Daley Ponderings

Our family will be in Boston next weekend (after the father-daughter retreat at Maranatha) and we are wondering if there is anyone who would be willing to spend some time at the hospital so our whole family (minus Grace) can go out to Boda Borg and the same  sushi buffet  that some... (More)

The last couple of days have been tough, but today is looking up. At 2:00 this morning, Jon called me to say that her breathing was worse and they were considering bringing her up to the ICU. I called my sister, she prayed for us. 45 minutes later, Jon texted to say that they had increased her... (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)

Jon wrote today: When I said it was a "bad day" the other day, a nurse corrected me and said "good moments and bad moments". This morning was good and she played in the playroom for quite a while. She did throw up after eating. But has continued to ask for food, and hasn't... (More)

I walked home late Monday night, because there was supposed to be this big snowstorm. Jeremiah was already asleep, sprawled all over the bed. In the morning, it was only raining Jeremiah and I had leftover pizza for breakfast, and we walked to the hospital in the rain. The nurses and child... (More)

My place beside you, My blood for yours, Till the Green Ember rises, Or the end of the world! One of our favorite series is The Green Ember, by S. D. Smith . Rabbits with swords, new stories with old soul, heroes and villains, joy and grief, hope and longing, with love and... (More)

Faith's surgery is scheduled for 7:30 this morning.  We don't know how long it will take for the lab to process her marrow and then get it to Grace yet. Here are some pictures from yesterday. (More)

I woke up at 6AM because it turns out that is when the hospital does weekly generator checks which involves the power going out, which shuts off the ventilation fan briefly and triggers these color changing lights (that we didn't know about previously, see below), and so the nurses run around to... (More)

The last post left you with Jon and Grace down in ultrasound. That procedure took two hours. They took hundreds of pictures - exploring all her internal organs. She does have vessel constriction in her liver, wgich is not unexpected with JMML. So since then, she has gotten another prophylactic... (More)

Based on the number of supportive messages we got yesterday, I know you are all eagerly awaiting an update. We arrived at the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic for lab draws and "here's what's happening" meetings. We sucessfully ordered Grace some food, and then we had to pop across the street... (More)

Today is our last day all together as a family for a while. God blessed it by sending a beautiful six inches of snow that cancelled our outside activities for the day. We plan on spending it cuddling and playing games (and packing for Boston.) Prayers for this week: Praises: We got a... (More)

Monday, Grace had pre-transplant bone marrow aspiration and bone biopsy. That's kind of boring. The interesting surgery came right after that procedure. Fertility preservation is something I had vaguely heard of. I know it's rather personal, but so is all this health information. We won't be... (More)

For the most part, these last two days went pretty well.  Grace was a trooper as we navigated the multiple confusing buildings and talked with many providers and was poked and prodded by various specialists. Her audiology appointment went pretty well.  The doctor was impressed with... (More)

The pathology report indicated no parasites, and no bacterial infection, but confirmed the swollen lymph nodes. The doctor said, “I do not like the look of her paleness, and that spleen is really big. We need to see inside; go downstairs and get to imaging right away.” Grace had an... (More)

(this was written January 2024, referring to Grace's first two years of life) When Grace was about six weeks old, right at the beginning of December 2021 , I noticed that she had “ café au lait spots .” I looked it up on the internet, and discovered that these... (More)