Middle of the Night Weigh-Ins

This post is #135 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

November 14, 2008

Hospital life is strange.  You would think that the doctors and nurses want the sick person to rest ... but no ... you would think wrongly.  All through the day -- and all through the night -- there are blood pressure checks, antibiotic infusions, and temperature measurements.  There are even people who come in and clean the room during the night -- they flip on the lights, sweep the floor, bang the trash cans around, etc.  And of course, there are the beeping IV monitors when a little air gets in the line.  But the strangest thing Hannah was asked to do was climb out of bed at some wee hour of the morning (every morning) and stand on a scale so they could check her weight.  I never could figure out why it was necessary to do that while the rest of the world was sleeping.

But it was fine.  Hannah was improving, and that's all that mattered.  Once her bone marrow woke up and started doing its job, we would be heading home!

My email from ten years ago today ...

Just a brief update....Hannah's ANC (immunity level) is up to 84 today, from 24 yesterday! She is still feeling good...a little bit tired from trying to sleep in a hospital between all the blood pressure checks, antibiotic infusions, temperature checks, etc. Would you believe they even make her get out of bed in the middle of the night to weigh herself? When I asked them why they don't just do that in the daytime, they explained that they have to do it after midnight so that the attending physician has all current information in the morning when he/she checks the charts. Anyway, we are doing well, and Hannah's spirits remain good. Please continue to pray for her bone marrow to kick in and to begin to manufacture blood cells on its own. We praise God for the blood of Christ, which enables us to stand before His throne and boldly make our requests known!

He is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad