GREAT News and Followers Question

Blogger has a new gadget that allows you to post a list of people who follow your blog on your side bar. I love this option, because it is a visual reminder of how many people are praying for Abby. Thank you so much for encouraging us by signing up.

I have been adding your blogs to the list of blogs that I follow as you sign up to follow ours. I would love to add more people to the list of blogs that I follow, if you would like me too. In the whirlwind of activity over the last few months, I have lost so many blog links that I loved reading. If I haven't added yours to my blog roll or followers list, it isn't because I don't love your blog. With the stress we have been under, I have lost links, and lost track of who I have added and who I haven't.

When I add blogs to my follower list, blogger tells me when you post a new message, in my blogger dashboard. This is making it so much easier for me to keep up with people that I care about.

Most of you know that Samrawit has been fighting a staph infection for a couple of months. Today we learned that she tested negative for MRSA for the 2nd time. This means that life in the Riggs house can return to "normal" (which is only one kid sick, not two). Abby is so excited that she can be with Sami again. The girls were inseparable before this started. God is so good! Thank you for praying.

Here is picture that we took when we got the first tested negative a few weeks ago.

Thank you so much for praying for Abby.

Abby joking around at clinic. She makes a long day so much fun.

We had asked for prayers for some very specific things. One thing I REALLY hoped and prayed for was for permission to give some of Abby's chemo at home, specifically the one that they give her 4 days a week. Three of those days there is no lab drawn and no one even needs to examine Abby. They just give her the medicine in her port and we go home. This "simple" thing has taken us up to 5 hours to accomplish, on a bad day, all but 10 minute of that were waiting to start.

I was told on Monday that they had never let a parent give chemo to their child themselves in their IV, but that she would see if the doctor would allow me to. Yesterday I got the permission from Abby's doctor, it was approved by our insurance and home health is scheduled to drop off the supplies today. This means two less trips to the hospital's clinic this week and we will only have to go there once next week instead of four times. Praise God.

This is the same medication that caused Abby to get a high fever and to be hospitalized last time she got it, so I am not promising the kids that the next two weeks will be easier~ I am hopeful, but not promising them. Brent and I are doing everything we can to help Abby's life to be as normal as we can, while still being as safe as possible. By doing this at home, she will actually be safer, because she will not be exposed to all of the sick people at the hospital.

A week ago, Abby had an allergic reaction to the extra sticky tape that a nurse used to secure her port's bandage. They used a lot of it. Her skin was so irritated that it bled as they took it off. Every since then, Abby is terrified (I am not exaggerating) of anyone accessing her port or taking off the bandage. We hope that with her Daddy and I caring for her port and taking the bandage off on Thursday at home ourselves, we will be able to begin to teach her to be calmer and trust again. She used to handle this beautifully, and I hope for her sake, she will be able to learn to again.

We are very thankful that God is taking such wonderful care of our daughters and family. Thank you so much for praying for our family, especially Samrawit and Abby and for encouraging us.