8/3/09-OUT OF ICU! Movin on up!

Using your best George Jefferson voice sing.................

Fish don't fry in the kitchen;
Beans don't burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin',
Just to get up that hill.
Now we're up in the big leagues,
Gettin' our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it's you and me baby,
There ain't nothin wrong with that.

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

That's right sports fans, the redhead graduated from the ICU (5th Floor B Section) at about 9pm tonight and did a little movin' on up to the a regular room on the 6th Floor (A Section). This was a big night for the redhead as she triumphantly rode her hospital bed through the halls of Cincy Children's. She looked quite proud and just a little confused as this was her first time outside the ICU bubble in 3 weeks. She is settling in well into her new digs.

Her mom and I hated to leave the good company of her medical team. We have grown quite attached to the folks that helped save the redhead. We wished those folks could transfer right along with us to our new home, but they told us their superpowers of healing and efficient medicine changes were necessary to help new kids in need.

So tonight we leave the redhead in the care of new docs and nurses in a little more relaxed hospital setting. She is still gradually gaining kidney function and is still suffering from drug withdrawals (but to a lesser extent). The big wild card for the redhead continues to be the attainment of full kidney function. If the toxins in her blood (usually filtered by healthy kidneys) outpace her kidney recovery, she will need to go back into ICU BRIEFLY for dialysis. She has had such a bad reaction to dialysis an ICU setting is necessary to keep her safe. The docs hope and ours is that the kidney function returns faster than the toxins build and she will not require additional dialysis. That is our hope and prayer too.

We remind ourselves that God is good all the time and not just when things are going well. We ask that you continue to pray for Jenna's full recovery and give thanks for the miracle recovery she has experienced to date. Please also remember all the other sick kids and their families at Children's in your prayers. We have heard from many folks that following Jenna's progress has led them to rediscover prayer in their lives. While we are no experts, it seems like regular prayer is a whole lot like regular exercise. The more you do it, the better you get at it and it doesn't take long to see the benefits. I think it is a whole lot like exercise too in that you can easily fall off the wagon and gradually stop without really realizing it. So, if this experience has renewed your interest in prayer, please don't stop just because Jenna gets well. View this as a jump start for a longer term prayer program. If you were to do that, it would help make sense of the cosmic reason Jenna has had to endure so much in her short little, beautiful life. Thanks to all and continue to EXPECT GREAT THINGS!!!