Wednesday Morning Update

Amy and Katie were able to sleep through the night last night without a nurse visit. They are still on schedule to come home today and should be home by 5pm. Art and Kathy, Amy's parents are bringing them home.
At the time of this writing, Katie is napping.

Some people have asked how they can participate in the blood drive, and whether or not it is ok to send gifts to the kids because of the possibility of germs riding along on the gifts. Unfortunately, the blood drive is happening only during school, so you won't be able to donate after work. However, Katie is not the direct recepient of this blood any way. She gets her blood from the Red Cross blood bank, and blood collected at the school will simply go back to the blood bank. Once the blood is collected, it is tested, and then radiated before it ever goes to the hospital for Katie. The blood drive should be thought of as a way to give something back to the people who have already given something to Katie. Blood only last so long (I don't remember the shelf-life) so repeated donations are necessary to keep blood available at all times. This drive is just one more opportunity to donate.

As for the gifts, they are as safe as they can be. The doctors don't want her living in a bubble. They want her to live as full a life as possible and that means she gets to open gifts too. I wouldn't buy something from a person who is obviously sick, but something off the store shelf or made by hand at home should be safe enough. If you are really concerned, a squirt of Lysol spray couldn't hurt.