Big Smiles

  

Julia had some big smiles today--look at this gorgeous, radiant girl! She had a great day spending time with both her Grammie and her Nona.  Grammie reports:

What a wonderful day!!! I arrived in Oakland and Nona was just getting ready to hold Julia. Since she was leaving this afternoon i didn't try to wrestle her! Julia was a tired girl from her morning work! She got a good hour sleep and Nona and I protected her from all stuff. We only got an hour before the barrage began again! She did great and I got to sing kiss and read! She smiled and we had teeth showing many times! It was awesome. Carrie, Glen and Amanda came around 5. I guess they were going down as I came up at noon! They were sad to miss Nona when she had left but she was hoping to be ahead of traffic!
Julia had good pt and practiced sitting up. Unfortunately her ng was in the stomach and they want it lower so they took it out and it was still wrong so they did it again - good grief! They are x-raying it again and now they aren't transferring til Sunday - major bummer!
But the good news is the hives were gone and came back during each procedure but then were gone again! Crazy but no fever and dropping WBC, the hemoglobin was also wrong so no transfusion was needed!
The great thing was how much smiling and joy she showed with me! That's my sweet pea!
We are trying to get her to sleep and we will go to Art's for the night. It will be her 2nd night with just the staff which is working because there really isn't room for Carrie!
She is trying to swallow I just know! Keep those prayers coming! We need and love them! You are the best support team ever!!!'
Sleep well and stay warm!
Love
Grammie Jen

With lots of company for Julia, Carrie, Glen and Amanda were able to be together away from the hospital, and had a much-needed and appreciated excursion to a playground where Amanda found some other kids to play with and had a great time on her new scooter. 

As Grammie mentioned, Julia's transfer to CHO (Children's Hospital Oakland) has now been pushed back to Sunday, purely for logistical reasons. It's frustrating to have further delays, but she will continue to get PT and OT while at Kaiser, and will be able to move right into services at CHO on Monday if all goes according to plan. In the meantime, Carrie, Glen and the rest of the family are keeping Julia busy with therapy games, stories, massages and of course lots of love and cuddles.

Wishing everyone warmth on this cold evening, 

Francesca 

P.S. For anyone who is interested in doing  a meal for the Kings, there is now a Meal Train site to coordinate dinners: http://www.mealtrain.com/?id=m4u0ytvq32jt

P.P.S. And one more thing! The Kings will need to buy a minivan or some type of larger car for when Julia is able to come home. She will need a special car seat, which will not fit in their sedan. If anyone hears of a great deal or has a connection that might help them find the car they need at a reasonable price, please let them or me know.