Good News!

We got a few really great phone calls this week! 

Frequent calls concerning Abigail's health are not uncommon and they are always a bit nerve racking. The calls are anything from doctor's appointment reminders to important test results and they all pretty much come from out of the blue.  While Abby was in the hospital unfamiliar phone numbers on the caller ID brought a great deal of anxiety.  The calls are less frequent now but still put us on edge a bit.

Call number one happened while we were out to lunch earlier this week. 

"Hello. Yes, this is Stephanie. Uh huh, yes I'm a nurse, I am familiar with those.  Ohhh, wow!"

That's what I heard sitting across from her at the table. Not comforting.  Then her face revealed what the nurse on the other end of the line called to tell us.  Her latest labs showed that her direct bilirubin level had dropped to 1.5! 

Cause for celebration!

It was a different nurse than we usually deal with so Steph wasn't sure what she wanted at first. The GI specialist had asked her to call and tell us the good news.  That is the lowest her bilirubin level has been since she was about a week old.  A sign that the Kasai procedure is really doing well.  We were pretty stunned and thrilled.  Truthfully we never expected it to be much better than what it had been. Three to Four was where it remained steadily for the last few months.

If you are wondering what that all means.  It means Abby's liver is functioning much better than it had been.  Back when she had surgery on her liver, Abigail - Surgery Day and Liver Problems, her bilirubin level was as high as 17. So, that's pretty incredible! Right? Hopefully it will be a long time before she needs a liver transplant.

As if that wasn't enough good news. I (Jody) had an interview Thursday afternoon and got a call Friday about the position.  I will start Monday morning and I am looking forward to the challenge.

I have been hesitant to mention my job hunt on this blog because it has been pretty rough times for many people lately. Frankly it has sucked.  The architecture field was no exception.  I was laid off about ten days before Abigail was born and have been looking for a job since that time.  

Little did we know how important it was for me to be available to be around with Abigail and Stephanie.  We got to spend the entire time she was in the hospital by her side and that was truly special. I know because I saw countless people that came to visit their sick children after working a full day.  We were very fortunate and we had many people helping to make that not so stressful financially.  So thank you if you were one of them.  

Stephanie, though, had spent all of her maternity leave and had to go back to work right when Abigail was released to go home. It was especially difficult for her but she headed back to work and supported our family.  I am very proud of her! Her job is not easy.  It's physically and often emotionally taxing on top of taking care of us.

I have been the stay-at-home dad and that has been tough but really special at the same time.  Taking care of Abby (as I'm sure any other child) is a full-time job.  I am eager to get back to work but I will miss spending the day with my little girl for sure.

So, praise the Lord for two amazing phone calls!

As things get even more busy in our lives we will do our best to share with you.  Now, hopefully it makes more sense why the blog took a slightly more masculine writing style over the past few months.