Aila
Today we received the following email from our (awesome) nurse practitioner Ilana at UCSF:
In college, I would often listen to U2 songs on a loop. If you asked Lydia Smith, my freshman bunkbed-mate and lifelong friend, she'd probably remember that the worst offender was "All I want is you," as I tirelessly pined after a high school crush whom I had deemed unreachable. Tonight, I found myself listening to Enya's "Only Time" on a loop, again and again, as I drove home from work. Now, try not to be too critical. First, remember that by all self-reports, I've never, ever thought of myself as the cool kid...cool kids listen to great music, know how to recognize great music through some genetic mutation, all sit together and rock out (coolly) to the latest awesome tune...I know this. I, on the other hand, listen to things that move me, on a loop, which (although never having made me very cool) somehow brings me peace. Enya's lyrics say, "Who can say where the road goes? Where the day flows?"
Aila's had a good twenty-four hours. She woke up early (for her) this morning at about 8am. Usually, I can spend mornings with her these days, but today I had to head to a work retreat. She said her belly hurt, and I was worried as she'd had another general anesthesia spinal tap the day before. She seemed scared and wanted me to pick her up. So I did, but it's pretty hard to get ready for work with an attached two-year old who screams if I try to put her down. So Brian thought on his feet, stuck her in the running stroller, and took her on his morning jaunt around the neighborhood. I was gone by the time they returned, and she spent the day playing, sleeping, and sometimes even smiling with her brothers and grandfather. Tonight, after we were all home, she told me some stories about her day and gave me some toys to give to baby. Declan (affectionately "baby") is trying desperately to crawl, and when he tried tonight, Aila followed suit. She moved from her stomach to all fours, which is the most movement in almost two months. We all cheered.
We made our second visit to the ER this past Saturday, 9/19. Aila was just in the hospital from Thursday through Friday, but they let her go home with my father on Friday morning since the fever seemed to have remitted. But by Friday night, the fever was back and stayed in the range of 100-101 degrees Farhenheit most of the day Saturday. At about 4pm, we decided to call the emergency service, who directed us to come in to the ER. We got there at about 5pm and left at about 9pm, after a dose of intravenous antibiotics and some serious thought about whether it made sense to admit her again.
It's been a long, long week.