The bad, the funny, and the good.........

April 6th, April 7th, April 8th-The bad, the funny, and the good!!!

The Bad:

-They just came in and told us that Abby's culture from the picc line came back as a rare infection-I can't remember the name, but it's usually something that grows in the mouth and ears-but not for Abby of course, she really likes to mix things up.  We're still hoping for it just to be a peripheral infection, they took ANOTHER culture, and we should find out tomorrow.  So, tomorrow, we get to visit with another team here at PCMC!  The infectious disease team will be here in the morning to evaluate Abby and decide what the next course of action will be, and I thought that we had now seen every team here, wrong again! Hopefully this will turn out to be nothing much, and we can treat it with oral antibiotics at home!  They are still trying to determine what antibiotic will kill it, I hope it doesn't take too long.

-I just had to send Britt and Brock back to St. George.  It doesn't matter if it's only for one day, or one week, it's always hard.  In fact, I hate it, it's probably the very worst part of all of this.  I guess I should be grateful for the few days that we had this weekend and that we're nearing the end.

-My addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper has gotten worse, it's hard when there's a soda fountain just down the stairs!  I think I'll try to quit if we ever get out of here, maybe I should make it my PCMC treat!

-I am now so out of shape and flabby, I've lost everything that I worked so hard to attain a few years ago (except the weight of course, it's all coming back.)  I just need to get back to my normal routine-I miss working out, I miss my swims, I miss my bike, I miss the gym.

-Abby's got bruises up and down both arms and hands, and she has sticker marks up and down her chest and stomach ( I hate trying to get that sticker gum off!!!)  Poor kid!  Guess how many times Abby has complained since she's been here???  That's right, never, she just smiles and takes it as part of her new life.

The Funny:

- 2 nights ago, Brock and I left for the night and went and slept at my brothers house (more about that in "the good!" section), I felt okay leaving Abby and Britt because a few of the nurses and techs were working that we've gotten pretty close with over this past year, and I "thought" that they'd take care of them.  I guess, while they were still up having a blast and goofing off at about 1:00, a bunch of the staff came in and started to tell the girls all of the ghost stories at Primary's.  They spent the night creeping each other out.  I now know which pod is haunted and by which ghost, which room is haunted, which elevator to watch out for, and the story behind the walkway to University Hospital.  I'm shocked that Abby will even sleep here anymore!!    Thanks to my PCMC "friends" for taking such good care of my girls while I wasn't here :)

-Britt decided to take a nap during the day, because she was so tired from being scared the night before.  While she was asleep, Brock went out and sweetly asked our nurse if he could borrow a marker.  The marker just happened to be blue.  He then took the marker and wrote "DORK" on Britt's forehead, and he gave her a unibrow.  I don't know how she slept through us laughing so hard.  When she woke up, she had no clue anything was wrong.  When the nurses walked in our room, I would give them the signal not to say anything to her about it.  We couldn't stop laughing though, so when she asked what was so funny, I told her that while she was sleeping, she sat up and yelled "Dork!" as loud as she could and that everyone heard her.  For some reason, we had nurses from all over the floor coming to look in our room.  Britt thought it was so funny that she did that and couldn't even remember doing anything, that she painted "Dork" on her Easter egg, and she painted it in blue!  We laughed for a good hour every time we looked at her!  When she found out, she was a little mad, but we all laughed so hard and for so long that she got over it.  I'm just glad she let us take a picture of her before she knew what was going on, this will be something that she'll never forget.  I wish I could've convinced her to go buy drinks in the Rainbow Cafe before she washed it off!!  Thanks for being a good sport Britt!

-Later that day, after Britt had wiped her forehead off, Brock, Britt, and I decided to go downstairs to get some lunch.  We got in the elevator and pushed the "1" button.  Just as the doors were shutting, I saw a lady trying to make the elevator in time, so I yelled to her and asked her if she was going down.  She said yes, and Britt, with her amazing ninja reflexes, did a high kick, with her injured, torn ACL knee, and stuck her leg in between the closing elevator doors, stopping them just in the nick of time for this lady to make our elevator.  It was awesome, we were so impressed, and we were all so tired, that we couldn't stop laughing, we were laughing so hard we were crying!! I bet this poor lady was sorry that she tried to make it in our elevator!  And then, when we reached the bottom floor, and were still laughing hysterically, Britt accidentally said, "Well it was better to catch it with me-leg, then with me-arm!"  Arghhhh, we spoke pirate for the next few hours!

-Abby and Brock trying to play BS with only 2 players.  Hmmmm, it didn't take them too long to figure out that it doesn't work!  Or the night they played egyptian ratscrew for almost 2 hours, it's one of those games that never ends!

-The night we took the camera with us and went on a walk.  This was the night that I realized that it really doesn't take much to amuse us, and that we probably think we are way funnier than most normal people do.  I will post some of our favorite pictures below, if you can't tell, in some of them, they are "spidermanning!"

The Good-

- I really do feel that we are nearing the end of our stay here.  Tomorrow is a big day, we get results from her picc line culture, white blood counts, CMV counts, immuno-suppresant levels, and she has an echo.  If we pass off on all of these things, we will be home Tuesday, if not.........ummmm, I'm not going there.

-The past 2 nights, I left Britt with Abby, and went to my brother's house, and slept in a bed, with sheets and blanket, and a mattress too!!!  Thanks Britt, I needed that.....a lot!  Thanks Jeff for letting stay there!

- Abby has been feeling pretty good, good enough that we can goof off and have fun!  Sometimes she doesn't even act sick :)  I really do think that she's getting better finally, and they've decided against the feeding tube!  Abby is eating just enough to squeak by without one!

-Our friends at PCMC.  We have been here at the hospital enough this past year that we have developed some pretty close relationships with many of the nurses, techs, and doctors.  They make our stay here so much better.  They have laughed with us, and cried with us, and been there to talk us through some tough times, or just frustrating times.  I know they follow Abby, and the other kids, and genuinely care for my family.  We will honestly miss some of them, but know they will keep in touch.  I have heard that they all want to be a part of Abby and the Doman family when we are here, and fight to get to be with us.  We have played games with them, joked with them, stolen their slushy room cards, invited them to hang out in our room, fed them (we always have treats in here), watched RAW wrestling with them, shared our ups and downs with them, and will really miss them.  We will come visit when we come up to clinic!!!  Thank you all for making it easier to be here :)

-My heart friends (both new and old!)-I was able to meet and spend time with so many people that are a part of the "heart" community.  We had so many visitors from people we hadn't met, but only talked to or shared stories with.  It was great to meet you and be able to put names with faces.  We also got to spend time with our transplant friends,we have missed you!!  Abby and I think that you are all heroes!!

-  We went to church, together, this morning at PCMC.  There's something special about attending church here, not that it's only 30 minutes, or that we get to wear sweats and pajamas, but the feeling, the spirit that is in that auditorium is awesome.  Add to that that's it's Easter, made it even more meaningful.  Taking the sacrament and hearing people speak on the atonement takes on an even deeper meaning when you're experiencing it at Primary Children's with people that are going through trials, probably the toughest trials of their lives, or are experiencing tremendous loss right now.  It's often said that there is a certain spirit in the halls of Primary Children's Hospitals, it was so strong and obvious this morning, that I felt grateful to be where we were today.  We weren't able to partake in any of our Easter traditions this year, but it didn't matter.  I was able to have my 3 kids sitting with me.  This hospital stay hasn't been easy, in fact, this past 8 months haven't been easy, but today, while we were sitting there together, I remembered how blessed I truly am.  I couldn't ask for anything more.  I hope your Easter was as sweet as ours, I know it's one that I'll never forget!!