All Is Well

It's been a while since I've last posted -- no news is good news! Bailey had an echo last week at Riley, and all remains well. Her PA pressure is not going down but not going up either, so the doctors are pleased. They say her left ventricle is functioning very well. So, continuing to dodge transplant. Life is good.

It was a year ago on January 28 that Bailey was admitted to the hospital and a year ago on the 31st that she had surgery to implant the Berlin Heart. Lots of memories floating around right now. The turn of the new year seemed, at the moment, to be a big breath of fresh air with a brand new year but as the end of January came and went, the flood of thoughts of a year ago emerged and . . . what a year it's been!

Bailey played her violin last night at a Kiwanis fundraiser for Riley. She did fabulous! but she was so nervous that she cried both before her performance and afterward. She felt better, though, when at the end of the show the president of the Riley Foundation asked her to join him again on stage and he said, "That was the most beautiful song I've ever heard in my life, and I'll tell you why." And he told them her story from last year. It was very touching, thoughtful and kind -- of course, I just sat there and cried. It was such a nice evening and it was such a pleasure and an honor to be a part of raising money for Riley - - it's such an incredible place. They have lots of things happening with the new wing/tower they're building. They announced for the first time to the public last night that they are going to have a delivery area for high-risk pregnancies to alleviate the need to transport the babies from another hospital to Riley. That's pretty incredible! What an amazing place it is.

The documentary is nearly finished, we hear. Haven't seen any of it, but we hear it's something special. Patrick Dempsey is narrating it, and, yes, he and Bailey have kept in contact. It's so funny to hear Bailey say, "Hey, I think I'll call Patrick tonight." They were talking about his appearance on the Golden Globes and how his tie was crooked. She's having fun. We're hoping to see him again in May when he comes out for the race.

School is going well, although she's looking forward to high school in the fall. She chose her first semester of classes last week and listed media and nursing as her areas of interest. That seems pretty fitting after this past year. Speaking of media, she's going to be interviewed live by WTHR this Wednesday at 12:50, so tune in to that if you can; and she's going to be on WFMS on Thursday helping Mimi with the Riley Radiothon from 4:00 to 6:00.

In the hopes that we might be able to do something more for raising money for Riley, Bailey and I have decided to try to put together a slide show program about last year. We're pretty excited about it, although we really have no idea where to start or how to get that done. But the experience last night at the Kiwanis fundraiser gave us the desire to do all we can and, having several months of rest and recoupment, we're ready . . . I think.

Well, happy Superbowl, everyone! I'm not a big fan of football, but looking forward to seeing some friends and watching the commercials. Ha!

Take care, and I'll talk to you soon.
Angie