Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Day +13 & Lots of Love


Brianna was greeted this weekend by her grandparents, John and Trevor, who all came by on Saturday. We all took turns visiting so that not too many people were in the room at the same time. (The hepa-filtered rooms are meant to circulate the air every eight minutes with two to three people in the room. More people means less air circulation. We always try to err on the side of caution.) So it was great for Brianna to see them and really special for all of us to be together.

They brought some mail and one envelope contained lots of "Get Well" cards from Brownie Troop 2517. You see, we met a sweet 8-year-old little girl who was getting treated for a rare immune deficiency while Brianna was getting all those transfusions at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. Caroline and her mother Terri shared a treatment room with us a couple of times and it was wonderful getting to know these two special ladies. Caroline shared with her Brownie Troop all that Brianna had to go through to get well. The Troop was also visited by one of our favorite nurses, Nancy Horan, who told the girls about Caroline's disorder and her treatment. One thing led to another, and they all drew beautiful cards for Brianna. It was so sweet!! Brianna enjoyed them so much.

My parents visit was also nice, because Brianna allowed my mom to stay with her for two days, while I got to head home and relax a bit. John and I went to dinner and then on Sunday, we all went to see the movie Wild Hogs. It was just what the doctor ordered! The movie is hilarious. It felt good to be home, but odd because Brianna wasn't there. You never really can relax until you know your children are healthy and safe.

When I got back to the hospital on Monday, Brianna was coughing. The doctors think she has a virus in her lung. That's what happens when your immune system is dropped to zero. Any type of virus floating around in your body can erupt, because all those good antibodies have been suppressed. She had a chest x-ray which did show a spot on her lung with some inflammation. She was also given an antiviral medication and got swabbed a second time. The first swabs taken came back negative for the viruses they checked. The second test will look for lots of other viruses.

Please say some prayers that she rides this out okay. Her new marrow should start making white blood cells between day +14 and +21. That should help, but until then we wait. She is in a bit of pain when she coughs, but some pain medication has helped. She is taking lots of deep breaths to also ease the soreness. Again, we continue to play the waiting game.

1 comment:

FrostingsNSparkles said...

Your beautiful daughter will be in my prayers.