8 months old and ERT #5

So Gracie turned 8 months yesterday and we had a pretty uneventful day. We did visit the world of Walls (aka Walmart) and found that our big girl LOVES to ride around in the cart. She was happy as a little clam in her buggy bag and she picked out a few new toys to take along with us to ERT today.

Speaking of ERT, it went well today. No major mishaps to report and Gracie was really great! She slept a lot and played some and even dozed off during her dressing change, which was a really pleasant change from her usual screaming fits during that lovely activity. She even let her favorite nurse Kathy hold her for a few seconds right before we left for our weekly retail therapy trip to Target. :)

We met up with friends Jenny, Brandon and Olivia in Target and had a nice dinner with them at Hops, where our Miss Gracie ate 2 containers of food- some pears with blueberry and of course, our beloved sweet potatoes. Boy, was she a hungry little monkey after our long day!

As much as I wish I could say that we have a nice leisurely day tomorrow, we have to be up bright and early in the morning to meet with the Early Intervention Speech Pathologist at 9. When they called to set up the appointment, I must admit that they didn't really instill much confidence in me regarding this particular therapy. The lady who called basically told me that their Speech Therapists don't really work with babies as young as Gracie and they wanted to know why we're even being referred to therapy at all. Grrr. Well, I'll be bringing a copy of the report from Dr. Bjoraker, the Neuropsychologist in Minnesota who is recommending the immediate therapy. This is yet another moment where I wish we were back at Fairview with doctors who really understand Gracie's condition. Its so frustrating to have to try and explain what her disease actually does to all these docs who have never heard of it. I guess I have to get used to that though, because as long as I have my Gracie, I will have to explain her condition to people. And thats definately better than the alternative so I need to stop my complaining. :)

My girl just seems to be doing better and better as each day passes. I am so pleased with how everything is going and I am so proud of my tough little trooper who is taking everything on like the champ she is. Her daddy and I could not be happier with her progress and we're looking forward to moving on with the next phase of treatment.

So to all of our readers, we ask that you all say a prayer for our friend Chance who will be having his Transplant Day in Minnesota tomorrow! Go Chance! We're looking forward to meeting Chance and his family when we return for Gracie's workup... he should be checking out of the BMT unit when we get back up there if all goes well for him. Chance and family- we're thinking of you guys often and sending lots of prayers and good thoughts for you.

Much love.