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Our stay at KU Med Center

 I can vividly remember the first day of our 18-month journey. We had just taken Gracelyn in for her 1-year check-up. Our pediatrician called, encouraging me to bring Gracelyn back in the next morning for another lab draw. Some of the numbers were way off, and Dr. Jantz wanted to verify their accuracy.

That afternoon, I received another call from Dr. Jantz, telling me to pack our bags and take Gracelyn to the hospital because her hemoglobin levels were "dangerously low." Thus began 18 months of blood draws, multiple doctor appointments, multiple specialists and a couple blood transfusions.

In early June, our hematologist finally thought she had an answer. We did the test. It turned out that Gracelyn had spherocytosis...a blood disease. So we booked a surgeon to remove her spleen.

Monday was the surgery. The rest of the week was recovery, first in PICU, then on the pediatric floor at KU Medical Center. The following photos are some that hit the main events of the week:


Gracelyn had just been moved out of recovery to her room in the pediatric ICU. We had amazing nurses while we were in the PICU. It took all of Monday for Gracelyn to fully come out of her "sleepy drugs." She also acquired the white bear, orange "thing" and the quilt from three different nurses. They all loved her!


For the first two days, Gracelyn either wanted to be held, or wanted to sleep in her bed. Here, she had been looking at a Clifford DVD and nodded off to sleep while holding the case.


When we woke up Wednesday morning, Gracelyn wanted to sit in the chair and eat her breakfast by herself. This marked a turning point in her recovery. Later that afternoon, we were transferred from PICU to the floor. Once there, we could take Gracelyn outside for a walk.


I had to throw in this photo of Jemma and Brad. Jemma was a really good baby for us during our hospital stay. We were thankful for all the family that could watch her while Gracelyn was in PICU. Jemma couldn't visit Gracelyn until we were moved.

Gracelyn's pain meds made her face itch. This photo shows just how itchy it was...she left scratch marks!


Gracelyn sent out a few texts during her hospital stay. Watch out world!

We ended up getting a double room on the pediatric floor, but since we didn't have a roommate (so thankful for that!), Jemma finally got to sleep in a crib. Isn't she so sweet!

Gracelyn wanted pizza to eat...turns out it wasn't very good...surprise, surprise!


Jemma was hungry, too. So she chowed down on a plastic plate from a kitchen set that Gracelyn was playing with. Yum.

To wrap up our busy week, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has supported us during the last 1.5 years! We have been so blessed by all of your prayers. God has been so good to us, and He has brought us through!

Comments

  1. I'm glad to hear that she is doing well. I hope she continues to recover and gain strength.

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  2. We've been praying for your family. Glad to hear she is feeling better and hungry! Cute pictures!

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  3. This post made me so happy! What a long road and painful road for you all but at the end...there was an answer and a solution. Praise the Lord!

    ReplyDelete

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