Full Day at the Clinic and Lily's First Ad

OK, this advertisement says it all but oh my goodness, is she not the cutest thing?!

Hannah & I got to the clinic at 8:45AM & walked out at 5PM. While she got platelets she slept, thanks to pre-medication a-la-benadryl! I got caught up on some paperwork & things. Hannah was awake by the time she got to the red blood cell transfusion & for that part, she watched a movie, played on my laptop & hung out while the blood went drip, drip, drip into her precious little body. We got to visit with a really sweet 9th grade girl, Morgan, who was at the clinic for her final chemo treatment after 8 months of therapy. What a great day for her -- congrats, Morgan!! We are so happy for you & your smile is just beautiful!

When we got Hannah's numbers today, her white blood cell count had gone up from 1.5 to 1.7 all on its own without any nupegin shots or medication. It was so cute because Hannah was so excited she was literally singing "my bone marrow did it, my bone marrow did it! my bone marrow did it ... all by itself!!!!!!!!!" We agreed that maybe her bone marrow is actually going to decide to come back from vacation. That is certainly our prayer!!!

Dr. Horvath came in towards the end of our time at the clinic. She had just talked to Dr. Young at the NIH. Both of them were very pleased with Hannah's progress. Some days it is hard for me to see her as making progress since the recovery of Aplastic Anemia is SOOOO slow. Thankfully, according to the doctors, she is making improvements. We do not go back to the clinic until next Tuesday ... so it is 7 days of freedom from needles, poking, transfusions & all the fun!! :-)

There has been A LOT of drama in the pediatric unit of the hospital. I guess some of the management on the pediatric unit thinks that us moms were having a bit too much fun while living on the unit. They have now implemented some "rules" for the parents about not being in the hallway (hello ... our room has no window!?!), no signs on the doors (goodbye "Camp Hannah" sign), no going into other patient's rooms, etc. Several parents, including myself, are literally about to cause a revolution. We are calling a meeting with the top administrator at the hospital. Obviously he is not aware that some of the pediatric management team thinks they are running a morgue rather than a pediatric unit. This week should be interesting but I do feel our voices will be heard. The way the management is acting, you'd think us moms were having water gun fights in the hallway ... the whole thing is just so insane!?! Like any of us would choose to be there if our children's lives didn't absolutely depend on it!!?!?!

I will say this: Kaiser Fontana has the best nurses & we truly, truly love them!!! If we have to go back to the hospital, I know Hannah will receive wonderful care and we will both have love & support from the nurses. There are no words for how truly thankful I am for the love & care that Hannah gets. I wouldn't have it any other way but God has blessed us on this journey in ways I just never could have expected (volunteers, new friends, support, nurses, etc). He promises to do more than we think or imagine & I can honestly say I have experienced His grace during this trial in ways that I just never could have imagined.

Thank you, Lord, that your love never ends, never fails & never leaves us forsaken!!!! You are an ever present help in times of trouble - I just can't imagine going through any of this life without Your abundant grace!