Day 94, Transition Period

I'm thrilled beyond words to report about today's clinic visit.  Today's blood tests showed Hunter's liver enzymes decreased, his hemoglobin stayed the same, his platelets climbed, and also he gained 9 pounds since last Monday.  We having been giving thanks to our God who holds our hand through the good and the bad!  Hunter got to decrease his steroids again.  Also, it's time to begin adjusting a few medications so we can go home.  We had to go get a cupcake to celebrate all our positive news!

Hunter begins the process of weaning off his blood thinner injections that he's been taking twice daily in his stomach for the past 5 weeks and switching to a pill.  While the shots are not fun, blood clots are nothing to mess around with.  Hunter's clots should be much smaller now, and the swelling in his arms is almost gone.  You can see where his body has rerouted blood veins all around the clot.  Our bodies are pretty amazing!   

To be perfectly honest, the Coumadin pill didn't prevent new clots from forming at his central lines sites before his crash, so were are a little nervous about making the switch.  Remember the 5 central lines we had to pull?  Hunter was suffering from DIC {bleeds and clots where they don't belong} at the time {which we didn't know about} and he was deemed a "Coumadin failure."  It's impossible to know if the DIC caused the hemolysis of his red blood cells or the other way around.  Regardless, Dr. Carrum thinks he's ready to go back on Coumadin because his clotting function has returned to normal.  This weaning process will be very slow and closely monitored here in Houston over the next couple weeks.  For the next four days, Hunter will take the pill plus both injections daily until we go back to clinic Friday.  Will you pray with us that all his clotting functions stay normal as we adjust our blood thinning medications?  If all goes well and Hunter has no complications, we could transition HOME in the next two or three weeks.  For right now, we're right where we need to be in Houston.  We don't quite understand all this clotting and blood thinner business, but we are trusting that God has given wisdom to our doctors to make the best decisions for his care.  

In other happy news, Hunter and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary on Thursday.  We had a late lunch at my favorite, Cheesecake Factory.  We've managed to pack half of college, three years of teaching, three babies, lots of fun, and a bone marrow transplant into our first 10 years of marriage.  Because of CGD, we never really knew how many years we'd have together, so we just decided to treasure every single one.  It's never been something we've dwelled on, but it was always on our minds that every single day was a gift.  Reality said that there were only a few CGD patients in their 30's and 40's.  Only God knows what tomorrow hold for each of us, but for the first time we've got to imagine growing old together.  We are like a couple of teenagers, giddy with excitement dreaming of how life will be different now.  God has blessed us far beyond what we deserve!

 Another freedom that Hunter has regained is driving.  Chevy totally redesigned their trucks and Hunter could not wait to get behind the wheel.  I was excited to become the passenger again and have loved the cooled seats, the most handy navigation/radio I've ever seen, and the ability to charge 5 electronic devices at the same time if need be;)

We also got a care package from church.  Not only have we enjoyed tasty homemade cookies all weekend, but also cards of encouragement, and gift cards.  Jana shared that they were out to eat with the boys Saturday night and someone from Southern Hills recognized the boys from the blog.  They stopped by to tell her they were praying for us, dropped $50 cash on the table, and ran off before Mark could chase her down.  A group at church has also made arrangement for our air ducts and carpets to be cleaned before we returned.  Southern Hills has blessed us in more ways than I could ever imagine.  It is truly a place that loves and cares for each other.  We can't wait to get back to sharing life with our friends there!

 In other exciting news for our family, our friend Erinn is now becoming our neighbor Erinn.  She accepted a teaching position in AISD and is going to stay in our guest house.  "Aunt Ernie" gave up her entire summer to be with the boys every day.  She's incredible.  They've been so busy swimming, crafting, and running all around town that they've barely even noticed Hunter and I have been gone.  The constant stream of picture text messages has made being apart from them so much easier.  You just can't help but have fun with Erinn, and we can't wait to see the positive impact she will make on the kids in her classroom.  Our family of five is excited to have her next door!  We love you Ernie!

Benton and Ernie went on a date before she went back to Ft. Worth to pack.  And of course, a snocone!

Benton and Clara LOVED zoo camp!

Caleb said "I go next year zoo camp"

While big brother was away, they will play.  Love Caleb's cheese face!

Not sure when he got big enough for this, but he's quite the little 4 wheeler!

 And to save some of our most exciting news to the end of this very long post, this sweet angel is headed to Houston this weekend!  All our kids are on quarantine so we don't bring any germs to daddy, but WE CAN'T WAIT to see him again!  We ask for specific prayers that our kids will stay healthy this week, that Hunter continues to gain strength, that he stays free from infection, that his hemoglobin increases, his liver enzymes fall, and that he can transition off his injections and then HOME!  I know that's a big list, but we have a big God and lots of prayer warrior on team Hanner!