What a Wonderful Indiana "Winter"!

Things are going pretty good here!  McKenna (and Jeremy) are finishing up basketball season.  She has made so much progress this year, and continues to make us both so proud.  We will have a few weeks off, and then softball starts.  Hopefully Jeremy will be coaching again this year.  He absolutely loves to coach!

McKenna also continues to do very well in school, and I take so much pleasure in seeing her school work come home.  She is so creative, and such an "out of the box" thinker.  Her writing is downright entertaining!   

We have also been enjoying the Indiana "winter".  We've been playing outside in the wonderful 60 degree weather!  Woohoo!  We hope this never ends! 

Macy has been knee-deep in Girl Scout cookie season.  She sold over $1,000 worth of boxes......over 240 boxes.  Cookie booths are up and running right now, and run through the beginning of March.  Poor girl can only eat 1 kind of Girl Scout cookies.  The Toffee Tastic cookies are gluten free, but she doesn't like them.  Therefore, we barely ordered any cookies for ourselves this year.  We are taking one for the team.

On the medical front, some things have changed since our original plan from Dr. Superina.  About a week after we left, I got a phone call from them.  Dr. Superina took Macy's case to the "big" team.  The collective opinion was to have Macy return late May/early June for a venogram.  The venogram is a surgical procedure.  She had one of these last April.  They put her under general anesthesia, enter through the neck, and travel down to the liver.  Once in there, they will measure the portal vein pressures.  The pressure reading will give them a great idea about how things really look.  This will determine if it is time for the next surgery (the Rex Shunt).  If they tell us we need this intervention, Jeremy and I have decided we will push for the next available surgery.  It's a lot to process, and I am going to be honest with you all....I really think we are heading toward surgery.  It scares me, worries me, and breaks my heart for Macy. 

When talking with Joan, Dr. Superina's nurse, I discussed getting a standing order to watch Macy's platelet counts.  She sent me one, and we took her last week to get her labs drawn.  Her platelet count has dropped again.  It's not in a super concerning zone, but low enough that we need to continue to watch them.  We will take her again in March for another lab check.  We will visit Dr. Hainline (metabolism) and our pediatrician this week for check-ups.  I am not expecting too much new info, but more as a means to update them on all that has been happening with Macy. 

On a super happy note, we leave next month for a vacation to Florida.  We are so excited to spend a week with my parents and my grandpa.  It is always nice to visit with my parents' friends while we are there too.  We don't have much planned, just lots of relaxation!  We all need it!