PRAYER UPDATE FROM Kathy Perry Buchanan LONG UPDATE ON BABY TESSA: Yesterday on Christmas, Tessa really sounded stuffed up. They tried suctioning her nose but failed to get any relief. Tessa was constantly waking up in the middle of the night. On a good note Santa came to Tessas room. Santa brought gifts to Tessa and her siblings. We are all very thankful and Erica feels like a kid again! The amount of gifts was very unexpected. We are very grateful for this. (On a special note, God used Santa’s helpers from Erica’s church to gather all the gifts and put them under a beautiful Christmas tree that they decorated the Ronald McDonald’s room for Erica and all the kids. Today Erica learned how to clean the Hickman Port and change the cap. Erica also learned how to administer TPN…(“Your doctor has ordered total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for you. TPN will drip through a needle or catheter placed in your vein for 10 to 12 hours, once a day or five times a week. TPN is used for patients who cannot or should not get their nutrition through eating.”) Erica also learned to administer Lipids to Tessa and how to administer Tessa’s IV for Tessa’s Antibiotics that still need to enter though an IV. Concerning Baby Tessa’s eating habits; she goes up and down on this subject. There was a time when she wouldn’t eat, but then she would start to eat, and stop eating again. She is now eating more, and we hope she continues to keep eating more. When Tessa was first diagnosed with Severe Congenital Neutropenia the doctor’s put her on a shot called G-CSF as I told you before these shots are dangerous and can cause Leukemia. I just found out that they never stopped Tessa from taking these shots, so they will have to, every so often, have a bone marrow biopsy to see if she has Leukemia. So far so good and we believe that God will take care of her and she will not come down with Leukemia. We do not know if this is bad news or good news. Since Tessa’s blood has been changing, Tessa’s eyes are draining blood, this happened after the cleaning of her nasal/orbital area where they cleaned away some dead tissue. As we have spoken about before, Tessa’s Neutrophil count was very low and at zero most of the time. This transplant started her over and is now supposed to help her to start making new Neutrophils and new white blood counts. As of Christmas day Tessa’s neutrophil reached 1,000, the normal count for a baby should be 3,000-5,000. The other day we gave you an update that her count was up to two, and this meant to us that the bone marrow was working. When she got her new bone marrow she had to start all over, until she started making her own blood counts. So 2 meant she was making her own blood count. In just a few days her count reached 1,000! Then today it is at 1,500! She still is not where she needs to be, but we know that the new bone marrow is doing its job, so we are very grateful and blessed that we see her numbers going up. I have to add that her other white blood counts are still low. Tessa being discharged to the Ronald McDonald house is still a goal for Sunday, since she has been doing much better. This will happen if Tessa stays well, doesn’t have a fever, and her numbers keep doing well. She has only received permission to stay at the Ronald McDonald house until, I believe for 83 days. While at the Ronald McDonald house Tessa will have to be seen at their clinic every day, so they can check how she is doing. When Tessa and Erica’s time is up at the Ronald McDonald House, they are expected to get an apartment close by the hospital where she will continue to have appointments at the clinic. Depending on how Tessa’s recovery is doing, it can go from an every day appointment to two to three times a week. So all in all Tessa is in recovery, but still not out of danger as of yet. There is still a chance for infection and a rejection of her new bone marrow. We, as a family, are trusting Jesus in all of this. We do not know what He has planned for Tessa, but we trust in Him and see all that He has done for Tessa. She has come a long way, and we Give God all the glory. It was great news to hear how much her neutrophil counts have gone up. If there are no infections and no fever, and the bone marrow continues to do its job, we are very hopeful. Thank you all for wanting to know how our Tessa is doing. Thank you for being a part of Tessa’s life and ours. Please continue to pray for our Baby Tessa. God bless you all. The photo below is Baby Tessa on her own for the first time. Look at that smile!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 15:29:39 +0000
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