She's Home!!

Brooke got out of the hospital tonight. YAY! Everything seemed to fall into place today. I never doubted that it would...I'm just not as patient as maybe I should be (especially when it comes to my baby). We came home with Lovenox shots and Coumadin pills. Brooke's blood levels are still too high, so we will continue doing both the Lovenox and Coumadin for at least a week. I have orders for tonight through Sunday. She will have lab work done Monday that will determine the next round of treatment, and so on and so forth for labs done again on Wednesday and Friday. Home health is going to come to the house and handle the labs for us. Praise God! The right leg looks amazingly better! The thigh is still 22" but the calf and ankle are much better.

After several discussions tonight...Dr. Luu agreed to continue providing Brooke's care. Thank Goodness! Honestly...I've been very worried about this. He was there the night Brooke came into the world and has been an intrigal part of our lives ever since. He knows Brooke better than anyone. The thought of having to start over with a new doctor made me sick. And who? Where? Brooke isn't the typical 19-year old patient! She's an adult, year-wise, but that's it. I thank God that he agreed to keep her. This was the answer to my prayers. Thanks to all of you who helped me in praying for guidance with this. What an awesome God we serve! Dr. Luu and I actually compromised...we have to take the BIG THINGS to Albuquerque and he will handle the SMALL ONES here. Deal. Brooke is a very challenging patient! Not only does she have several ailments that most doctors never see in their careers, she has 3-4 really big ones happening all at the same time! We can't finish treating one before something new pops up. It can be a bit hard to grasp at times and she can be very intimidating to doctors, whether they admit it or not. And understandably so. I told Dr. Luu that we don't expect him to have all of the answers. This is Brooke! We treat what comes up and pray a lot.

Please continue to pray for Brooke as she fights to rid her body of the blood clot. Pray for her blood levels to go down so the clotting factor is lessened. Pray that the Coumadin levels can be stabilized and easily maintained. Pray that we can get her off the Lovenox as quickly as possible. Let me put this into perspective: Her weekly SUBQ infusions + 7 days of 2 Lovenox shots (per day) equals me having to put 16 needles in my baby's belly in a one-week time frame. I wouldn't want 1 needle put in my belly, much less 16. This child has gone through more than most of us can even imagine. And yet she continues to smile and touch the lives of most people she comes in contact with. Brooke is without doubt the toughest human alive! And never questions why. Doesn't know what pity is. Rarely complains. Is always happy. And is simply the most amazing person I will ever know. She was put on this earth to teach us and what incredible things have we learned from her!

Thank you God for giving me this child! What a gift!!