Day 10 hospital update

No creatinine updates today – the doctors wanted to rest on the blood tests today, and even though I’m super curious what it is, it was nice to sleep in until the nurse woke me up at 6am to weigh me/do my blood pressure/give me a calcium pill. I certainly didn’t miss the 4 or 5am sleep interrupting bright light, needle prick I’ve become accustomed to every morning.

I did have to throw away my flowers today. Kristina had brought me some pretty yellow daisies a day or  so after my life became about tubes, needles, annoying beeping machines, and pills, and Karl Most, from ICF (our English speaking church here) brought some beautiful gerber daisies on behalf of the church (along with some homemade banana bread that served as my mom’s breakfast all week!). Since it’s day 10, they were dying anyway, but apparently the spores in the flowers can cause infection, so the doctors ordered them to the trash. They told me a story about a patient on an immunosuppressant who was toting a bunch of flowers in his air conditioned car to his brothers funeral. Apparently, the spores got in his lungs and caused a really bad infection that he had for months. My heart rate has been high today, which I learned is the first sign of a possible infection, so they got pretty worried about that. The nurse just took my blood pressure and heartbeat again and both were normal, so pray that it turns out to be nothing after all!

Today was a fun day – mom, Paul and Chase came up and we played Settlers again, and this time I was a little less loopy. We took the shelf out of the bathroom again for our makeshift table. Ghetto? Maybe. I prefer to say creative.

Chase is getting a little tired of the mask (I don’t blame him), so he tried to make some air holes.

I debated showing you this picture, because who wants to put a picture of their stomach on the internet? BUT this color is just too amazing not to show you! This is just below my belly button – I’ve certainly never had a bruise this brilliant and beautiful before! So, I hope I haven’t offended, but I just had to share. I traded this for not having thrombosis! The bruise actually has mickey mouse ears as well, but I tried to show you just enough that you couldn’t see my chubby-steroid tummy.

As far as freedom, I don’t think I’ll taste it until Tuesday. I’ll have another blood test in the morning (pray for close to a 3!) and Dr. Granera said we’ll (hopefully) start making preparations for me to leave Tuesday, the 25th. Oh, I also abandoned the hospital robe today. It feels good to wear a t-shirt. And some of my best friends Sami and Becca sent (through Kristina’s mom, Linda) a sweet card (I cried, of course) and some fun new pajama pants, which I promptly put on. I’ve been super encouraged by the notes, facebook messages, e-mails, blog comments, blog shout outs and phone calls. I would never expect such an outpouring of love from so many of you, and I’m simply amazed by how huge the body of Christ really is. So again, thank you. Thank you for being Jesus to me in the time in my life where I need and want Him the most.