Friday Update

Just a quick update to let you know that we had 2 medical interference days this week. Thursday I was unable to draw blood through Millie's broviac tubes-so we had to haul down to the Oakland clinic for a special drug to clear the lines. On our drive home I got the call that Millie's hemoglobin was hovering around 7 and she had to have a blood transfusion in Santa Rosa on Friday.

Blood transfusions are an all-day affair. You'd think they could call the blood bank, have a pint of A positive delivered, and the infusion done within a couple of hours.

In reality, Millie's blood sample must be "type and cross"'d each time she needs a transfusion. I have no idea what would change every time- as she is always A+, but I am not a medical professional. This checking takes at least an hour, and then the order goes in for the blood which takes another 2 hours. Then the transfusion goes through at about 3.5 hours. Of course, before the transfusion she is given benedryl and tylenol to help against a reaction to the blood. This takes another 30 minutes.

We had an excellent nurse in Santa Rosa who fussed over us in all our grumpiness. Her name is Debbie and she is another shining light we've found on our journey. One more little light we found yesterday was that directly outside the treatment room, where we spent seven hours, hung a pastel work by Millie's Oma- Andrea Way! I call instances like this "wildflowers of serendipity" - little surprises that remind you you are on the right path.

Thursday and Friday this week we spent a lot of time on the road and in medical offices- at a time when Millie was severely neutropenic. We were both pretty fussy about the whole thing, and look forward to a better weekend.

I thought I'd post a picture of Griffin this time. Here he is with a model of a California Mission that he made with Oma over the last month.