Brea had her first outpatient cardiology appointment today. As we were walking into the hospital she began to cry. She knew where we were and she did not want to go in. We were able to calm her fears by telling her that we were going to go bye-bye when we were done and she hesitantly let the nurse draw her lab work from her PICC line. Dr. Frazier examined her and found a slight ear infection but otherwise thought she looked great. It was several hours before we got the call from the transplant RN that her lab work looked good...as a matter of fact she used the word "great"! We are scheduled for a heart biopsy on Thursday at 7:00 am. We will have the results sometime late Thursday evening and if Brea's new heart is showing no signs of rejection we will be able to go home to Louisiana. We will still need to be here during the week for her clinic visits, labs and biopsies but it would be wonderful to be home under the same roof with the kids and Danny even if for only a couple of nights at a time. If the results show ANY signs of rejection we will not be going anywhere and she will have another biopsy three weeks later. We have not mentioned this to the kids because we don't want to get their hopes up. It is hard to talk to them on the phone and not tell them because I so desperately want them to have something to look forward to.
On a sad note...we will not get to see Brooke and Baker this weekend. Danny's sister Lori has a sore throat and with the kids staying with her the risk is just too great that they could be carrying the virus and could expose Brea to it. During the first six months after a heart transplant is the greatest risk of rejection due to the massive amounts of drugs that surpress the immune system so the body doesn't try to reject the heart as a foriegn body. A simple cold or sore throat could be deadly to Brea and therefore we cannot take any chances of her being exposed to anything. Being at the Ronald McDonald House is scary enough. There are so many people coming and going here so Brea wears a mask as we come and go from the house and also when we are in the hospital. We cannot use the kitchen or dining area because the risk is too great of exposing her to someone else who might be in there that might have a bug of some type. We hope to be in an apartment (thanks to another adoptive mom who works for an apartment company) by the middle of next week and that will give us a more normal life since we won't be confined to a single room.
Today I had an appointment with the Social Security Office here in Little Rock. This was an appeal appointment for Medicaid. I learned that not only the state of Louisiana is messed up in their thinking but the entire government system is! They confirmed that in order for Brea to get Medicaid Danny and I would need to get a divorce or be seperated for 60+ days or for Danny to quit his job. Even the social security office worker agrees that the system is broken. I had to laugh at their recommendations...I'm sure the clerk thought I was nuts but then again, I think the system is nuts so we are even!  Last week I spoke with a dear friend who was at one time involved with an adult transplant program at UT in Memphis. She confirmed that they had couples that literally had to get a divorce in order for them to get Medicaid to pay their medical bills. I think it is so sad that our money in this country has the words "In God we Trust" printed on it yet the the rules that govern programs like Medicaid are designed to penalize families who stand firm in their Christian values. Oh well, back to square one...
I had to laugh earlier when I read the caption that I put under the pictures on yesterdays update. I must have been more tired than I realized because I think I spelled every other word wrong! Oh well, life goes on!
Please continue to pray for Brea's recovery as well as for little Tanner and little Jalisa who continue to fight for their lives in the CVICU at ACH. God has been so good to us and all the glory belongs to Him for the great things He has done! My prayer is that Brea's story will make believers of those who don't believe and that her life will give hope to those who have none. If just one person believes because of what they have witnessed then all the pain and suffering that our family has endured will not be in vain.
Goodnight from the rainy city of Little Rock where sleeping beauty has finally passed out after watching Barney on the laptop for the third time.
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