Abby just barely closed her eyes to go to sleep. She spent most of the day awake and happy and feeling good. Still lots of docs today, but no pokes.......she hates the pokes!! Abby was able to start the day off with the greatest thing ever! Thanks to all the amazing computer techs at Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School, Abby was able to Skype with the entire school. Abby was on my laptop and the school had her set up to their computer and then on the big screen! They had the computer set up so all of the kids could come and talk to her as they were coming into the assembly. The smile on her face was awesome. She loved seeing her friends and it made her feel such a part of the school! After the kids were all in the gym, they sang Happy Birthday to Abby....the whole school!!! She was just grinning and was so grateful that she got to see everyone. It was good for me too, I miss everyone at school so much, and they just better miss me too :) Whoever came up with that idea today, you were right on, you made Abby happy!
Abby then had lots of visitors again today which we still love!! It was a nonstop party in our room, every nurse and doctor that came in was able to leave with a cupcake or piece of birthday cake-that just tells you how many goodies we had! They also decided that she didn't have the virus they were checking for, so you know what that means????? Yep, we got to move rooms again! We're back to a bigger room with a couch/bed for me. I must have been a nag, because our wonderful nurse Jess, kept reporting to me that he was continually calling on the test results so he could move us out of "dungeon" and back to the nice part of the hospital as soon as possible. He also must have been pretty scared of me because then he told me that he'd been checking around looking for the biggest room with the best view and the most comfortable bed. I requested a suite, but I can't complain with where we are. Jess also helped us move, I'm telling you, it's because I'm so tough. I think we'll be here for about another week, then it will be time to move. I think we've found a place for us to stay here now too. It's a 2-bedroom place that's only about 10-minutes from the hospital. A friend of my dad's owns the place and after my mom and sister went and saw it today, they said it was perfect! This is just another one of those things that has fallen into place for us, I knew it would. Everything has just worked out with this whole mess so far, and I think it will continue to. I have also just felt that we won't be waiting too long for Abby's heart, it just hasn't been a concern for me, at all. I just have a feeling that things will work out, they always do when it comes to my family. So far, all of my intuition has been right on, and I think it will continue to be.
I missed Brock and Britt so much today, but I bet they missed Abby even more! It's fun to hear the nurses and doctors talk about how much they love to watch how my kids interact with each other and see how sweet they are to Abby. It makes me feel like I've done something right with them! I hope we can keep this closeness through all of this when we aren't together as much, that's going to be hard. I feel like a real bum ditching Britt tomorrow for her surgery, but I couldn't figure out any other way to do this. She just needs to be okay, I'm so nervous for something to happen, and I know it's just a knee scope, but I'm still so completely worried. I don't think there will be much sleeping going on tonight, that's for sure. Maybe when I've got my kiddos back here with me and with Abby, I will feel more peaceful!
This was my favorite comment of Abby's today, it shows how strong she is: I asked her if she had an okay birthday today considering the circumstances. Her response was, " ya, it was good! I even got to walk up and down the hall a couple of times by myself today, and it felt soooo good to be walking again. Yep, it was a good birthday!" I don't know too many 12 year olds that are happy on their birthdays to just be able to walk by themselves down the hall! I love that Abby will stay happy with just the little things,this is going to be important in the next few months, so I hope she can hold on to this.
My day was a roller coaster, a busy roller coaster. I thought things were going along so great most of the day! Abby was feeling good, she hadn't had any fevers, they ruled out the virus, her lungs sounded like they had less fluid in them, the rehab team said she was far beyond where they thought she should be, I took care of a lot of things I had to do, and we got to celebrate her birthday! Then came the real shocker. Even though I knew it was coming and had been waiting, they came in to tell me that Abby had been placed on the transplant list. All of a sudden this whole situation became so real to me that I almost passed out right there! I was just thinking, "Oh my gosh, my daughter needs a heart transplant! I'm going to be wearing a pager waiting for the call that they have someone else's heart ready for Abby, how can this be happening to us??" It just seems like we're living another family's life right now, like it's a movie, a really, really scary movie. After hyperventilating for a few minutes and working hard to stay on my feet and pretend like I was okay, I was able to listen to the nurst talk about what happens now. Abby is listed as a status 2. Primary Children's can accept hearts within a 1,500 mile radius, so pretty much all around the United States. Abby is in a good weight range, they will accept a heart from anyone 80-210 pounds, 5-25 years old. Her blood type is O, so she can only accept an O heart. They said she has no antibodies, which is really good, she can accept any heart in that range without having too many problems. Then they showed me and talked me through a website-www.unos.org. If you're interested, go to that page and then click on "visit optn website." You can get all kinds of info on statistics for heart transplant patients. Please do not share any of your info with me, I just don't want to know....it's too discouraging for me. I had to ask the nurse not to show me anymore because I couldn't stop bawling, it's just too much for me. So feel free to check it out, but I'm not going to, I would rather just keep thinking that it is all going to work out somehow! Once a heart comes in, they page me, and I get Abby to the hospital for her transplant. Wow, huh?
I am so amazed with everything that is happening back in St. George. I hear just incredible stories every single day. It's weird being where I am and knowing everything that is happening back home and just not even knowing how to express my thanks and let you all know how grateful we are for you. I just keep thinking that in some ways we're lucky right now. We have all of this support, there are so many people that love us and will be there for us. It makes me wonder, "What if this happened to someone that didn't have that support system? What would they do? How would they even survive this?" So, as much of a nightmare as this is for us, I also feel blessed at the same time. It's so contradicting. This is horrible, but so many good things are happening because of it, so many people are coming together and building relationships and bonding because of little Abby. Great things are coming out of this bad thing. Please continue to learn from Abby and the strength that she is showing through all of this. She is an example to everyone, and we need to try to always remember the lessons that her miracle story are teaching us. Good night, time to try to get some sleep, remember to help to take care of Britt and Brock while I can't be with them, and to pray for a heart for Abby....soon!
You definitely have 'done something right' with your kids, that's for sure! You and Abby deserve a Medal of Honor or something, ya know, like they give out in the military because of your courage and strength to keep going no matter what. You are right, people are coming together, and I am learning lessons every time I read your posts.
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