Thursday, January 3, 2013

Moving Day

Today was moving day for the BMT unit. We packed up all of our belongings into "belonging bags" and headed due east a hundred yards or so to our new room on Seven East.

As with all moving days, little things are missed, like trash cans and pillows. Overall, the move went smoothly. The poor IT guy had several grumpy teenagers whose TVs don't work. He was very nice, but I felt bad for him.

As long as Esther's been visiting Children's they've been telling us about the "new tower." Things are pretty much the same, but fresh and clean. The biggest improvement being Esther's direct caregivers can use the bathroom in the room!!! In the old BMT unit only the patients were allowed to use the bathroom...this meant parents of 10ish kids with all kinds of whacky infections were sharing the same bathroom. I think this was a smart upgrade. The biggest downgrade, a bed for adults that about 2/3 the size of a twin but well over three feet from the ground. It is only a tiny bit wider than a standard pillow...I hope I don't fall off. Good think they don't let two parents stay in the BMT unit, one would be sleeping on the floor.

It's nice to be in this new room and Esther was so excited to be the first person ever to take a bath in her new room and if she decides to go to sleep, the first person to sleep in her new room. For the last five nights she's decided sleep is overrated and chit chatting is more fun and hasn't been falling asleep until after 11 or midnight. Pray she'd sleep!

Esther is recovering very well! Her mouth is healing and we've been decreasing her pain meds about 10% every twelve hours. Yesterday she didn't need a platelet transfusion! She did get one early this morning, but going a full 24 hours between infusions is definitely the right direction.

AND....the BIGGEST NEWS....IS.....as long as everything goes well with no fevers, weaning her morphine, and continued platelet production, that stroller will be carrying a little girl out of this hospital on Monday! YIPEE!

 

5 comments:

  1. Thats wonderful news! Ive been following along on your journey but am just now commenting. Continuing to pray for your family and Esther and thankful for the Godly example you have been through your toughest hours. ~ Shauna

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  2. Such exciting news! Praying things continue on the up-and-up and Monday is "official" moving day out of there. That is neat she's the first person to sleep in the room. Our hosptial in Portland was just built and opened in February and from what I hear, the old unit in the main hospital wasn't too fabulous. Hope you start sleeping a little more Miss Esther so your mama can catch some sleep too!

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  3. Ok, this is going to sound totally crazy- but I've been following Esther's story & praying for her daily... I have a 6 month old that I"m breastfeeding, and I know how good breastmilk is for infants & toddlers (white blood cells, antibodies, etc). Breast milk is super easy to digest, high in calories & fat & cholesterol (which would help protect the brain), and has stem cells of it's own... Breast milk contains a variety of nutrients that help develop immunity in a baby (& would provide immunity in an older child also!).
    If you're not opposed- you may want to find a close friend or relative who will donate breastmilk for Esther. Especially the first few months after stem cell- the antibodies will help keep her healthy- PLUS all the anti-cancer properties!! (my kids never get sick while breastfed). So very happy that she's improving a lot!! :-) Praise God!!

    "Preliminary research indicates that breast milk can induce apoptosis in some types of cancer cells.[41] Adults with GI disorders and organ donation recipients can also benefit from the immunologic powers of human breast milk."

    http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-breastmilk-natural-stem-cell-therapy.html



    http://suite101.com/article/breast-milk-component-kills-cancer-cells-a372847

    http://www.ladycarehealth.com/use-of-breast-milk-for-cancer-treatment/

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