June 29, 2006

Sorry for such a late posting. We had a LONG day in Iowa City. It all started when I finally really looked at the schedule of appointments this morning and noticed that Leah's first appointment in clinic with Dr. Rahdi at 11:30 -and her next one was not until 2:00. This did allow Leah to eat breakfast since with a CT there is a span of time beforehand you are not allowed to eat. However it did make lunchtime sad when we watched big tears roll down her cheeks because she was so hungry. The good news is that Leah's AFP is 3.5. Everyone seems to like that number. We don't have the CT results because it was so late when they finished. Leah had a very hard time coming out of sedation today. I held her, or attempted to, and so did Chris and then it was my turn again. She decided we should eat at Olive Garden on the way home and we were hoping that would perk her up. However, right after we ordered she started vomiting. Needless to say, we left the restaurant quickly. Luckily I had brought extra clothes for both Leah and myself "just in case", so we were able to change. We took our meals home with us to enjoy there. Leah slept the entire way back and promptly threw up again after we got in the door. She does appear to be feeling much better now and even ate her meal on the deck. Chris and I are exhausted--both physically and mentally. The plan for the future is another blood draw on Thursday at Covenant to check electrolyte levels. (Her daily medicines have been cut in half now). There will be monthly AFP checks in Iowa City. And, every three months there will be a scan. Obviously these monthly AFP checks are critical. We pray that they continue to remain within normal limits for forever and that Leah can once again be a normal four year old girl.