One less bag

Eila came home from the hospital today.  Overall her stay was uneventful, and it was easier being in town.  By Sunday night her white cell and neutrophil counts had already improved and she wasn't running a temperature.  We were all able to visit her and spend a little time together -- Annikka wore a mask because she's getting over a cold.

From Sept/Oct2015

On Monday, we got the good news from urology that Eila's catheter could be removed.  Since her procedure last week, the drainage from her penrose has stopped and the output into the catheter bag increased.  After two months managing these bags, this was a very exciting step.  And Eila's excited to go to kindergarten without a bag on her leg, to feel more like all the other kids.  If we continue to see no output from the penrose drain, she'll soon get to rid herself of the ostomy bag too.

It was definitely different being in town ... Eila was in the same unit as the newborn babies, and the nurses were all very sweet about having a "big kid" around.  She got a great new coloring book and a fun new game that helped pass the time.  But Eila would also point out that there was no playroom, no volunteers, and no leaving her room.  So luckily her stay was relatively short and so was the ride home.

From Sept/Oct2015

She's feeling a lot better and looking forward to going to school tomorrow, bag free!  Hopefully she'll get to double her days in kindergarten before she's back up in Portland for chemo in October.