Beth - The latest

Today we took Beth back to the hospital again for more bloodwork. It's amazing how quickly this huge place has become so familiar-feeling. That first frightening night in the ER seems so long ago...it's hard to believe that it was only three weeks ago today! Although Beth doesn't particularly enjoy needle-sticks, she loves the hospital itself. We stopped for a chocolate-chip cookie at the bakery in the lobby, and then Beth boldly headed to the information desk. "Do you have any stickers?" she asked the lady behind the desk. The woman smiled at her and began to pick out a large selection of various stickers, which she handed to Beth. "Do I get to keep them all?", was Beth's question, and she beamed from ear to ear when the lady responded in the affirmative. Beth immediately sorted the stickers into two piles...one for her, and one for Amy.

We headed to the lab, stopping to look at all the sights along the way...the bubbling water fountain, the hand-made animal quilt, the wishing-well. We had to wait close to an hour for our turn in the lab, but Beth kept quite busy playing with all the toys hanging on the walls outside the lab. She is a real trooper, and refuses to even look away when her blood is being drawn. She stares directly at the needle, and watches in fascination as her blood is drawn into the tube. She whimpered just a bit, but it was quickly over.

Then it was time for a quick pizza lunch before heading back home to relieve Grampy of his babysitting duties. Amy seemed happy as a clam, cuddled up watching movies with Grampy, holding a large bucket of popcorn. Erin was sound asleep.

This afternoon the ITP specialist called us to say that Beth's platelet count remains stable. It has dropped a bit from two weeks ago, but it's still fine. At this point it's hard to tell whether or not there is still some medication in Beth's system, causing the platelets to remain stable, but the hematologist is clearing Beth to run and play outside on the jungle gym, and we will continue to monitor for the bruising and bleeding, which could return within the next few weeks. However, since her counts remain so stable, it's very likely that the major crisis is over now. They won't declare her completely "cured" until 6 months after the initial diagnosis, but at this point things really look good. Beth is thrilled, and Daddy plans to take the girls to the playground tomorrow while I'm at work. The weather is supposed to warm up slightly, so it should be a great opportunity for Beth to run and play once again.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Please continue to keep Beth in your prayers. We will simply be taking one day at a time for the next few months, and are simply looking forward to letting Beth spend some time outdoors tomorrow. I hope all of you are able to run and play a bit this weekend, too!