Busy day-

Kayli made steps forward in her recovery today...very fast steps...LITERALLY! :D

I spent last night at home with Emily. Was some very nice time with her before she went back to school today after the Winter break. I had a few other errands to run, but arrived this morning just before lunchtime to find Kayli doing very well.

She had been up out of bed several times to the restroom and sitting in a chair. Mark said she had been doing very well and had a quiet night even though she didn't sleep much. The only item of concern today is that her blood pressure is elevated, but apparently that is expected with some of the medications she is on. She is staying pretty busy texting, emailing and playing with her new i-pod. Typical teenager!

Dr Saggi came by shortly after I arrived, he noted that she was doing extremely well, and she complained of hunger. He ordered that she be moved out of the ICU by the evening, and also can go to a regular diet tomorrow. He than said that he really anitcipates her going home on Friday!!! If she does indeed go home on friday, she will have been in the hospital LESS THAN A WEEK...including her transplant! The doctors are all very impressed with how well she is doing.

Physical therapy came by around 3:30, they did some exercises with her feet and ankles, then went for a walk around the unit. And its a good sized unit! Everyone was impressed with how fast she was walking. I had to run ahead and also cut around the other direction just to keep up to snap pictures! She walked two whole laps, and one nurse even jokingly said "VROOOOM!" as she walked by the 2nd time! As she was returning to her room, she ran into Dr Rhoades, who was thrilled to see her up and walking around so quickly. She walked up to him and looked like she wanted to hug him but knew she couldn't. He said he couldn't get over how well she was doing, and we showed him Kayli's news story. After the walk, she rested for a good while, but didn't tire her out too terribly much.

Later in the afternoon, the Pharmacist came by and did an extensive teaching on Kayli's medications. It is a pretty strict regime she will have to follow. Specific times and doasges. She has a record she is to keep with her at all times, and she had to answer questions. She also has to complete a written quiz before she will be allowed to go home, and she started first thing this evening with administering her own medications.

Then came the big moment, we moved out of ICU and into the special care unit! Smaller room, but more privacy, and a "step-down" in the right direction. Means she needs less care. She has been up and down out of bed alot this evening. Had dressing changes, watching television, texting, and just relaxing. She is in a bit a pain, I am sure from all of her activities today, but it was easily taken care of with medication. Her best friend Cristine even visited for a couple of hours this evening, they enjoyed seeing eachother and Kayli's mood lightened alot after the visit. Cristine even got to be here for the big move!

Kayli has been pretty unhappy about not being able to eat. I don't blame her, she hasn't eaten since Saturday morning! She is currently on a clear liquid diet of jello, chicken broth, juices, etc. She hates it. She had misunderstood this afternoon and thought she was going to get to eat a grilled cheese sandwhich for dinner and was so excited about it. When dinner time came, she tried to call in her food order and they told her she was still on the clear liquids only. Mark went and consulted with the nurse who checked the orders and confirmed that the regular diet doesnt start until tomorrow. Kayli actually began to cry she was so disappointed. We all assured her this was the best thing for her, we need to make sure she can handle the food before we start filling her up with it. She's doing ok now, I snuck downstairs and bought her a cup of chicken noodle soup. The ladies in the cafeteria were laughing at me because I stood at the soup counter for 10 minutes ladling as much of the soup as I could without getting noodles and chicken! Kayli added a little pepper and enjoyed, she said it was better than nothing, and ate a little less than half a cup. After she was done, I tasted it and thought it was delicious! But then again, I like chicken noodle soup and Kayli doesn't. She finished off the evening with some orange jello, and is very much looking forward to tomorrow and real food...and a grilled cheese sandwhich! LOL

One final note, I have pictures of Kayli's incision. I will not post them because they are pretty graphic and Kayli asked me not to. If you would like to see the incision, let me know though, I will share if you are that inerested and Kayli said it was ok though she can't imagine why anyone would want to see it. She was a little upset when she saw it today. They used staples to close the skin, and it lookes a little freaky...and its pretty large. They did a couple of dressing changes today which always makes you feel better.
Here are some more pictures from throughout the day for you to enjoy...