Good, Bad then Good again...

Hey everyone - it is Emily.

We are having a "girls night out" here in YouYou's room. We are watching our shows (cartoons), eating fab food (corn chips), and sipping on some yummy refreshments (apple juice). YouYou has perked up in the past couple of hours and we are so happy to see her in this good mood, we are hanging with her and trying not to think about how late it is.

Aaron spent the night here last night. YouYou had a good breakfast of eggs dipped in syrup but wasn't drinking too much. She had a bath, went for a walk, and rode a toy bicycle. Erica's friend Elizabeth came by with her son Isaac and she played with him a little bit. The music therapist stopped by and played music with YouYou and Isaac. She took a 30 minute nap and that is when things started getting not so great on the "mood" front.

Aaron left about 3 and I did not get here until about 7. So while Erica was on her own, she experienced a couple discouraging moments. They had taken out her IV this morning but since she wasn't taking the liquids, they decided to put it back in. And while this was happening, the nurse informed Erica that the swab of YouYou's mouth that was supposed to go to the lab...was LOST. Never got there. So, they had to re-swab her and that meant it will be Wednesday night before they know what is causing her mouth sores. But that does not necessarily mean that YouYou can't go home tomorrow. We don't know that yet until Erica talks with the Dr. in the morning.

When I arrived, YouYou was still not feeling too happy. She wasn't talking, wouldn't eat, and wouldn't drink. Erica's friend Tina made a delicious chicken pot pie, a salad, and cute little St. Patrick's Day cookies. I worked my charm on YouYou while Erica ate some dinner. Yeah, I didn't get too far. YouYou started pointing and making noises. We finally figured out that she wanted the fork. So Erica gave her the fork and we thought she wanted to eat. Oh no, this precious little child wanted to feed Erica. She fed Erica her pot pie and salad and was happy as can be. She still wouldn't eat and still wouldn't drink.

Then I got my plate and she decided to feed me. I went back for salad and YouYou spotted the ranch dressing. Again, it took us a few tries to realize that is what she wanted. So we put pot pie drenched in ranch dressing on her plate and she let Erica feed her. That was a relief to see her finally put some yummy in her tummy. She still was resisting drinking anything.

We decided to go for a walk around the halls. YouYou rode in a stroller and we pushed her and her traveling IV. She was determined not to drink. She was really fighting Erica on this and it was frustrating b/c we knew that was one of the issues preventing her from leaving. She is a determined little thing and it took us both to get minimal liquid in her.

Then around 10:00 it was time for rounds of medicine. We really made her mad then! Finally Erica went to the recliner and I went to the fold out chair. We just did our own thing and let her "sort things out." She laid in the bed and let us know she needed some time to herself. So we gave her space and figured she was exhausted and would fall asleep. Well, she got things worked out and is the happiest she has been since this morning. Hence, the girls slumber party.

She has eaten lots of corn chips - like half a container. It doesn't really make sense that she would like a salty snack since she has those mouth sores. But her Baba taught her to just drink her juice if she had an owee in her mouth. And she has been sucking down that juice in between bites for the last 30 minutes. And she is being silly. Making faces, laughing, slapping her leg and throwing that head back. Best girls slumber party - EVER!