Back to the ER

We have just returned home from a very long evening spent in the ER with our sweet Ashley. I am afraid she has caught some type of a virus during this last drop in her white count. She continued vomitting all day long and I became nervous about dehydration. I called and spoke with our team in Dallas and they could not assure me a quick and safe place for my Ashley to wait so I decided to go local. We were met with a wonderful staff and a very attentive ER doctor who took all of my information and concerns very seriously. Within minutes our labs were sent and fluids were running to replace some of the losses due to the constant vomitting. Ashley's monocytes and lymphocytes are elevated and in connection with the vomitting it all points to a viral something. What it is we do not know and probably won't be able to find out. The important thing is that we stay on top of her fluid issue. If we fall behind then we must fight an uphill battle and I have seen far too many transplant kids struggle like none other because of this. We are scheduled for an oncology admit on Thursday at Children's in Dallas to receive Ash's chemo and monthly cytogam infusion. We will also see her GI team that morning so my prayer is that Ash's vomitting will slow and that her stool will not pick up. I would like to make it to Dallas on our own rather than going by ambulance. Everyone seems comfortable with her status at this point, but we all understand that we could be back in the ER at any point tonight, tomorrow, or tomorrow night. Ash is so exhausted. She has been awake since 6:00a.m. yesterday and has not fallen asleep until a few minutes ago. I pray that she is so tired she will not be able to vomit and that we will be able to keep her fluids in her through the rest of the night.

Nothing can be taken lightly when caring for a transplant patient. Fluid issues are one of the hardest battles we face. When they get down with something even if it is small they can not fight it off like the rest of us. When you add chemotherapy on top of immunosuppression it just gets tougher and tougher to fight off sickness. I have no idea how she caught a virus. We are so careful with her. She goes nowhere. We all were masks around her. We shower and change clothes when coming into the house from being out in public. We scrub our hands until they are sore. The kids are so obedient when it comes to taking precautions for Ashley. I love to watch how much they love her by seeing how they know to shower,change, mask, and scrub without being reminded before coming close to her.

I know how dangerous and serious this can be, but I have had a calm and peace inside and all around me today and tonight. I am learning that this is our life and that if we need to visit our hospital daily to take care of our Ashley then that is what we will do. It is just our normal for now and I am really ok with it. I am amazed at how Blake and Allison handle it all. They just tell her good bye and begin to pray. Allie shared with me some of the things she prayed about while I took Ash in yesterday and it blessed me so very much to learn of how strong her faith is. Our family is growing through Ash's struggles like never before and for this part of our journey I am so thankful.

The next few days will more than likely be a little tough on us all, but I know that nothing is out of His hands. If you would remember to pray for our little gherkin and her virus in the up coming days I would be more than grateful. I am praying for a quick turn around that allows us all to remain together as opposed to sending Ash and I away to Dallas or Omaha for an extended visit. I am going to go lay down next to her so I can listen for signs of a "gusher" and be close enough to stay on top of it. Thanks so much for checking in on her. I will get back with you later on today. God Bless. Trish