Well last night was better. The ATG was causing Annie's heart rate to drop and the flushing continued so they kept dropping the rate which kept extending the process further into the night. It was finally finished at 10:30 although she mostly slept. Tom was on duty but had the head's up about the ding-ding-ding's so once that started he knew to ask the nurse to lower the threshold (this was a doctor-approved call). Tom is too smart to be fooled by the Maintenance IV but he did get to monitor an unexpected platelet transfusion at around 2 a.m. This was meant to better prepare Annie's insertion of the PICC line today. She also needed medication for a spike in blood pressure. The rest of the night was spent sleeping and escorting bathroom visits.
Katherine enjoys track and her team did especially well in the relay. This is a great metaphor for taking care of Annie. A lot of time is spent mentally preparing for the hand-off, then the coordinated moment, then either the adrenaline surge when you take over or the release when you are freed and then preparing again for the next round. We are lucky this time to have Katherine on our team. She was only seven-years-old before but now she really keeps our home running while we breeze in and out. She's definitely our MVP!
Annie has been patched in to school this morning and it lifts her spirits like nothing else. I hope schools can do more to implement this kind of technology. It would be great to keep all kinds of sick kids home yet still able to feel they can keep up with school and peers.
Will report how the day went after I grab the baton tonight.
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