August 15: Day +44

A tale of two worlds: pt 2...

Well, in the hospital, the docs are pretty sure Bella's got an infection, so they started her on antibiotic again. They also ordered a chest CT scan for tomorrow to get a better look at her lungs. Sometimes they can spot things in the CT they can't on the x-ray. We also have our weekly liver ultrasound tomorrow as well. Let's hope that the ultrasound shows that all the liver is working properly again. If that is the result, then we've pretty much knocked V.O.D. off the table and therefore could discontinue the defibrotide. Bella overall was a little more stable today, and a little less fidgety. By this evening, her blood pressure and heart rate looked pretty good, so they are gradually weening back the ventilator and some meds yet again to see if she is ready to move forward.

In another world, Ali met a 3 day old baby holstein calf, got to pet a pair of fully grown swedish dairy cows, picked black-eyed susans, ate ice cream in the grass under the blue sky and warm sun, danced to golden oldies on an outdoor dance floor with daddy, ate brick oven pizza, and played games till she was so tired she literally peed her pants from exhaustion. Poor thing just didn't want it end.

So, tomorrow begins another week. We aren't taking out the breathing tube tomorrow. We are meeting Bella where she is, and providing her with what she needs, while gently nudging her to SNAP OUT OF IT! Just kidding. We're here either way till October 8th, so as long as Bella is slowly coming back, it's all good. Hey, we got to see her eyes today! I'll take THAT despite a little infection. Her recovery has been anything but a straight line so far, so it would be foolish to suddenly hope for a straightaway. As long as we're still inching forward (which we are), it's all good. Enjoy some more pics from beautiful Minnesota...

Thanks again, Dayna, Brent, and Brent's parents, Howie and Laurie!