Maggie was discharged this afternoon – we’re sleeping in our own beds tonight. Cultures confirmed a UTI. It was not as severe as the last infection (this summer) but was closely watched due to the potential for trouble in the setting of falling blood counts due to the last chemo infusion. Her ANC is low which indicates a greater susceptibility to infection. She was sent home with oral antibiotics and will have her counts checked next Monday when we are in Jackson for scans. Our main concern is keeping her gut healthy – antibiotics tend to kill good bacteria with the bad – so we’re increasing consumption of yogurt and probiotics to ward off another round of C-Diff. The use of antibiotics for her last UTI led to her serious bout of it several weeks later. Consider that a high priority prayer request.

We are continually thankful for our doctors, nurses, techs, residents, and child life specialists at Batson. They work together SO WELL to make good medicine which is effective, compassionate, and, sometimes, fun. I try to give you a behind the scenes glimpse of our time there, but I don’t do them justice. They are incredibly dedicated and passionate about their work, making it look like much more than a job. We never feel like a burden to them! Today was an especially fun day to be there and not just because Maggie was discharged. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson came by to make her way through the entire hospital. Molly made the trip from home to bring Maggie’s copy of Shawn’s book to have signed. We captured the attached photo during the meeting. She was sweet, gracious, and very small! Maggie is thrilled to finally be meeting a high profile visitor and one of her personal favorites.IMG_2612-min

As always, thank you for prayers. I celebrated my birthday yesterday at Batson – only the latest of quite a few milestones to happen there. I had texts, FB messages, and face-to-face wishes from friends all over. It was a beautiful day – despite the location. I started with a three-mile run around the campus, had a quiet day of reading/sudoku in Maggie’s room (she slept most of it away), and ended it with a slice of strawberry cake from Newks (one of my favorites). I’ve learned gratitude leaves no room for self-pity, and I have much for which to be thankful. A good God, loving family, incredible friends, health to run three miles, a down payment on Fall in the air, a recovering Maggie, a hard-working Molly, a supportive husband, and a faithful praying community surrounding us. Thank you all for the sweet wishes and generous use of your time to pray for us. We love you!