Blood Draw Today

I took Natalie in this morning for another blood draw at John Muir Hospital to check her hemoglobin since it was on the low end the last draw. There were two security guards blocking the entrance. When they saw Natalie, they told us that kids under 16 were not allowed in the hospital anymore due to the swine flu virus. They did not want any kids bringing any germs into the hospital since they have sick patients inside. Good thing I did not bring Sean with us. It was only after I told them that Natalie had an appointment that they smiled and let us through.

Natalie had a big smile on her face as she was walking down the hallway to Dr. Smith's office. She loves going there to see Nurse Nancy and Dr. Smith just as much as she loves going to UCSF to see all staff there. If there is one bright spot through all this is that the people who work with kids like Natalie are the best. They do make the kids feel so special and loved. Another treasure we've discovered in our dark time is that our friends, family, co-workers and community are incredible people with incredible hearts.

Blood draw went well although it took longer than the 30 seconds that Nancy thought it would take. Results are good. Her hemoglobin is at 10.2, platelets 400,000, and ANC 2,600. Her body is producing blood on its own.

Natalie's weight is at 52.2 as a result of eating so well. Dr. Smith said her dad should give her an increase in her allowance since she is doing such a great job eating and drinking. I guess if she had an allowance, we would increase it. :-)

Thanks to the moms at Gregory Gardens Elementary who have been bringing over dinners to us, we've been eating really well. Thanks for all the yummy dinners everybody!

Natalie and Sean have been riding their bikes and scooters almost every day. We've been driving to the empty parking lot of the school and letting the kids ride around. We open the back of our highlander and have been having our own tailgate parties as the kids play. They love exploring there. The other day they searched for different color leaves and also saw a spider eating dinner (an ant that the spider had caught). Natalie found that fascinating.

Our next doctor's appointment is July 7th at UCSF. We'll try to update more on the blog. It's just been so busy for us trying to take care of the kids and trying to catch up at work.