Leaving Bangalore with a Bang!

What an end to our adventure in Bangalore! About a week ago I started experiencing some chest pain that was eerily similar to "The Big One" in 2006. We were on vacation at the beach in Goa, and the cardiologist we met with at the ER there said everything was fine. The symptoms subsided after another day of lounging around. However, when we returned to Bangalore I met with my doctor and another cardiologist. They were significantly more concerned about the similarity of the symptoms and an elevated ST in my ECG. Their recommendations were to get back to the US ASAP and see a cardiologist there, even recommending another angiogram (yikes!) They gave me an anti-coagulant injection that I get to shove in my stomach twice a day while travelling, and told me not to lift a single suitcase or box. I found all this out the day before we got to supervise the movers and get everything finished up.

Right now we are sitting in Chicago, one more flight to Buffalo left after 27 hours straight of travel. The flights went very smooth, although I got lots of funny looks when I asked for assistance carrying our baby paraphenelia because I have a heart condition. The kids were AWESOME, they are such amazing troopers. Monday morning first thing I'll meet with the cardiologist and see what she recommends.

God has provided for us on every step of this adventure, and we are different people because of it.

-Travis

We love this girl!

We are so happy that she is feeling better and back to her playful self!

Martin Farm

Ansel and Siena Playing

The morning of Ansel's birthday:

We had crepes for breakfast and Ansel opened his gifts. Then we went to the hospital where Siena finished her last round of IV antibiotics and finally had her IV removed.

Siena, Day 3

Today Travis took Siena to the hospital for another round of IV antibiotics.

I joined them there after my appointment to extend my visa.

The IV seemed to be running pretty slow today. We were there for hours.

Siena hasn't eaten much for the past week. Today we got some Mickey D's. She actually ate all four of her chicken nuggets and was thrilled to have two Jewel birds from Rio. And they match Travis' shirt, what's not to love?

We have two days that now remain.

Back at the Hospital Today

Siena was such a trooper today. She had to get more IV antibiotics and, apparently, she needs to have more all week. We were disappointed to hear that. She can't even hold her cup with the shield that's on her hand. Every time the medical staff came into the room she started to get upset thinking about what they might do. She was pleased to send them away. Whenever they would leave, she said, "Bye" and waved at them.

It was difficult to pass the time. We had to distract her from her IV, so that she would keep her arm straight. She watched Curious George and Travis dancing around the room for awhile. Then in the last minutes, she managed to pull a number of items out of the diaper bag. In the above picture, she is hanging onto her diaper rash cream.

Hospital Experience and Siena Sick Again

Siena had fever for 3 days. The doctors weren't sure why. On Saturday, we spoke with the pediatrician and he told us we should start her on antibiotics because preliminary lab results indicated that she is likely to have another urinary tract infection, with pus cells in her urine. The doctor told me to potty train her right away because of her history of UTI and this possible new UTI. Her fever seemed to have gone away, but around 9pm after Ansel's party we called her pediatrician. We told him that she had only two wet diapers all day and her fever had returned at a whopping 103 degrees Fahrenheit. The doctor advised that she be seen to determine the degree of dehydration. She had not been drinking much water either.

We brought her into the hospital. We agreed that she seemed to be getting worse, so we had her admitted. They placed an IV. Thankfully when they put the IV into her hand, she only cried for a few minutes although it felt like an hour. Ansel had fallen asleep in the car, and woke up when he heard her crying. He said he didn't want Siena to get any "pokes" and wanted to be with her. Travis stayed by her side because I couldn't bear watching her get the IV.

Siena received IV fluids.

We are home from the hospital. Siena is doing much better. We praise God for his protection and thank Him for our friends who brought food to the hospital for our little girl and took Ansel from afternoon to evening so we could take care of Siena.

We had a pretty nice experience at the hospital. It was a very nice facility and we felt the care there was great.

The doctors are awaiting more test results to determine the cause of the fever and infection. She still has the IV so they can administer more IV antibiotics tomorrow.