Saturday, February 2, 2008

Naps, Noodles and Nuzzling

I was so happy to have my handsome husband home for dinner last night. He brought my beautiful baby back home to me. Joshua made a pizza to welcome them home, and I put on coffee for Rick, who was exhausted. I was surprised that they chose to come home--they were pretty happy with my parents, who were spoiling them!--but very glad to have us all back together, safe and sound in one location. "Home" is such a powerful idea.

Rick took some great pictures of Katie at the hospital yesterday, and he will post them soon. One photo clearly shows Katie eating noodles, per usual, in her Lake Region t-shirt. She has three LR t-shirts, and she insists upon wearing them to the hospital each time we make the trek to Burlington. She developed an addiction to Rangers basketball early in the season, and she continues to cheer for our teams. I probably shouldn't dare to dream, but I am hoping that her immune system will recover in time so Katie can attend another basketball game before the season ends. She has been so good about some really unpleasant aspects of her treatment. It would be nice to give her this reward. We'll have to see how her body cooperates.

We are still waiting to hear about the number of blasts in Katie's blood. We may not hear until Monday or Tuesday. Welcome to the waiting game. The good news is that Katie's cell counts are up; it appears that her bone marrow is learning to make healthy cells again. She has more color in her cheeks, and she has enough platelets to protect her in case of emergency. On the other hand, her neutrophil count is the lowest it has been (120), so she continues to live in virtual isolation in our home. While we appreciate all the efforts on our behalf, we cannot even invite our benefactors in for a cup of coffee--I'm so sorry. We look forward to throwing a major party for all of you just as soon as we are able. We promise that it will not be a Dora party!

That is another spot of good news. Katie is experimenting with variety again. She has been watching videos other than Dora (yay!), and she ate pizza last night. She even had vegetables! We are making slow progress...

Best wishes to all of you. We are thinking of you, too, and relishing the support you have given us. What a miracle...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me a day of all kinds of stuff. I am glad Katie got some sleep by the sounds she really needed it. Uncle Kim was really happy he talked to Amy. We all love you much. Keep up the faith and you will do ok.
Love Aunt Michelle

Anonymous said...

Hi, Katie: I mailed out your snuggly blanket today so hope you get it early in the week. I think about you and your family alot and do know what you are going through, since this has been my life for the last 10 months. Glad food is starting to taste better--I remember when that started to happen for me. I love your cute, smiley face--you are in my prayers. Love, Suzanne(from Sheffield, friend of Mr. and Mrs. H.)