Birthday Update

It's late, but Josh and I are now leaving the hospital and headed home. Amy will stay with Katie in the hospital tonight and tomorrow night so that I can get in to school at least a couple of days this week.

Katie celebrated her birthday in the hospital today, and the hospital staff certainly did their best to make sure that she felt especially appreciated today. She was showered with happy birthday wishes and gifts and kindness. The child life specialist went so far as to allow me to shop virtually with a personal shopping assistant. I was given an computer with Internet access to browse online stores for what I still wanted to get Katie for her birthday but didn't have a chance to get while stuck in the hospital. I made up a shopping list from what I found and one of the volunteers took my shopping list and went shopping for some of Katie's birthday presents. Everything I asked for was purchased and it was returned to the room while Katie and I were taking an afternoon nap to recover from the late night last night. I woke up to find a bag full of the presents I had requested, a roll of wrapping paper, some scissors and some tape. By the time Katie woke up she had some presents around her to help set the atmosphere and keep her believing that it really was her birthday and we were doing our best to make it a special day. I didn't let her open a present until her mother, brother and grandparents arrived around 6pm for dinner. Her excitement built all day and she had a great little birthday party in her hospital room. She ate herself full of Chinese food and cupcakes and then toured the hospital in a wagon, giving out party favors; Slinkys and play dough to the kids and cupcakes to the adults. As Josh and I left Amy and Katie were settling down to play some video games.

As for her health today... she felt fine. Her fever was gone by the time the antibiotics were flowing last night and it did not return at all today. I can't explain it and no doctor has been able to explain it yet, but our last few emergency room visits have been very similar. Her ANC drops low, she goes to bed for the night and after a few hours in bed her temperature climbs. We wake her up and make arrangements with the hospital and by the time we get her admitted, the fever has come back down. It is one of the most frustrating feelings in the world to know that I just dragged my daughter out of her bed, and into a hospital where she absolutely does not want to be so she can kick and scream as she is examined and her port is accessed only to have her fever disappear like it was never there in the first place. I just wanted to turn around and bring her back home last night, but there was no way anyone was going to allow that. A fever can be deadly and every fever must be treated like it will be. I am so glad that we are almost to maintenance.

On a side note, my heart goes out to my two uncles who are now battling their own cancers. It is a long hard, scary struggle.

Josh and I are now going to get on the road. I still have to drop him off at my parents house in Newport before going home myself. He should be tucked into bed by midnight and I will get home somewhere around 12:30.