Abby made me a "bow" from piper cleaners.
Now if I just had some hair to put it in.
Abby smiling and making the best of her
most recent imprisonment.
Abby's doctors have been telling us for a year that kids with Leukemia are can get critically ill (or worse) from minor cuts, common infections and even the "good" bacteria that is supposed to colonize on your skin. This week has been a scary refresher course in that lesson. Every cancer parent knows that we have to work hard to keep our children safe from infection, but the reality is that we can only do so much to protect them and then we pray that our true protector, God, will keep our children safe.
The test results are in. Our doctor said that the ear infection that Abby has been dealing with for the last few weeks, infected her blood and her port. Just a simple ear infection lead to being hospitalized, missing dance camp and getting all of those pokes. A big part of me wishes I could put Abby in a bubble, so that maybe she would be safer.
Over the last few months, Abby has had a taste of freedom and loves it. As hard as it is for me, I need to take a deep breath, pray and let her truly live. Yes, there will be times when her immune system will be so low that we will have limit her, to protect her, but we need to find a balance. Please pray for Brent and I as we care for Abby and make decisions that affect her. We love her so desperately that we will do would do anything to help her win this battle. We are not guaranteed tommorow ~ not any of us. We want to truly enjoy the days we have together.
Abby is doing well right now. She seems to be responding to the antibiotics, but her ears are still infected and it will be 36 hours before we know if the bacteria is still in her blood and port. Her doctor still talks about what they will need to do if the antibiotic doesn't work, but we are very hopeful that we will get good news soon.
Abby's white blood cells continue to trend down. Her ANC is 1920, if it gets down to 750 infections will be very dangerous for her. We are praying it stays high enough to fight this infection.
Our 17 year old, Garrett, is sick. He has a fever, and upper respiratory infection. Abby and Garrett are very close. Please pray that he is well soon, both for his comfort and so that Abby won't be exposed to this when she gets home. Garrett is very careful to not give Abby germs. He would feel horrible if she caught his cold.
Abby is having a lot of fun playing at the hospital. Sami is staying here now and the girls are thrilled to be together again. I love that they can make any place fun.
Thanks for praying for Abby and our family. This was a stressful week for me, but a blessed one too.
