I know, I know…we’ve done really bad updating lately.  Saturday was about the same as Friday and yesterday we were busy having a night out!  The Steelers game was very fun and a once in a lifetime opportunity for us!  We also enjoyed eating at Primanti Bros.; we can see why it’s famous as their burger sandwich was delicious!  

Medically, Annabelle is doing really really well. Her metabolic numbers are starting to stabilize, and as of this morning her ammonia was 40 (within the normal range!) and her lactate was 0.9 (also within the normal range!).  Her liver numbers are also trending in the right direction!  There has even been talk of discharge this Thursday or Friday, which is amazing considering we anticipated a 1-2 month hospital stay.  The transplant team Nurse Practioner started one of her several discharge teaching sessions with us today. In our initial session she went over all the medications Annabelle will be on upon discharge and the importance/side effects of her anti-rejection Prograf medication. Annabelle is on A LOT of medications,  but we’ll only be administering meds about six times a day so we’re used to that! Plus, none of her meds have to be administered overnight (all between 9am and 9pm).  This is a game changer ya’ll, as we’re used to getting up in the middle of the night to give meds!  Also, a lot of these meds will go away or ween after the first three months post-transplant as long as Annabelle doesn’t have any episodes of rejection.    

The only “complication” we have right now is that one her abdomen JP drains is draining a “milky” consistensy instead of blood.  This is a common occurance where her lymphnodes got a tiny, microscopic knick during surgery.  It’s not harmful to Annabelle, but it just takes time to clear up along with lowing the fat content in her diet.  Unforunately, this complication means that her JP drains may be in for a while (at least that one) until this issue resolves in a few weeks.

Annabelle is also still getting all her nutrition through her NJ tube, and they haven’t tried using her g-tube again.  We may be discharged with this tube as well, which we aren’t excited about because that tube is difficult to hide from her curious hands.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Prayer Requests: 

1.) Continued prayers for the donor’s family.

2.) Continued prayer for no infections, no rejection, and no clotting.

3.) Continued prayer that Annabelle’s abdomen heals quickly so we could remove the NJ tube and resume feeds through her g-tube.

4.) Continued prayer for exceptional nurses.

5.) Pray for Annabelle’s internal fluids to drain quickly and that her “milky” drainage would clear up soon so her JP drains can be removed.