Day One

Greta's doing great so far, she slept well last night and so far only seems to be somewhat more tired than usual. Gavin and Mommy are heading up to the hospital this evening to spend time with Greta and Daddy before bed, it turns out Gavin will be able to visit her for a couple of more days yet.

Greta's getting chemo every 8 hours for 4 days, and then a different chemo drug for another day and then she gets a day off before the stem cell rescue process (IV infusion). She's being seen by various specialists during this time to get a baseline for various functions; hearing, vision, motor skills, cognitive and social development, nutritionist, etc. Kristi says people are coming and going all day long right now, which helps to make the day go a little more quickly.

Their room, this time, is large and bright with lots of room for all 4 of them to hang out together. Kristi and Randy are taking turns at 24-hr shifts, switching mid-afternoon to collect Gavin and spend some time all together while they can. A few of you have asked about visiting, but unfortunately no one is allowed to visit Greta at the hospital during this phase. Her immune system will essentially be eradicated, so she will remain isolated until it is safe to come home. You can, however, send email directly to Greta! DeVos Children's Hospital offers the opportunity to send email via their website, which is printed and hand-delivered personally to Greta and her family, http://www.devoschildrens.org/?s=3&hospID=36D00930453745378A180CE81B08FB00# offers a link on the far right side of the page where you can compose and send a personal message.

Thanks, as always, for your inquiries and emails. We will try to post an update each day.

Love,
Kari