And we’re outta here!

Chick fil-a for my birthday dinner, strawberry pie for dessert...and breakfast. A morning FaceTime with Grandma...discharge paperwork...and we're home! For my birthday, my sweet Ruby re-made a broken necklace I couldn't bear to toss, and now I have these cool new earrings! It's been a pretty awesome 24 hours if you ask me. 💗💗💗

Grace upon grace upon grace

This is the face of a happy Hepatologist! Elizabeth is doing so well! She came directly to the floor (no ICU stay) and after just 18 hours, they've removed her pain pump because she's not using it! Her ultrasound and bloodwork look great, so we're looking at going home sooner than we expected! It's been such a smooth hospitalization so far and we have much to be thankful for:

💗clinic coverage for Matt so he could be present all morning

💗Granna in town, who somehow made doing laundry fun!

💗spicy dill pickle chips and Oreos...to keep our brains distracted

💗a glowing report from the team (the first pic shows the area of abnormal tissue (adenoma) and the 2nd shows the "white cloud" of tissue which is no longer getting blood flow. That's a good sign!

💗a visit from friends to hand deliver drawings and a chai latte

💗supportive texts and calls to remind us of so many people praying for and loving us!

💗a friend to sit with E so I could enjoy dinner at home with R & H

💗Dinner delivered 💗

💗a private room🙌🏼

💗Minimal nausea, minimal pain, so much grace!

💗A pretty comfortable couch/bed for Mama 

💗beautiful bloodwork & post-op ultrasound

💗 birthday Starbucks hand-delivered by my handsome hubs

💗birthday spicy Italian sandwich delivered by my favorite ladies

💗so much grace

Sent from my iPhone

Sister support

Elizabeth is off in dreamland after a very uneventful morning. My mom is home with Ruby & Hannah and Matt and I are busy waiting, and trying not to eat everything within reach! 😬  Today is the first time Ruby has wanted to FaceTime in during Pre-op, and she and a Elizabeth had a sweet time distracting one another with silly sister antics. I'm so thankful for Ruby & Hannah and pray daily that God would redeem these moments in their stories too. In moments like this I feel the weight of what they miss out on, or what I can't provide and I'm tempted to worry.  But I cling to the truth of God's redemptive power, and over and over I come back to his ability to work ALL things together for good in *each* of our lives. 

   

Ruby and Hannah are not left out, and His grace is sufficient for them too. Thank you so much for your prayers! They are such a gift! 💗

A Plan!

These past few months have been quite a test of our sea legs! The reality of a transplant is sobering and we have been eager to consider any alternative that might delay it! In March, We had the opportunity to visit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and our smiles are genuine because they convinced us of the feasibility of treating her adenoma with a Hepatic Angiogram! 

Long story short, this is a fantastic alternative! Now, after weeks of waiting and discussing with our team and meeting with more doctors, we finally have a plan! 

Elizabeth will undergo her embolization procedure this Wednesday, followed by a (hopefully) short hospital stay. We are so thankful for your prayers and encouragement, for childhood friends who would willingly pursue becoming an altruistic liver donor, friends-of-friends who deliver hugs in far away places, for friends who drop off meals, for Instacart & bagged salads for easy dinners, for friends who watch my kids and then graciously deal with the stomach flu we gave them 🤒, and for the anchor of peace we have as all the plans and possibilities have been tossed about! 💗💗💗 

***CLARIFICATION: I inadvertently made it sound like we were having her surgery in Philadelphia! Fortunately, the team here at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is able to do the procedure, so we're able to stay close to home***