FRIDAY UPDATE

There really isn’t much to update you all on but I didn’t want to go too many days without a post.  Piper has had dialysis three times this week and her blood pressure seems to be getting a little bit better under control.  The medication cocktail is doing its job, although she really doesn’t like most of the meds she has to take.  She is definitely not herself these days and we are really looking forward to the day we get the “real” Piper back.  She’s lethargic, clingy and whiny and we feel so badly for her.  She is also on such a limited diet that we give her the same things to eat every day and I know she’s getting tired of them.

Right now we are looking forward to her kidney removal on October 10th, God willing.  We hope she can get her hemoglobin under control and where it needs to be for the surgery.  We both think that she will experience some pretty immediate relief once her bad kidneys come out.  There will be a long road ahead of her after that, but that will be the first step on that road.  She’s been such a courageous little person through all of this and we are so proud of her.

Harper is still Harper.  She’s so independent and she knows exactly what she wants.  She’s mostly happy just being left alone to do her own thing.  She’ll sit in one of the little chairs we have for them and just rock her head back and forth to whatever music might be playing.  She loves to get into trouble and then when she’s caught, she looks up at you with these big, beautiful brown eyes with an expression that says, “what?  Me?”  In the evenings I like to take her outside to run around in the cool air.  I’ll throw a football and we’ll go chase it together.  She’ll pick it up and hand it right back to me to do again.  When it starts to get dark I have to drag her back into the house.  She gets so upset!

Sophia is being such a good big sister through all of this.  She loves Piper so much and we can tell she’s worried about her.  Since Piper isn’t her usual self, Sophia gets frustrated when she can’t make her laugh like she normally can.  We’re trying to make sure Sophia is getting enough love and attention through all of this.  Although we have a rule that she’s not allowed to come into Mommy and Daddy’s bed at night, that rule is being broken on a pretty usual basis.  This morning I woke up at 3:30 am to a little mouth breathing right into my ear.  I was on the absolute edge of the bed, almost about to fall off and Sophia was in my spot with her arms and legs spread out as wide as possible.  I didn’t even hear her come in, let alone push me out of the way and fall asleep next to me!  I’d love to say that I made her go back into her bedroom, but I just moved her over a bit and snuggled up next to her and fell back asleep…until I got pushed to the edge again.

My Mom and Dad are still here and it’s been great to have them.  They’ve been such a big help and it’s been such a comfort for me to have my family around me.  I wish my brother and sister were here too, but there’d be nowhere to put them.

We’re looking forward to a nice weekend with a trip down to Oktoberfest on Saturday followed by a huge Clemson win over Free Seafood University.

On Sunday, Piper will be back in dialysis and it will be nice to spend some time with her during that.

Thanks to you all for your love and support.  This really sucks, but we’re getting through it thanks to wonderful friends like you.

Love – Chris and Erin

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