You don't have to see it...

...to believe it. We know, without a doubt, without even seeing the results, or hearing back from our doctor(which is proving to be more than frustrating) that Ashley Kate's SVC syndrome is back. Its MORE than obvious that her face and neck have lost the ability or have lost much of the ability to drain blood back out of them. Last night her eyes swelled almost completely shut. This morning the left one was. Its 2pm and she can see from her right eye, but the left eye has only a small slit open. She is leaning her head to the right side(where the pic line is) and doing her best to help it drain on her own. You can watch her actively working on trying to get some relief, some of the pressure to leave.

Problem is? The ultrasound done here in town yesterday was probably the worst one I have ever seen done on Ash. No disrespect intended, its just the truth. The results may come back showing us nothing even though we know there is something there. Through the entire, very long, ordeal the tech kept saying over and over again, "Baby crying. Messing up the screen." O.k., lets discuss this. She's going to cry. Thats a given. When you are holding her head to one side, pinning her arms and legs down, and pressing a probe into her swollen neck and on her chest, you can pretty much count on the fact that a 3 year old who doesn't trust you because of her life experience in this very situation is going to cry. Our pediatrician tried to convince me this was "moon face" caused by her prednisone. Ummmm, nope its not. Again no disrespect. She's been back on prednison since October 5th and it did not just cause moon face to appear on Jan. 12. I know her well. I know what her face looks like on prednisone and I know what her face does when she has a blood clot blocking the flow of blood from her face and neck. I just know.

Currently we are waiting on her local doctor's diagnosis. We've already called and again have been promised a call back. UGHHH!!! The last two days our return phone calls have come after 6pm. As if this is not an important or pressing situation. If he does nothing then its off to Shreveport we will go. If they can get us into clinic. It may be tomorrow.

All I know is that blood clots, although common in children like Ash, are dangerous. They just are. Plain and simple.

As soon as we know anything I'll let you guys know. Thanks for caring. These are the days that I wish our transplant center was just around the corner instead of across the country. They would have already started her on something to thin the blood so that the clot did not get bigger and bigger.