very smooth and calm for our girl and we are enjoying seeing her sleeping peacefully.
In an effort to stay awake I did some journalistic work and bring you "almost" live pictures of our girl.
She's going to stay asleep the rest of the day and they'll start weaning off the anesthetics tomorrow morning we hope. Still too soon to tell for sure, but it looks like she's already benefiting from the surgery. Things have calmed down, gone in the right direction, moved at the right speed...all those things our bodies do and we absolutely take it for granted!
Bottom line is the heart surgery did help her pulmonary hypertension from what we can tell at this point. Hopefully with time she'll have the chance to totally heal from the ph and turn a corner to total health. For now the closing did not make it worse which was a small possibility. Other things we'd like to not think about anymore:
1- The extremely candid answer by the surgeon at 6:45 this morning when I asked "how many cases do you see of this seriousness of pulmonary issues when you go in to operate" and he said "none". Oh my, Ellie and her trail blazing. Talk about the ground shaking at that moment! He said the truth is he always fixes the kids with "just heart conditions" or if they have PH it's already responding to drugs by the time he goes in for the repair. He measured the pressures with the hole totally closed and was most pleasantly surprised. The plan was to leave a tiny hole as an emergency place for blood to escape if the lungs totally backed up with fluid but that did not happen in his test during the operation.
2- Only about 30 min after the surgery started the loud (very loud) alarms went off for "Code Blue in the OR". That's "someone is crashing in the operating room" to you and me. I grabbed the arm of my seat as if I was on a roller coaster ride (are we not?) and only 10 seconds later it was "cancelled" probably from the button accidentally getting pushed.
Having said all that, things are now very smooth and calm for our girl and we are enjoying seeing her sleeping peacefully.
Jeff and I only had a few minutes of downtime between people coming to check on us from Ellie's team.
There is Ellie with her baby doll and her cozy afghan. A tube is draining extra blood from her heart, she's getting a blood transfusion and lots of other extra tubes for pain and sleep drugs.
Ellie's chest being protected by Julia's baby doll.
The taping her face gives her some "model lips" - they are working on image for the babies up here so that's what we're going for here today.
Rest girl and heal up! We'll be taking you home back to Jacob, Xavier and Julia soon!
(Ellie also has her purple gem and putting contest pin right by her feet too.)
No more HOLEY Ellie!
Ellie no longer has a hole in her heart and she's doing GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise God, thank you for your prayers everyone!
The surgery only took one hour, it was a very simple repair. Then they gave her time to see how she did with the hole closed and so far she seems to be really responding well to the new design of her little heart. The surgeon said she has a great heart now, only wants to check on it every couple of years to make sure the tissue is all still strong.
Now it's the lungs turn to think her heart looks good! We're looking forward to seeing her, talking to her, touching her and seeing positive numbers as her body adjusts.
Wanted to let you know that part is over and she is recovering and we just can't wait to get our hands on her!
The surgery only took one hour, it was a very simple repair. Then they gave her time to see how she did with the hole closed and so far she seems to be really responding well to the new design of her little heart. The surgeon said she has a great heart now, only wants to check on it every couple of years to make sure the tissue is all still strong.
Now it's the lungs turn to think her heart looks good! We're looking forward to seeing her, talking to her, touching her and seeing positive numbers as her body adjusts.
Wanted to let you know that part is over and she is recovering and we just can't wait to get our hands on her!
Surgery Begins
Hello Ellie fans!
Things are slow for Mom and Dad at the moment finally after a hectic 24 hours. Our job is done!
Ellie soard through the pre-op stuff yesterday and we had a sweet night last night with her in our "hotel" room. Then we arrived this morning at 6:00 and got to stay with her until about 7:30 and surgery was expected to begin at about 8:00 or 8:30. We met the surgeon (very on top of things), the nurses, the anesthesia team. All expect her to do well during the surgery.
The next 24-72 hours will be the determining factor as to how her lungs adjust to the new "architecture" (they actually use that word!) of her changed heart. We have been told it will be a waiting and watching game with a very large team of people involved, all of which we know, trust and like very much up here.
Ellie has her little bag of things with her, including a new medal given to her from the Vatican by one of the nurses here. She was given a light anesthesia in our arms and fell asleep then we kissed her and gave her over to the surgeon, and ultimately to God.
Here are some fun pictures from yesterday. Honestly this blog is a blessing to me to think of all of you who will be checking it and I have fun taking pictures as a distraction while we put one foot in front of the other. Thank you for checking in and I will post as we go! Oh, breaking news - the pre-surgery stuff took longer than expected, they are now getting started closer to 9:30. So, 2 1/2 is the duration of the surgery then one more hour after that to get her to the ICU then we can see her.
Arriving at the hospital yesterday.
We had a "home base" throughout the day we kept coming back to after each procedure. Giving Ellie her medicine - she was very tired and a bit cranky throughout the day as you can imagine with all the interuptions.
Not happy.
Still not happy.
Now REALLY not happy! Time to draw blood and wouldn't you know it this was the most difficult time she'd had in a while. Just wasn't flowing well so they had to prick and stick her four different places. Nothing you can do about that.
Excuse me, do I know you?
Can I please go now?!
Now on to x-ray and a lovely position she just loved being held in.
Ah, finally - a break!
Back to the Ronald McDonald house and doing a little Yoga to calm herself down.
A quick rest with daddy.
Off for a night out and dinner.
Two things we love - Ellie and Moe's.
Back at the room things were...interesting. We had alot to do with a special wipe we had to clean her with, adjust her feeding schedule and a few unexpected messes. That all made us want to make it an early night...
...and so we did!
She was still sleeping when we left at 5:45 this morning.
She was in a great mood this morning in the surgery waiting area.
Got a small dose of a sleep aid that worked instantly.
Going...
going...
almost there...
see ya!
Little Holey Ellie on her way.
Woke up for two seconds to see what was happening but luckily she had no objection to being passed on for surgery to begin :).
Talk to everyone later today hopefully!
Ok to go!
Quite the day yesterday including trouble touching base with all of you due to tech. probs. But she indeed is clear for surgery! Now it's a matter of minutes and she's on her way!!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Leaving
Good Tuesday morning!
We're heading out to the big city - we'll try to give an update as to how she's looking for having surgery tomorrow.
Glory to God in the Highest!
We're heading out to the big city - we'll try to give an update as to how she's looking for having surgery tomorrow.
Glory to God in the Highest!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Getting there
Ellie was good today - a bit fussy but an all day shift with a sensitive nurse took care of that.
Ellie gets to have some items with her by her side during the surgery. We had the kids select something from their own possessions to send along with their sister.
Ellie gets to have some items with her by her side during the surgery. We had the kids select something from their own possessions to send along with their sister.
Julia sent her first baby doll.
Xavier sent his favorite "gem" - some purple rock we found on a walk one day.
Jacob sent his putting contest pin he won.
Also included is a piece of palm, a handmade scarf from some holy women of the Garden State, Ellie's rosary (also from NJ) and my personal rosary.
Also with her that day will be her guardian angel and all your prayers.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Super Sunday
Having a nurse here from 8-4 was so great today. She had Ellie very comfortable and well cared for. All clear breaths, good vitals - she seems to be looking ok!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Go Time
Well, as our Hoboken, New Jersey baker would say..."It's Go Time!"
It appears we will be heading to Altanta at the beginning of this week as we're on the schedule for surgery!
We have a full day Tuesday of pre-op things including lots of examining and bloodwork. Then if she looks o.k. she could be in the operating room as early as Wednesday morning.
We've made arrangements for our stay up there and our other children will be in excellent hands. As always, a continuously flexible employer allows Jeff to be with his family.
I even have begun to "pile" all the important things needed to take with us. Yes I truly have been meaning to read this wonderful manual that was passed along to us on grammar - published in 1953! I'm hoping it will make me a betterblogger teacher.
During this huge milestone for Ellie, Jeff and I and the Lord will truly be a "threeplycord" (verse 12).
Ellie is having sweet dreams of a stronger heart. It's coming girl!
It appears we will be heading to Altanta at the beginning of this week as we're on the schedule for surgery!
We have a full day Tuesday of pre-op things including lots of examining and bloodwork. Then if she looks o.k. she could be in the operating room as early as Wednesday morning.
We've made arrangements for our stay up there and our other children will be in excellent hands. As always, a continuously flexible employer allows Jeff to be with his family.
I even have begun to "pile" all the important things needed to take with us. Yes I truly have been meaning to read this wonderful manual that was passed along to us on grammar - published in 1953! I'm hoping it will make me a better
We hope to get you fast updates on this blog about how she's doing during her surgery and recovery. I know you'll all be praying and wanting to check on her.
During this huge milestone for Ellie, Jeff and I and the Lord will truly be a "threeplycord" (verse 12).
Ellie is having sweet dreams of a stronger heart. It's coming girl!
On breastfeeding
I'd like to share some insight into breastfeeding Ellie for those friends of Holey Ellie that are interested. Especially my lactation support team at home of Carolyn, Debi and Jennifer who have helped me since 2004 with Jacob and who were all very interested in making sure Ellie got my milk.
Giving Ellie milk these nine months has of course not been easy, but it's something I've enjoyed so very much. Since it's such a unique experience to feed her in the manner we must, I've learned some things about nursing that I thought might be good to pass along to those that were interested.
Giving Ellie milk these nine months has of course not been easy, but it's something I've enjoyed so very much. Since it's such a unique experience to feed her in the manner we must, I've learned some things about nursing that I thought might be good to pass along to those that were interested.
- Equipment - you have to have the right pump if you are going to feed your baby this way. I had a close call back in November when I thought I was losing my supply and it turned out to be the pump. Now I have a modern, new pump with major improvements and I'm excited about its first trip to Atlanta.
- This past week I decided to take Tamiflu (perscription) to try to quickly knock out my cold symptoms. It didn't seem to help, which is what makes this current "flu-like cold" so tricky. What did happen for sure is - my milk supply was in major jeopardy. I have a book about drugs and breastfeeding and I knew it was a risk but I was desperate to feel better. When I noticed my dry mouth, dry nose and compromised supply, I stopped taking it. I took it 3 out of the 5 intended days.
- To regain my supply after this scare I bought a box of a tea I've relied on during my breastfeeding days that promotes milk production. It took about 2 days to kick in, but I'm here to testify it really does work. I am relieved to say - crises averted and we're back on track to produce what Ellie needs each day.
Ellie did eat like our other three children for exactly 16 days. The last time she nursed was in waiting room of the x-ray department before we fed her with a bottle and watched milk go into her trachea (lungs). Since then she's been safely fed milk. We now know she is no longer aspirating but when your heart and lungs work as hard as hers do - there are no calories left for the difficult coordination of "suck, swallow, breathe" a baby must do to eat.
Soon I'll be handing off my milk to the good nurses of the Atlanta hospital. They will freeze it when she can't have it immediately after surgery and then they'll give it to her when she's ready. It will lead her onto recovery and be the best for her, as it has been her whole life.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Bloody cold
I'm trying to avoid talking on the phone as much as possible these days - I literally have nothing but a whisper.
But when the name "Red Cross" came across the phone I figured I should answer. And the minute I answered I was...well, busted. She was calling to tell me the blood was on its way to Atlanta but stopped to ask "when did you get sick"? There were alot of questions at the time of the blood draw including if I had a fever. 48 hours later I certainly did have a fever and according to the guidelines, there was too great a chance the virus was already in my system at the time I gave.
It hurt to let go and realize Ellie would just be getting blood from the usual blood bank. Let's hope the good people of the U. S. of A. also gave in good health. It was not a hard decision though considering all we've done these past few weeks to keep her free of catching this cold. Forget sneezing and coughing on her, let's just shoot it directly in her blood stream!
We were told at the beginning of this journey to expect setbacks and disappointments because they will come. Looks like we've already had our first. Yay.
Oh and yes they are throwing away the blood.
But when the name "Red Cross" came across the phone I figured I should answer. And the minute I answered I was...well, busted. She was calling to tell me the blood was on its way to Atlanta but stopped to ask "when did you get sick"? There were alot of questions at the time of the blood draw including if I had a fever. 48 hours later I certainly did have a fever and according to the guidelines, there was too great a chance the virus was already in my system at the time I gave.
It hurt to let go and realize Ellie would just be getting blood from the usual blood bank. Let's hope the good people of the U. S. of A. also gave in good health. It was not a hard decision though considering all we've done these past few weeks to keep her free of catching this cold. Forget sneezing and coughing on her, let's just shoot it directly in her blood stream!
We were told at the beginning of this journey to expect setbacks and disappointments because they will come. Looks like we've already had our first. Yay.
Oh and yes they are throwing away the blood.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)