Home Sweet Home

 Home sweet home....what can I say? There really is no place like home, especially when you've been in a hospital for a month and a half. Saturday Anna was given a four hour pass to go home. The day was sunny and the air a bit stuffy, but for Anna it was nectar to her lungs!! To the right you'll see Anna taking her first step into the fresh air since May!! She was so excited to get home and be with the family! We, too, were excited to get to have our Anna home for a bit of time! Monday, Anna was given another four hour pass and it just so happened that we had already made plans for our dear friends, the Smith's, to come over for dinner. Anna got to hold her little name's sake for the first time. Isabella ANNA Smith! Little Isabella was born on the day that Anna was admitted at Children's. Being told that her middle name was after Anna-Renee brought tears to all of our eyes!! What a sweet gift!

During rounds on Monday, we were informed that Anna would get to come home.....not on a pass, but actually discharged, on Wednesday instead of Thursday!!! This brought smiles to many faces!

 Tuesday, Craig and I went over to SCCA to take a class on how to use Anna's pump. This will be used each night to administer magnesium through her Hickman line until she is ready to take it orally.

Wednesday came, Anna's numbers were........AMAZING!
ANC: 7,275!!! Her white blood cells: 9.7 (9,700...if you remember way back in October, we had a little lesson in white cell counts. Top of normal range is between 13,000 and 15,000. Anna's were at 75,000 and the very next day were at 95,000)
Red cell count: 3.42, Platelets: 129, and her hematocrit: 30.8 (these all without any red cell transfusions! and her platelets came up on their own without another transfusion before her bone marrow aspiration!)
The doctors, PA's, and nurses are all very pleased with Anna's progress. They have been thrilled at Anna's physical activity that has helped in her recovery. They even told her they'd love it if she could give a motivational speech to all of the patients on exercising through even the toughest of days! As many patients get sick and weak because they just lay there.

 It is amazing at how bitter sweet the day we've been waiting for can be. You come to love those who've been there for you and your family for the past six weeks! You build relationships with them. Patty was our first nurse. We had hoped she could be our "last" nurse, however, she was training another nurse in a different area of expertise. But she came in to give hugs and say goodbye anyway. She is a sweet Christian lady that we very much grew to love!!! We will miss all of the wonderful people at Children's!!

Now it's on to another phase. We had thought Anna would have daily appointments at SCCA, but it turns out, she is scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays.

 Some patients do have daily appointments, when they are reliant on transfusions. Anna is not so she will only have extra appointments if her levels drop and she starts taking a downward turn, of course if she takes a bad enough downward turn, she'll end up back at Children's...we may miss the folks there, but we'd rather not have to go back!! Now we are home. We are finishing up on getting the supplies needed for an immune suppressed patient. Bleach, paper towels, hand sanitizer, all necessary for our new way of life. I didn't take a picture, but the line up of meds was a bit overwhelming as I distributed the pills into containers for the week. Though we were assured by one of the PA's that that amount was really nothing! He should know, he not only treats BMT patients, he was one eleven years ago!

 Before, we were pretty concerned over even the slightest stuffy nose, now we are paranoid over it! We have to be for Anna's sake. She must stay away from sickness. You have a headache? Go to your room and stay completely away from Anna until we are assured you are NOT sick. Those are kind of the sad times for little people as that is the time when they want and need a mommy's snuggle, but at this point, I am unable to give that to them as I need to be healthy for Anna. I am more prone to getting sick as I am with child and I always tend to get sick many times throughout each pregnancy....so far God has protected me from it!

Today is an exciting day. Anna woke up in her own bed, in her own room, surrounded by her own things. No beeping, no nurses waking her to do vitals, just mom getting her up for her clinic appointments. I promised I'd let her sleep in until 9 tomorrow! (That's when most of her meds are due) The excitement of being home is still fresh, though it can at times be overwhelming to go from a somewhat quiet environment to the hustle and bustle of a home with eleven children...all excited that you are home! Hopefully the adjustment time will last only a couple of days. We have to remember that she is still not 100%. In fact she is far from it! Naps are a must, and taking it easy while staying a bit active will be a balancing act! We are on day +33. We have until at least day +90, but expecting to be here until day +100. This will be a long next phase before we get to go back to our Bremerton home. But we are together! We praise our Lord for such answered prayers as we have been seeing! We are so humbled and thankful that He has allowed Anna to do so well throughout this bone marrow transplant process! Please continue to pray that Anna will stay on the path of recovery! That she will only see improvements and that she will baffle the doctors at how well she is doing! So we may give God all of the praise and glory! The hymn, "To God Be the Glory" is being sung in my heart today! I pray that you, too will sing this song and truly mean it even in the midst of trial! May you count your blessings and be truly thankful for even the smallest of things! For you too can be thankful to wake up in your own bed, in your own room, surrounded by your own things, and family that loves you...even if you haven't been in a hospital for six weeks!! To God be the glory, great things He has done!