Reality Check

I am sitting in a small library in the Ronald McDonald house today, trying to get some work done.  After days of beautiful and rare Seattle sun, it is raining heavily outside.  Several blocks away, Heidi is at the hospital waiting for Jordan to return from the surgery he needed to move his Mahurker line for dialysis.  We hoped the doctors could wait a few days but Jordan's blood pressure has been fluctuating too much to take that risk.

Yesterday we learned Jordan's body appears to have some baby T-cells, which indicate the engraftment is working.  Today we are told the immunologist may have been overconfident in the result, although for us that does not diminish the miracle (nor does it remove superhero status from Aaron).  It is clear at least that Aaron's T-cells are working since Jordan's body, and particularly his lungs, appear to be improving.  From the standpoint of copy count, the Adenovirus is down to 13 million, although we are told the trend is more important than the actual copy count; the metapneumovirus is not gone and the copy count for this virus has been found to be increasing, although no one seems particularly concerned about it at this point.

With the vicissitudes of life continuing to check our faith and expand our awareness, we are trying to balance all the news with the reality of a continued uphill climb.  Waking up in a hotel-like room with children scattered across the bed and floor, having breakfast in a shared space with other families dealing with their own significant trials, we are clear that this climb is about more than just getting Jordan better.  We have a lot to learn and certainly some of that has to do with the service we can provide to others, even while we are here.  Our challenge is different from those of each of the families around us; but the value of each of the individuals and families here is certainly the same.