Line is Good

Greta's line test went fine on Wednesday. There was no evidence that the line was clogged so that means that we can continue to keep the line in and she won't need to get peripheral blood draws each week. That's good news for Greta and for us, I don't think she would appreciate the pokes every week. Our next clinic visit is Wednesday at which time she'll also have another CT Scan her first of many scans post transplant.

Greta continues to do amazingly well and we couldn't be happier!
The Betz Family

Holding Steady

Greta had another clinic visit today. They weren't able to pull any blood off her Broviac so she had to have a drug inserted in her line to clear it up. That worked and an hour and a half later she was able to get her blood drawn for labs. Her doctor is concerned that maybe this could be an on going thing so she's going back tomorrow to have a dye test. This will show if there is any other blockages in the line or blood clots. If there are any blockages, we may be talking about removing her line sooner than later. Otherwise her clinic visit went great. Her counts are still holding steady so she didn't need any transfusions.

Greta is scheduled for her first post-transplant CT scan next Wednesday. She'll be getting scans every 3 months and then at longer intervals for a while. We'll be crossing our fingers and saying our prayers that these scans continue to come back clean.

All in all, Greta is still continuing to amaze us all with her speedy recovery and her happy spirit. We are so blessed!

The Betz Family

Continuing to Amaze

Greta had her ENT visit yesterday and clinic visit today. Both went as well as we could have hoped. The ENT said Greta looked good and she shouldn't need to come back in unless she started showing signs of Sinusitis again. Her clinic visit was great. Both her platelets and her white blood counts went up again on their own. She'll now only need to be seen once a week. We are thrilled with her progress! She looks better now then she has since all this began!

A very happy Betz Family!

Doing Great

Greta had her fourth clinic visit Monday and she is still doing wonderfully. She didn't need to have the neupogen after all, her ANC had gone up slightly so we're holding off to see how she does on her own this week. All her other counts are either holding steady or improving so she went the whole first week without any transfusions. We're also going down to only 2 clinic visits this week and cutting out a couple doses of some of her meds. She'll go back to her ENT on Wednesday to see if her Sinusitis is clearing up and then clinic on Thursday again. We are thrilled with how well she is doing at home and couldn't be happier.

Please say a prayer for Greta's friend Rosie. She didn't get good news on her MRI last week and is being sent to St. Jude for treatment soon.

Love,
The Betz Family

One Week Already...

We've been home with Greta for a whole week today. She is still doing very well. She had another clinic visit on Friday and her white blood count and her ANC went down (indicating her ability to fight off infection). She'll be going back in on Monday and will probably get her neupogen dose then which will help bring that back up. Her hemoglobin and her platelet counts were still pretty good so hopefully she won't need a transfusion tomorrow.

We had a surprise this weekend. My sister Kari sold her home and bought a new one in Caledonia. She managed to sell her house and move without our parents or Randy and I knowing about it. Gavin and Aidan are very excited as now they live only a mile apart. Congrats Aidan and Kari on your new home!

I'll be heading back to work this week (in between clinic visits). Greta will have her baby sitter Jessica back watching her again so I'll be able to get back to work and hopefully a little more normal schedule.

We've gotten through the first 25 of 100 days already! Couldn't have done it without the support of our friends and family. We are so thankful for all of you.

The Betz Family

Good to be Home

Everything is going wonderfully for us. Greta has had two clinic visits since returning home on Sunday. The first was a quick one and her counts were all great so we were sent home. Today's clinic visit was a little longer as she was due for one of her IV medications, but still her counts were great. She'll be back again to check on Friday morning.

Greta has adjusted to being home very well. She's back to ruling the family and driving Gavin crazy. We were able to enjoy some time outdoors yesterday which was fabulous. She took a little walk around our neighborhood and then played a little kick ball with mom. (Not too vigorous, those platelets are still a little low!) All in all things are going better than we could have hoped.

With love,
A very happy Betz Family

We are Home!!!!!

We waited this time to be sure we were out the door and home before posting the good news. Greta was cleared to go home around 11:00 am today and we were walking in the door at about 12:30 pm. When we arrived her Welcome Home sign from her first return home visit in May was out front along with a bunch of red heart balloons courtesy of Aunt Kari. Gavin was anxiously awaiting his baby sister's return as well.

Once she got inside Greta and Gavin got right to playing and soon all the toys were back out. She also enjoyed running around on the new floors. It sure is nice to have everyone home again. And what a nice day to be home. We certainly are happy to see the blue sky and sunshine again.

We return tomorrow to clinic visits. She'll be closely monitored the next few weeks to make sure she's getting enough nutrition and hydration while we're home. She'll also be getting more platelet transfusions until her platelets engraft. Those take a little longer than the white blood cells. In about three weeks when we shouldn't need as many transfusions, she'll be getting her Broviac removed. We are excited for that change.

We're almost at day 20 of the first 100. We hope the next 80 go smoothly! Hopefully the next few weeks, months and years there will be little to update on!

Thank you all again for your love and support. We cannot tell you how blessed we feel. This is a real eye opening experience and honestly it's one I'm glad we were able to have. We will forever be changed by it.
With love,
The Betz Family

Still Waiting for Greta

We're still waiting for Greta to start eating.  She's had a couple short periods of success but they aren't enough to get her discharged.  We'll be staying through the weekend now and if she isn't eating and drinking enough by Monday she'll probably be getting a feeding tube placed.  Her doctor is concerned that she isn't getting enough nutrition now.  The ENT has decided to try and treat Greta's Sinusitis with antibiotics rather than surgery.  So all we need is a good eating weekend and we are free to go.  (Assuming no more fevers or other setbacks!) If only she were allowed to have McDonald's french fries, we'd be home free.  We'll let you know how she does! 

Not so Fast...

Well we had a slight change in plans. Greta's ENT decided that he would like to get another CT scan of Greta's sinuses before we left, so it was scheduled for Thursday morning. That along with Greta's doctor being a little concerned at Greta's lack of eating and drinking means we are in for another day.

Greta had a pretty low key day. We weren't able to get her to eat more than a few bites of breakfast and she drank a few ounces of milk this afternoon. Otherwise her appetite was not as we had hoped. She spent most of the afternoon and evening unhooked from her IV so she was able to enjoy a little freedom. Mostly though she sat on mommy's lap. Earlier this evening she spiked a fever. This means cultures on her blood and antibiotics. It could also mean an extended stay until maybe Friday now.

We have learned from all of these hospital stays this past year to expect the unexpected and that all plans are subject to change. So it's just a small extended stay and hopefully Greta will be feeling better soon and able to return home in time for the weekend. We have plenty of time to celebrate later.

Love,
The Betz Family

Home Tomorrow!

We got the good news today that Greta is on schedule to go home tomorrow!  

She'll get on more transfusion of platelets tomorrow and then she'll be able to go home.  We are so excited!  She won't be able to have visitors right away, but hopefully within the next 70 - 90 days we'll be able to get things back to normal again.  

We can't thank everyone enough.  We are so thankful for the doctors, nurses and staff at Helen Devos Children's Hospital that have helped Greta get to this point.  We are thankful for all of the new friends we have made on the Hem/Onc floor and we continue to keep those friends in our prayers.  We are thankful for our amazing friends and family and all the support we have gotten over the past 10 months.  We are thankful for all the churches that have had Greta and our family on their prayer lists during this time.  We are thankful for our employers that have been supportive and flexible with us while we are taking care of our daughter.  We are thankful for our neighbors who have kept our yard mowed and our driveway clear of snow when we were unable to do it ourselves.  And for all the people I am failing to mention now.  Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have been certainly blessed by having you all in our lives.

With love,

Randy and Kristi

Happy Engraftment Day!

Today was a very very good day. It was Greta's engraftment day which means her stem cells are doing their thing and Greta's white blood cell count is up. She is off most of her IV drugs except for her nutrition IV. She'll be weaned off that starting tomorrow. Once she is able to eat, drink and poop on her own, she'll be cleared to return home, maybe even as early as Wednesday!

The other good news is that I got the go ahead to visit Greta today with a mask. I was greeted with a great big smile and a hug, but then she immediately got upset that I had a mask on. She got over it pretty quickly and I got to spend the next 5 hours holding her. I am not allowed to sleep over just yet, but I know once we get the all clear for that, I'll be back in the line up. Thanks goes to Opa who has spent the last two nights with Greta.

The only bad news we had was Greta's new Broviac has a line that won't clear so it only has one functioning line. Instead of putting her through another surgery they have decided to leave the line as is. The only risk is that she could develop an infection in the line as we aren't able to flush it with antibiotics. This may mean that she'll have the Broviac removed sooner than planned. That will be nice so she can take baths without worrying about getting her site wet. But it means that she'll have to get poked for blood draws or for any scans she'll receive in the future.

We'd like to thank both Grammy and Opa who have given their time to help us out with Greta the last 3 weeks. I know they wouldn't have had it any other way, but it was nice to have them available when I was out of commission. Thank you also to my sister Kari for arranging the cleaning of our home last week. It is so nice to have one last thing to worry about when Greta returns home.

Thanks again for all the support we couldn't have gotten through these last 3 weeks without it! Now it's time to celebrate!

Love,
The Betz Family