No paracentisis, GI appointment, Neuro med tweaks

The reception for Denise is tomorrow! The address listed in the previous post is for the school's front office. The gym is on the opposite side of the campus, so be sure to drive around the block to park.
I was putting together a display board with some photos and just found this one that I forgot to post from about a month and a half ago. I remember that when Denise was in the hospital and I took pictures of her, I had to search for one that made her look good (most were never used). Notta problem anymore, now that she's looking healthier as the weeks go by.

It's very late & I'm pooped out, so here's a quick summation of what's happened this week.
The fluid draw from her ab that was supposed to happen Monday never happened. The ultrasound showed no pockets of fluid. Denise was disappointed, as she was really looking forward to losing the tummy. She's slightly above her target weight and her tummy is the only place that's collecting extra weight. It's not how she'd like to look, and people are always asking her if she's pregnant when she's out & about. You'd think that'd be a really touchy subject, but she's taken the questions in stride. Anyway, fast-forward to today's appointment with the GI doctor, and not finding fluid to remove is a positive thing. The GI doctor said that the lack of fluid is very good, as it indicates (in the context of increasingly favorable liver lab results... I'll try to post numbers soon for you hep people out there) that the liver is getting better. He noted that her liver is smaller as well. Still enlarged, but smaller. His best guess is that her tummy is redistributed fat tissue that will go away over time as her activity increases. Interesting stuff explains all that, but I'll save it for another time.
The neurologist appointment resulted in the addition of one more drug (Geodon) in very small doses. Upon running the concerns mentioned in the previous post by the neurologist, he felt that this drug would help. The pamphlet containing the list of cautions & possible side effects is a minor Russian novel. We'll see what happens when we throw that one into her neuro drug regimen of Trileptal, Lexapro, and Risperdal (all in very low doses).
And some other stuff...
School's out for the summer, so now I have more dates open on which to schedule my nervous breakdown. Yay! I've been looking forward to it for months and can't wait for it to happen! With the end of school also came a stellar 8th grade graduation ceremony. Denise & I were presented with a very generous check for Denise's fund, the money collected solely from junior high fundraisers. Every year the kids use a chunk of funds for their special activities and also donate some to charity. This year, we were the charity. I was so floored that I felt like saying something, but couldn't. Choke. It was all a blur. The student that gave us the check was saying something, to me, but I was in a fog and couldn't grasp it all. It's probably what your dog feels like when you talk to it. So for anyone that was there that night that's reading this, thank you. To the students, I think back to my level of consideration for others, smarts, talent, and every category of maturity when I was in junior high, and compare it to what I see year after year in you, the young men & women from my school, and you always blow me out of the water. To the parents & everyone I work with, I see where the kids get it from. I've relied on you all more and gotten to know more of you on a deeper level because of what's happened during the past year. What a mega-family to be a part of!

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