Back Home Again

Luckily it was a short visit, less than 24 hours! It started out to look like a longer stay. Greta had to start her treatment called IVIG which is to run over 10 hours and she has to be hooked up to a blood pressure cuff the whole time. So it was a good thing that it didn't start until 10 pm so she slept through most of it. Unfortunately the IV that was started while we were in clinic wasn't functioning so they had to start another one. After 5 tries, one finally took. Poor Greta had 8 pokes in the last 24 hours! She was exhausted by the time the IV was in and her transfusion began.

Greta had a bone marrow biopsy this morning to rule out any problems there. Those results came back and everything looks good there. Her platelets have improved although still not desirable, but we got to go home as long as we promised to keep her from doing any stunts or acrobatics. The hard part will be keeping her off of Gavin.

Greta will be going back to clinic twice a week again to keep an eye on her platelet level. The official diagnosis is ITP which is an unknown virus that attacks the platelets. Apparently it has been quite common this year with the kids at the hospital. We're just breathing easy that it was something easily treated.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to keep us in your prayers. This is just a reminder to us to keep vigilant. We are thankful for all the blessings we have had so far in Greta's treatment and we pray for her continues to be healing.

Love,
The Betz Family

Unexpected Stay

Soooo, Greta's doctor visit turned into a stay at the hospital. They drew labs and her platelet count came back way low. So we were sent to clinic where they rechecked her labs and as expected they were low enough that we needed to stay. We'll have tests run tomorrow, but the expectation is that she has a virus that has caused her body to fight off her platelets. If that is the case, she'll be getting medication that will hopefully prevent that from happening and allow her body to build her platelets back up. Platelets are what helps the blood clot and Greta is showing signs that hers is very low. Lots of bruises and lots of little red dots on her face and limbs.


She'll have her bone marrow checked tomorrow to make sure that there isn't an issue there, but we're told that if there were a problem there, it would be likely her other counts would fall too and those are all at normal levels. We're not sure how long our stay is this time, but it could be a few days until her counts start showing improvements.


It's been over 3 months since our last overnight stay here so we're hoping Greta is able to sleep okay here. So far she's been in good spirits and doesn't seem to be upset about where we are so that helps.

Thanks for your continued prayers!
The Betz Family

Going to the Doctors

Greta has a cold and it's gone on long enough so she'll be going to her Pediatrician tomorrow. It's the first time she'll be back to her family doctor in over a year. It's a nice treat to only have to run up to the doctor office rather than the hospital!

I just realized that it'd been two weeks since posting anything on Greta's status so I thought maybe I'd give a little update. Greta is doing great at home. She is starting to get into the swing of going to daycare and then home to play in the evenings. She loves playing outside in her swim suit. She is always trying to get someone to put it on her so she can go and play in the water. Poor little thing has no body fat and she starts shivering and her lips turn blue after a few minutes of playing.

In a few weeks the kids and I will be going to Clarkston for the weekend (Randy is getting away for a golf weekend). It will be the first time since the transplant that Greta gets to go to my childhood church to visit some more of our many friends that prayed for us and supported us this past year.

We're also hoping to get our boat out in a couple weeks if the weather stays nice and warm. Greta hasn't been boating since she was about 9 months old so it should be interesting to see how she likes it. I think her Dad is anxious to see his toy too.

We hope you are all enjoying the spring weather and had a great Memorial Day weekend!
The Betz Family

What a Fabulous Weekend!

We had an amazing time this weekend at Great Wolf Lodge. Gavin was so surprised and had the time of his life. When we drove up to the hotel he said "this is the biggest hotel I've ever seen, look they have slides, look they have a McDonalds right next to it!"

Greta ran right for the water and it was the first thing she asked for after waking up the next morning. She played so hard on Saturday she nearly fell asleep at the table while we were eating lunch. It was so great to get to go swimming and to spend the time with our family. Now we have to put up with Gavin asking hourly, when we can go back to the water park.

We are enjoying every little "new" thing we get to experience now that Greta is better. Tonight Gavin and Greta took their first bath together with water that was deeper than a couple inches. And we didn't have to hold a cloth up to Greta's Broviac site to keep it dry. So much more freedom!

A Great Visit

We had Greta's clinic visit today and it went great. Except for maybe the poke she had to endure for her blood draw. She was not so enthusiastic for that. But all her labs came out looking great. We also met with her oncologist today and he said he was very happy with her progress and reassured us that her last CT Scan was great and there was no need for concern. She'll now only be seen once a month with scans every 3 months. I'm not sure what we'll do with having such long breaks between clinic visits. It's wonderful!

We're getting ready for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We cannot wait to see Gavin's face when he realizes where we are. He'll be so excited!

I know some of you were a little concerned when you saw Greta's picture while she was sedated. Just to assure you that she doesn't look that sickly normally, I'm posting pictures of her minutes before the procedure!

With love,
The Betz Family

Enjoying our Freedom

Greta's Broviac removal on Thursday went very smoothly. It took about 15 minutes and then after about 20 minutes to get her awake from the sedation we were on our way home. The first thing Greta said when I woke her up to bring her in from the car was "fries". So Randy ran out to McDonalds and got her a burger and fries for her lunch.

We had her neighborhood friends over Friday night for an ice cream party to celebrate her 100 days being over. She loved having all her friends come play in her house. Something we haven't been really able to do for the past year. My favorite part of the weekend was last night when we went to give her a bath and she looked down to put her line over her shoulder and realized it wasn't there. It took her a few seconds of looking before she just shrugged it off and got in the tub. She doesn't have quite complete freedom in the tub as we have to keep the site dry for another few days, but it's coming!

Next week Greta will start going to day care with Gavin. I'm sure she'll have no problem with the change. I know she'll love having the kids to play with. And she definitely can use the experience of learning to share with other kids again. She's been a little spoiled at home lately!

Thanks again for your continued support and prayers. It's been a great week for us, a year in the making!

Love,
The Betz Family