Good Day

The ambulance ride to Denver was tons of fun, as we were leaving our friend, Tim, who is an ER nurse in Fort Collins, waved us goodbye. That was SO nice to see a familiar face at Pourde Valley. He prayed with us and just checked in when he had a minute. She thought the seat belt on the bed was pretty cool and was full of smiles when they raised the bed up and lifted her right into the ambulance. Daddy followed us out of the parking lot and we waved. She kept saying, "See you later, Daddy!" We had very nice EMTs who braved the rain and got us to children's safely. One of them, Lee, was a pro. He handled my GIANT bag (it was about 2/3 egg crate) and the bed at the same time. I was impressed.

He asked about Esther on the way down and our other children and teared up a bit when he told me about his children and how much it would hurt for him to see them go through something like this. When we got to Esther's room he asked if it was okay if he put her into her bed and if he could give her a hug. It was so sweet, a sticker to make it feel better.

I appreciate the empathy, this is weeping for those who weep. I once read on a blog of a woman who has suffered a stillborn daughter that it really bothered her when people would say "I could never imagine." She wanted to retort something like, "Well, could you just try. Could you just feel a bit of what I'm feeling?" The day Esther was diagnosed the nurse in the recovery room teared up and apologized but I told her that was being a good nurse, that she'd acknowledged the pain we were feeling.

Thank you for weeping along with us, for constantly encouraging us and praying for us. This is a beautiful thing and precious to the Lord. He knows it's so much easier to just shut down and to "never imagine." Going down that path of heartache is love in action to weary hearts.

It was late, but when we arrived there was a love note and a sticker to make it feel better. The oncology doctor on call modified the admission plan and was waiting for us on the floor so we did't have to do any intake and could go straight to our room and when we arrived the nurse had made up a bed for me.

Today was a good day. Her ANC quadrupled to 13.8 ;)...that's the way we want it to go. For us to get back home she needs to be fever free for 48 hours, for her counts to rise and be full of young white blood cells, and for nothing to grow in her blood culture. If she gets another fever while we're in the hospital, it's another 48 hour wait to see if anything grows in her blood. The soonest we could go home is tomorrow night. In order for that her white blood cells will need to skyrocket, so pray that happens.

More stickers and loves notes along the way... Esther ate and drank well today and that was encouraging. We found a picture menu and that was SO helpful to letting her choose what she wants to eat and drink. My brother stopped by for a bit and we visited the Dory fish and the eel on the 4th floor, then the ball machine, then Nemo, Marlin and the star fish on the first floor and we walked the giant floor maze. Bill did an awesome job of maneuvering her IV pole.

Esther let me braid her hair and here's a bunch of fun, red lipped, high five pictures we took after she slammed down half a power-aid. She's never tasted such delightful drink in her life. I was just happy she was eagerly drinking.

 

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