Livers, Waits and Caffeine

Well, Selene was a champ once again. She had a 9am appointment for an ultrasound of her liver, and then an 11:30 oncology appointment to review the results.  And we now know that an 11:30 clinic appointment really means a 12:30 appointment. Thank goodness Dan was on duty once again today!

The ultrasound technician said she was the most cooperative 2 year old she ever had. Later Dan told me it took 45 minutes and she just laid there watching a cartoon while they did the test. She's pretty incredible.

And after not being allowed to eat before her ultrasound she had to follow it up with 9 vials of blood, which meant her veins weren't strong after being hungry and dehydrated but she was still and sat there while Mr. Pete wiggled the needle around to find her vein.

Next they had their marathon wait for Miss Ellen and then another marathon wait for Dr. Olson.  But in the end the results were reassuring.  The ultrasound was normal and her liver numbers were lower than last week though still elevated above what they hope to see.  The blood will be tested for virals that they would need to take action against. There's still the chance that she has a virus causing this that they aren't testing for, but there wouldn't be a treatment against them so they aren't testing for them.

Dr. Olson did say that while there are no other indicators that this would be GVHD, there is a .01% chance that it's manifesting.  I guess technically we are in the 100 day window which means our chance of this happening are increased. And we all know how our girl likes to defy odds, both good and bad.

So I'm not sure what we are "hoping" for. That it's viral? That sounds weird but I guess then we'd have an answer. If we don't have answers or vast improvement in the next few weeks then we'll need to do a liver biopsy. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

On the bright side, they don't need us back for two weeks after this (which is nice since this was two weeks in a row.) And THEN if everything looks good they'll stretch us out longer! That makes me happy both because it means other than her crazy liver that she is doing well and that I don't have to figure out how to take her while dealing with a newborn.

And of course I took Ainsley and Kalina to the mall for Starbucks, the indoor playground, and the Disney store. Which means I had to assuage my guilt with matching Tinker Bell dresses for the girls  :-)

My Starbucks

Thumbs up after an ultrasound, 9 vials of blood and a two hour wait.

Tinker Bell dresses and butterfly nets

Copycat