So….things have been kinda crazy around here….in a GREAT way! It's been over 6 months now since Elise has had an inpatient stay at the hospital, and as of last week, she's free of TCH "liver clinic" until her 2 YEAR annual transplant review clinic on March 4, 2015…..the day before we leave for Disney World!!!
Last Wednesday, October 29, David and I brought Elise to TCH for "liver clinic. Her liver panel was a bit elevated was compared to her labs last month, but her liver doc, Dr. Fishman, says he's not worried because she has been fighting off a cough and sniffles for the last couple of weeks, and she's been experiencing a flare up of asthma as well. Everyone at clinic says Elise just looks fantastic though in general, and they are very pleased with everything at this point. She is 3'1" tall and 34 lb, which is perfect, so we only had the pleasure of seeing our dietician in the elevator on our way out the door!
For anyone interested in the specifics of Elise's current labs, here's the main numbers we look at:
AST 58 (up from 45)
ALT 56 (up from 44)
GGT 40 (up from 17)
direct bili 0.0 (same)
We will be repeating labs on November 20 to see where things stand. Hopefully, all of her numbers will be back to baseline.
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| VITALS….. liver clinic 10/29/14 |
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| next "liver clinic" MARCH 4 2015…….wooo hooooo!!! |
Once liver clinic was over, we were free to PARTY ON!!!
October 31…Ethan & Elise's first real.trick-or- treating experience. My mom and dad were here to enjoy it with us, which was wonderful! We visited about 10 houses before Ethan declared, "Okay, we have enough treats!!" And that was that…we went home….and everyone was delighted! David went to a lot of trouble painting his face, and he said we only had one trick-or-treater here at our house. I think everyone went to a trunk-or-treat event at a local church that we knew nothing about until it was too late. In any case, it was lots of fun, and I wouldn't change a thing.
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| 'bout to get our trick-or-treating on!! |
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| Trick or Treating 2014 |
November 2….Princesses & Pirates birthday party for Elise and Ethan. Elise turned 3 YEARS OLD on October 18, and Ethan will be turning 4 YEARS OLD on November 12. They have all the same little friends at school and are at the perfect age to share a birthday party, so we went with it, and it was FANTASTIC….if I do say so myself! I still feel like I haven't slept in about a month, but that's okay……totally worth it.
The menu consisted of Pirate Jake's Jambalaya, Cannonballs, Tiara Tea Sandwiches, Royal Carriage Dip, Chip's Chips, Sword Kabobs, Cinderella's Glass Slippers, Walk-the Planks, and of course princess and pirate cupcakes for the birthday girl and birthday boy!! I'd venture to say that my first experience with Pinterest was a success! The kiddos are still talking about their party and the castle that magically appeared in the backyard. I simply love seeing the world through their eyes, and on occasions like these, our family's blessings are abundantly clear.
We were so happy to be able to share Elise & Ethan's birthday celebration with my parents, several "liver friends," a few of our wonderful teachers from Children's Lighthouse, classmates, and Elise's donor angel family, the Wardwells. It was a beautiful day in every way!
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| LIVER MOMS!! Me, Tara, and Kaylin! :-) |
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| My little princess Elise, any my Jake the Pirate!! |
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| Celebrating with the Wardwells, our donor family! |
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| Elise, Ava- Julia's daughter, & Layla0 Julia's niece. Beautiful girls!! :-) |
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| Elise and Darlene, Julia's mom! :-) |
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| cupcakes…and cookies…and brownies…OH MY! |
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| blowing out candles!! |
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| PINATA!! a.k.a PIRATE LOOT & PRINCESS TREASURE! |
Now, just to share a little of what's going on with me…..I believe I have mentioned that I have been training to run the Houston 1/2 Marathon on January 18, 2015. I've never run a 1/2 marathon before I registered. Heck…I had never run much more than 1 or 2 miles in PE class….LOL. BUT…..after being introduced to the Todd Krampitz Foundation when I spoke at their kick-off event in August, I decided that this is something I want to do; there is no cause more important to me than organ donation awareness. An organ donor saved my daughter's life. And I'm going to pay it forward. Every chance I get. So I am running as part of the "Run for a Reason" program, benefiting the Todd Krampitz Foundation.
As part of my training program, I ran my first 10K race over the Galveston Causeway/bridge on October 18.
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| 10K Galveston FINISHER |
After the race, we took our annual family pictures! I love pictures….in case you can't tell. Despite having thousands of snapshots on my cell phone, there's just something about professional pictures that gets me every time. Literally. I mean…..it's truly an investment. Our amazing photographer, Kristen, with La Vie Photography, has been with us since my maternity session during my pregnancy with Ethan. The kids know here and love her, and she captures our family so beautifully. Whether it was the milestone pictures of the kids' first years, or that last quick "picnic" photo session shortly before Elise's transplant--the one that I hoped wouldn't be our last family session--Kristen has not let us down.
Thank you all for continuing to follow our story. We are truly blessed beyond measure.
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