Finally....sleep!

I guess the third night was the charm. Elizabeth and Matt both got a full night of sleep at the hospital last night! Thanks for your prayers for that and keep them coming.  

 

In the news for today:  This morning we learned the bug had been identified and it is indeed strep pneumonia. This news meant they stopped one of E's antibiotics and now she just gets Ampicillin every 6 hours. As long as she doesn't spike a fever, we'll start counting from her first negative blood culture (yesterday 9/5) and she'll get 10-14 days of antibiotics. We briefly discussed a PIC line (which would allow her to go home with a more stable IV and I would administer her IV antibiotics every 6 hours at home) but her hematologist isn't very hopeful about that possibility. Because she's clotted off IVs in the past, (and hello, she's got a big fat clot in her portal vein even now) that doesn't bode well for her not clotting off a PIC line, so we'd have to bring her back to the hospital and that rigmarole is probably not worth it. We're disappointed to have that off the table but agree with the decision to play it safe.

 

All in all, today was a great day in Rm. 816. A friend decided to share a Dora the Explorer Lego playground with us and it kept Elizabeth busy literally ALL day. She and Ruby had so much fun making Dora go up and down the slide, and swing on the swings...Sami, thanks for sharing your toys with us! I don't have any pictures because Matt was too busy being a stellar dad to remember to bring the camera with him. I can forgive him, because you should have seen the ponytail he gave Ruby...it was adorable! Jenny brought us a delicious dinner and now I'm home with Ruby for the night. It's my last night at home for a while, as Matt will need to sleep at home to get ready for work which starts up again on Tuesday...

 

We'd appreciate your prayers for LOTS of grace for Ruby as she'll likely feel next week's transition most significantly. She'll stay with her friend Sophie during the day and usually she loves it, but on the heels of our big vacation, she's going to need extra comfort. I'm doing my very best to take things one day at a time, and not bring tomorrows cares into today. Will you also join us in asking God for his continued provision for all the details of the coming weeks? Our whole life is once again on hold (execpt for Matt, who needs to compartmentalize big-time and focus on work for a few days) and we need special grace so we don't forget anything important.

 

Finally, we are so thankful for your emails of encouragement. They mean so much to us and remind us that God is at work in the middle of this beyond what we can even see.

Blessings and goodnight,

Sara