Tuesday, October 04, 2005

The Last Few Days

The last few days have been very good for Emily. On Sunday she got a visit from Corrie Llamas from the LA chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation. She was there to deliver Emily’s wish! When Emily first arrived at UCLA one of the doctors wanted to know if there was anything that Emily wanted to help pass the time. The subject of a laptop computer came up.


The doctor told Emily that she would check and see what she could do about getting her one. Kathy and Emily both thought that she was going to check with child life to see if they had a loaner. Instead she contacted the Make-A-Wish foundation. A few days later they requested that we give them specific details about what kind of laptop Emily wanted. Grandpa printed all the laptop information from the Dell website but before I had a chance to talk to Emily about it she was sedated and put on the respirator. The first couple of days that she was sedated I spent looking over the laptop specifications. I picked a nice mid-range laptop that had wireless and a DVD. Nothing too fancy but something she could use. The following week Kathy gave the MAW people the info and filled out some forms. Then followed more forms from the Phoenix chapter.

Then came Emily’s surgery and all thought of laptops was gone. Then, a couple of days after the surgery Corrie called and wanted to know when she could deliver Emily’s wish – we were shocked – we had forgotten all about it. She came to the hospital on Sunday with much more than we expected. She had the top of the line Dell laptop, speakers, head-phones with mic, a digital camera and a printer-fax-scanner combo! Emily was amazed and shocked. Corrie also brought fresh fruit, fruit juices and a tart for a little party. Dell, Kodak and the Make-A-Wish Foundation really came through for Emily. This is all stuff that Emily will be able to use for years to come. Thank you Corrie!

On Monday Emily was really starting to feel good. Her pain was under control and she was able to move much better. She could get in and out of bed on her own but she still wasn’t walking too much. This was the first day that she started to believe that her time in the hospital was getting close to an end.

Today, Emily had her first heart biopsy. They will not know the results for a day or two but this is a critical step in getting to leave the hospital. They removed the central line in her neck after the procedure. This will really help her feel more comfortable. She had a minor incident of atrial flutter on Monday night but the doctors are sure it is a side effect of the medications and not a sign of trouble. Even so, they will be watching very close for the next couple of days.

As of right now, Thursday seems the most likely day for her to leave the hospital. They may push that back to Friday if she does not get enough time in with the physical therapists. We are so close now; I just can’t wait for her to get out of the hospital. This weekend I am going over and I am bringing a couple of Emily’s friends to visit. By then she will be in the transplant apartment at the Ronald McDonald House. This should be a good weekend.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Make-A-Wish foundation rocks! God's speed to Emily in her recovery.

Anonymous said...

I am very happy that Emily is being Discharged it seems abit closer to some normalcy in her life. I still cant thank God enough for providing Emily with a new heart and a second chance to live a normal life. As Normal as it can get. Please let her know that she never leaves my thoughts and i cant wait to see her smiling face again. Both You and Kathy have really been troupers through this as hard as it was and im thankful that both of you are such great parents. We are all very lucky to have you in our lives. Wish everyone well for me and I love you all,
John