Updates from the hospital...

Grace is feeling much better, though it goes in waves. She has a bacterial infection, and that is what made her so sick. We kept asking the doctors how they think she got it. It turns out that those bacteria just lie dormant in our bodies, but the typical person can fight them off. Grace, however, has almost no white cells to fight off germs, so she is going to inevitably pick up everything. Her fever has finally passed and the doctors hope she'll get home soon. Possibly Monday. We hope so too-especially because today-as she had to get her Picc line rebandaged (it's a semi-permanent IV line) she told me she HATED the hospital and that today was probably the worst day of her life. That is one rough thing to hear. On the flip side, however, she was, a few hours later, giggling, smiling, and drawing a precious little picture of a sunny day in the life of Grace. What a brave girl!

Thanks from the Hospital

Just figured out the camera on the Mac

Back to the hospital

Gracie woke up with a high fever this morning. After seeing a doctor she was re-admitted into inpatient. We were told that she will be here for a minimum of 3 days to make sure she does not have a virus or an infection. We will post more when we find out. 

It's a pain to blowdry anyway!

Today we did something we have hesitated doing. We had to tell Grace and Tanner that she would lose her hair. Somehow, it was one of the hardest things to do in this whole ordeal, because we want Grace to be seen as the Grace we know and love instead of a victim of Cancer. Grace was reflective. She told us she didn't want to lose her hair. We validated that, but told her where beauty lies and it isn't in one's looks.
Her sweet brother later cried and cried. He's concerned about her being teased. But, we had to tell him that people are more good than bad, more sensitive than ignorant, and that Grace one day will be a remarkable woman who knows empathy, compassion, and the meaning of Grace by living it.
When we run fingers through her hair now, little pieces fall to the ground. It hurts, but inside we know that she is destined for big things. This is just the preparation.

Some more pics from the hospital