Day 97

We got a visit from a group of five older people today touring the Heart Center. One of the women was the daughter of the first full-time pediatrician at Riley . . . a long, long time ago. One of the men knew who Bailey was. He asked if she was the one that went to the Pacers game and if she had the Berlin Heart that Donnie Walsh helped fund. I said, "Yeah! It's right here." He was a sweet guy. We talked for a little while. They knew a lot about the history of Riley. I told them that my dad had been here 60 years ago with polio. They asked how he was doing. I told them he's had no medical problems since then and they said he was one of the lucky few. They were very interesting to talk to and seemed thrilled to get to meet Bailey. Marissa spent the day with us today and talked her way into spending the night. Actually, Tom and Josie came to pick her up tonight and she was crushed at the idea of leaving me and Bailey behind. It's hard to make her go home when our separation really seems to be getting to her. She has a great time while she's here. And she LOVES having McDonalds downstairs! Bailey put make-up on her face tonight and painted her fingernails and toenails. I was walking down the hall a little while ago to make the girls some popcorn and I heard a boy in the back just screaming in terror. I've not heard anything that excruciating since we've been here. I asked our nurse, Dave, if everything was OK back there. He said they were just trying to draw labs on him (take blood). I don't know about that . . . I think they were ripping off his arms and legs! I felt so bad for him. That sound of sheer terror just makes me want to run in there and hold him. Another moment that makes me truly appreciate the nurses around here. Their job can be really tough. I learned something tonight. During Bailey's dressing change, my mind started drifting (I guess because I've seen exactly 190 of them during our stay here) and I wondered if they could hear both Bailey's heartbeat and the Berlin Heart when they listen with a stethoscope. Dave said you hear a very prominent quicker beat which is the Berlin Heart and a more faint beat in the background which is Bailey's heart. The Berlin Heart is set at 90 beats a minute and that's what you get when you take her heart rate by feeling her ankle or her wrist. The monitor that she is hooked up to with leads to her chest shows the rate of her own heart, which usually runs between 60 and 65 beats per minute. I thought that was rather interesting. Dr. T came in today during Bailey's schoolwork. She was taking a spelling test. He offered to take it for her. So he sits down with the paper and pencil. Bailey said they could probably get away with that since his writing looks like a girl's! He jumps up and tosses the paper and pencil back to her. I think he just didn't know how to spell the word. Hope everyone has a great night and day tomorrow. Enjoy the spring weather! Love, Angie