Daley Ponderings

Some pretty good appointments yesterday, and the snow (9 inches?!) wasn't too bad at all driving up to Dartmouth (one car sped by our line of traffic and a couple minutes later was spun off the road in the median, but she was already out of the car and on the phone, so presumably was fine, but... (More)

Short version of the post - all good results!  You can read the longer version below. We are very happy and it has been a weight off of us.  Until a couple days ago, it was seeming like it was quite likely going to be a bad answer, as we've been praying and thinking over... (More)

As previously mentioned, Heather noticed a spot in Grace's ear last summer, and when the NF1 doctors heard about it, they were concerned that it might be a plexiform neurofibroma , and so scheduled an MRI for today to take a closer look. While it has shrunk on the surface, it is still there... (More)

Sorry we left you hanging about Grace's recent appointments. Here are some things to be thankful for about Grace. She did really well during her audiology appointment. It took a long time, but she followed all the directions and was cooperative as usual. She does still have some hearing loss in... (More)

Jon and Grace just got back from a very long clinic visit at Darmouth.  Jon did not have time to tell me much, since he had to catch up on work. Grace's creatinine level was high, so they are concerned about her kidney function.  They double-checked that number and it was still... (More)

Heather is better at writing the updates than I am, though I've been intending to write a few since we've been back in the hospital. She has been doing quite well the last few days and much more cheery.  Nothing like a colonoscopy to cheer you up I guess.  I hadn't been paying... (More)

Screenshot of a video call on Thursday:  Friday's procedures went well. They got plenty of marrow for their tests. The endoscopy showed the esophagus healthy. The sigmoidoscopy showed her colon quite inflamed. The surgeon could not tell the cause, but was confident that the... (More)

Today is day +133. (Jon updated this post) Grace has been having belly pain and a lot of mucus in her stool, often with blood as well.  We took her off cow's milk again (she had been asking for it instead of almond milk.)  We haven't seen much improvement in the last week, and she... (More)

Grace did well her first night. I had a harder time because it was like having a young baby - changing diapers in the night; she did go on the potty. Jon and the older girls dropped Grace and me off at the clinic on their way home. Grace was not happy to be stuck in a clinic room. First... (More)

We've probably said it before, and anyone who has been in a hospital for any length of time knows that any time someone says "soon" that means 2-10 hours, and "tomorrow" means 1-3 days, etc.  So, even though I posted here that it could be Friday, I've been telling myself Monday, though as... (More)

Grace has been steadily improving.  She is not throwing up as much, she's had a few messy diapers that look more normal than she's had in months, or even ever. She had an ultrasound which she slept right through.    Her drain has not been putting out much, so... (More)

We have lots of good news to report. Grace has been improving the last couple of days.  Her abdomen measured 53.5 cm, the smallest it has been in weeks.  They have changed her cyclosporin from IV to NG (nasogastric) which is a step towards getting ready to be discharged.  The... (More)

The last several days have been back and forth. I’ve started several posts in my head, and then they end up changing. The weekend doctors cancelled the stool studies, then the attending on Monday re-ordered them. Jon had some very frustrating conversations with the doctor, but an... (More)

Once again, it was good for me to visit home. This time, I brought Joy back with me. We left later than I meant to, for various reasons (one being the second batch of Victory tshirts came in!) so we had a bit more traffic in Boston than I have yet driven in. It was stressful for Joy, I think,... (More)

Faith steadily improved throughout the day as she slept through most of it and has now transferred to our Boston apartment. She got a present (mailed to Grace at the hospital) so that was fun. Grace's diaper rash did not get worse overnight, and without oral meds, she ate well and did not... (More)