Blood, Platelets and Afrin

Chelsea was so excited to see me. She wasn't over enthusiastic, but she gave me a giant hug and didn't want to let go. When Grandma was leaving, she grabbed me by the neck to assure I wasn't going to try and sneak out on her again. And she's back to pulling my mask off ... poor kid, she'll do anything for kiss from her Mommy. She didn't fall right to sleep b/c she was pumped about having me back, so we sang some songs, did some finger plays and gave each other lots of hugs and kisses. Technically, I've been doing a lot of kissing the inside of my mask, which is really weird ... gosh I can't wait to get over this cold!

Apparently the doctors decided Chelsea didn't need platelets or blood today. I was always told they gave blood transfusions when a child is below 8. Previously they warned us that when they're hemogloin falls this low, they're prone to dizziness, headaches, lethargy ... all of which Chelsea would likely have a hard time communicating to us. It seems a bit cruel to me. By the time labs are scheduled again (Thursday), her hemoglobin will likely be under 7 at the rate it is currently dropping. So because Chelsea is a tough kid with an unstoppable spirit she gets no blood today. Seriously, does it make a difference whether they transfuse her today, or tomorrow or the next day? No, not really. My mom was told today that they are trying to keep the total number of transfusions that she receives as low as possible. The last two rounds she has managed to get only one platelet and one blood transfusion the entire hospital stay. She then rebounds and her numbers rise on their own. So no, it doesn't really matter when she gets the transfusions. My opinion (as if you don't already know), ... give her the transfusions already! Poor kid, she hardly jabbered tonight and was pretty puney, not true Chelsea form.

Aside from being weak because her blood is so low, I have to stay on constant guard. Typical, non active people get platelet transfusions when they fall under 10,000 ... Chelsea typically gets them when she falls under 20,000. Since she was 22,000 this morning, I know she's at a huge risk for bleeding. Once again, by labs on Thursday, who knows where she'll be by then. God forbid she so much as bumps her head against the crib while sleeping. She's likely to bleed out her ears! Those of you who know Chelsea, know what a restless crazy sleeper she is. She's been known to sit up in her sleep ... she'll get all the blankets and pillows in her bed pushed to one side, then she'll prop herself up against them. It's extremely cute, but there's quite a bit of tossing and turning in between.

As for me, I'm feeling pretty crummy myself. Benedryl, Afrin, double layered Kleenex ... these are a few of my favorite things. Seriously though, who the heck invented Afrin? What a great product. I panicked a while ago b/c I though I'd left mine at home. I envisioned myself leaving the hospital and making a midnight run to the CVS down the street, which so happens to be in the middle of the ghetto. Yeah, I would do anything for my Afrin. Can't sleep without it when I have a cold. I actually didn't even know it existed until my roomate in college introduced it to me. Thank you! Now I look back and find it border-line abusive that my mom never let us use this when living at home. What other secrets have you been hiding from us Mother?

Good night for now, I have to leave you with the most peaceful sleeping beauty EVER!