Sunday, April 16, 2017

Happy Easter

Rounds are finished.  Gage continues to improve.  As I was suspecting, they are going to keep him in the hospital until after his 2nd biopsy and his first round of IVIG.  The IVIG ( IV immunoglobulin) is a 12 hour infusion that all post transplant patients get.  They give it right after biopsy, at the 2 week mark and at the one month mark, then he will be done with it.  This just helps clear the antibodies that may come with the new heart.  I was hoping Tuesday, but the doctors decided, "let's just keep him in until after biopsy so we can keep an eye on his fluid balance."  So, it looks like discharge won't be until the end of this week.  All things considered, we will take that and just be patient.

Yesterday Gage had a good friend, Yonatan, come and hang out with him for a little while in the afternoon.  We snuck out and was able to attend the funeral of our friends' 2 year old.  It was so devastating and sad, my thoughts continued to be with our donor family.  As friends and community rally around and try to support these families through the grieving process, eventually everyone returns to "life."  But, the emptiness is still felt in their home.

Today as we celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of our Savior, I find some peace and comfort.  Though these children will be missed from this life,  I am so glad that families are forever and we can be with them again.  I am thankful for my Savior and for the example he set and the sacrifice he made.  I am thankful he was resurrected and through him we can start fresh and new. My heart aches for these families, but it is not good-bye forever, but good-bye for now.  I am so grateful for the gift that was given to Gage and the "new" life they have given to him.  We are so blessed and continue to be. Now, to write our letter to the donor family and help them understand our gratitude in words.

Happy Easter!

Our Easter egg hunt this morning.  Good PT for Gage, as he has to bend down to pick up the eggs, reach up and walk. 



Another good friend Rania came by to visit yesterday.


3 comments:

The Reading Nook said...

I love to see Gage smiling and am glad he had fun doing the Easter egg hunt at the hospital!

Jana said...

Happy Easter! Thank you for your beautiful message and testimony of the Resurrection. It's so wonderful to hear that handsome Gage is doing well and getting strong.

Tara and Josh said...

Thanks for a great Easter message Stacy. And I love the Sunday clothes.