Tuesday, December 27, 2011

-1

Tomorrow is it. The big day. My sister said she was sure I was terrified but, honestly I am not. One thing that I have learned over and over the last few years is that the known is scary enough to not stress over the unknown. Of course I am not thrilled with what we will be putting Piper through but I am even less thrilled with the alternative of letting leukemia take over and win.

No one can tell me what time this big ordeal shall take place so I cannot tell you a time or anything to pray. I imagine it will be a little like a normal day of dirty diapers, eating tater tots and playing in the playroom when all of a sudden the nurse shall walk in with a little bag of marrow and the transplant will begin. I believe it can take about 3 or 4 hours and Piper will be closely monitored the whole time. She will also probably smell like either creamed corn or garlic due to the preservatives that are used. And it will definitely be anti climatic...but hopefully it will be the beginning of a life free from leukemia.


Please sweet Jesus.

At this moment I am cuddled up to Miss Linley after a busy day at the Ga Aquarium with Chad. We attempted to make it one last celebration prior to the rigors of healing with transplant and the very real possibility of side effects keeping us from Linley for this short season. And can I just tell you what a wonderful mother I have? She is the only other person who is able to handle the details of Piper in such a way that Chad and I are able to walk away for a day and not stress. Our small family relys on her immensely and she never fails us.

Piper herself is hanging in there. She ran fevers last night off and on so she was reaccesed about 1:00 am so they could draw cultures from her port....she was a trooper about being woken with a needle coming at her chest. The entire night was just rough as she had monitors going off all night and a loud nurse and lots of poop and the getting a blood transfusion somewhere around 3:00am. We added insult to injury when she had a NG tube placed when she woke up because her appetite is slowing down and they prefer her gut to be moving, even just a little. Piper will also begin TPN, which is total nutrients given through her CVL in addition to the nutrition given through her NG tube and into her little digestive tract. She is still snacking and drinking some but it won't be enough and will probably stop all together once mouth sores and the other side effects kick in.

Good times ahead of us, I tell you.


I finally made it to Target to purchase the adaptor for my cameras SD card and my ipad. This means that I will be adding pictures to my posts from here on out. I will also be catching up on a lot of old posts and pictures from the last few weeks. What I won't be doing is sleeping, seeing much of Linley or completing thoughts...but I will be moving Piper towards a Cure and that will help it all even out in the end. ,

5 comments:

  1. Praying, praying, praying!
    We just stopped and prayed for you all!

    Love to you all!

    The Millers

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  2. Susanna, You are such an inspriration to me. I am on my own journey with my sweet Courtney and reading what you are feeling and going through gives me the strength to keep putting one foot forward. I pray for your sweet family every day and have all my friends do the same. I hope that one day in the future we can talk face to face and I can let you know how strong and inspiring you are to me. Keep fighting and keep clinging to the Lord. All this will be a distant memory one day down the road when you are watching Piper grow up a healthy beautiful young lady. But I know that right now today is all you can think about! I am the same way. Today is all I can do. I will be thinking about you and Piper today. Today is the first day of the rest of her healthy life!!!! I pray for God's loving arms to hold you and Chad very tight today and in the days to come and for his healing power to take Piper's small body and heal her.

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  3. Hi there. We met at the Mills place a few weeks ago. Just wanted to tell you that our family is praying for you guys.... Can't imagine how difficult all this is, but I know how God gives grace when we need it, so I truly believe He is walking this journey with each of you. Especially Piper.
    May you see, feel and hear Him every step of the way.
    Jen and Tim Bailey

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  4. Hello there, lady. I don't quite know what to say but felt compelled to write.
    Your complete honesty & faith & truth are such an encouragement to me. I'm blown away by your commitment to our Creator & how there's such a positive "vibe" in what & how you share. From the depths of me & what is good, I stand with you & am "fighting" in the wings to hold your arms up & believe/pray forth the best for precious Piper. May the Glory you ARE giving God in the truth you are living out (& have embraced) become such a sweet aroma to Him that even you can smell the beauty of your faith. You are honoring Him in such a personal way & I am humbled to see that gorgeous exchange between you & Him. It spurs me on, as well. Thank you! Bless you all!

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  5. We pray for Piper and your family daily at our house. You are loved and cared for by many, but especially our God who cares more and loves more than any of us ever can. Hang in there. We are here in ATL, so please let me know if I can ever bring you anything.

    Jana
    (Watson's mom)
    ajdufresne@gmail.com

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