Haley’s Giggle

Feeding tube: still batting a terrible .100 average. Without fail, the pump breaks down every night. The tube has come out, leaked, you name it. The alarm could not be more shrill. Still, Haley giggles and smiles through it all. She definitely is getting something because her energy level has increased 100%. Her face is more pink, and definitely less sickly pale. She doesn’t want to go to sleep anymore, which used to be her favorite activity.

Eating: So far, the only new thing she’s accepted into her diet is vegan pirate’s booty. I was told that post transplant patients like salty things, which corresponds to Haley’s affinity for pretzels and chips. So I bought vegan bacon strips. Jury is still out. I don’t think she gets what to do with them. I’ve tried to show her, but she just looks at me like I’m crazy.

It’s hard to tell if any of this has translated into height or weight growth; that will come in our next round of clinic visits.

Walking: She’s still in the same spot, so to speak. Though I did just buy her a mini trampoline (there’s a handle on it, which is perfect since she can’t really stand on her own very well yet). She loves it, and if she won’t walk, she certainly will be encouraged to bounce her way through life.

Cognitively, she’s spot on. Not only does she know all of her colors, letters, numbers, and can count to 20, but she helped with some decent NFL fantasy football picks. By this age, Anna was engaged in playdates, part-time daycare, and other pro-social arenas. Logistically, Haley is not really there yet, and so it’s going to be a bit of a challenge to reinstate her into toddler society (yes, she is a toddler now).

And now of course, the dreaded potty training is coming up, and I want to tackle that like I want to sanitize one more toy.

As always, a big hug and lots of love to Dave and gang. If anyone knows how tough the road back to health from a bone marrow transplant is, it’s Haley (and the rest of us).  

Oh, and yes, I owe new pictures. Next time.