Abby's Journey Archive

Today is Day 0, "transplant day." Today is also the first day that our whole family has been well enough to come visit Abby, and so Amy brought everyone to the hospital for about an hour so she could get hugs and see lots of smiles. Elizabeth was particularly happy to see Abby.

The stem cells went in without incident, however about an hour after the infusion was done Abby got nauseous and threw up. She hasn't thrown up since then, and has been sleeping most of the afternoon (probably due to the Benadryl they like to give pre-infusion). Her fever has been bouncing around from normal to about 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

The BMT protocol Dr. Graham uses numbers the treatment days starting from the day she gets the "transplant"--the receiving of her stem cells. That is Day 0. Today is Day -1, the day before the transplant. Abby has been having good days, continuing to impress the staff by retaining her appetite (most kids stop eating the day they get the Melphalan), and doing her 1-mile a day walks at quite an accelerated pace (sometimes she walks faster than her dad). She has developed a reputation around the unit even in the short week she has been here, and spreads cheer wherever she goes.

Surprisingly, because most of the patients on the unit hang out in their rooms and doors stay closed, it is sometimes easy to forget how many other patients are here. Abby's next door neighbor seems to be having a particularly hard time. She is about Abby's age, and definitely needs some prayer.

Late this evening I found that Abby felt warm to me; the nurse took her temp and sure enough she is running a fever. Dr. Andreansky has already started her on Vancomycin and Cefepime, our old "friends." Cultures have been drawn to check for line infections. He says this will not interfere with her transplant tomorrow. Please pray this is a simple neutropenia fever, and not something more serious.

In a more general sense, we seem to have settled in here. We've developed a schedule that seems to be working for us and the kids are adapting. We still have our bumpy spots, but I can't even begin to list the things large and small that I am thankful to God for--things like reliable broadband at our house AND in the hospital, strangers bringing us meals, the fact that our house is so close to the hospital, and yet the neighborhood is so quiet, the desert birds nesting in the mature trees and bushes around the house (their chirping and warbling is so peaceful), and the sense of peace brought by the Holy Spirit.