Tough Like Tessa

24 October

Yesterday we met with Tessa's dermatologist and pediatric surgeon. They were really pleased with how Tessa is doing overall, but she does have a few pressing issues that need to be resolved and so a tentative plan was made.

Issue #1: Anemia. Everything hinges on this. So far her hemoglobin has remained stable, but we're far from being out of the woods. Her next blood draw is Nov. 3.

Issue #2: Ascites. She has had fluid in her abdomen since birth (it was even monitored during my pregnancy), but it has been slowly increasing and has reached the point where some of it needs to be drained. Her doctors aren't sure yet whether the fluid is lymphatic fluid or just ascitic fluid, so she is scheduled for an ultrasound on Nov. 8 to look at her liver. She is set to receive more aggressive sclerotherapy in January (with the catheter and 3 day hospital stay), so they hope to drain some of the ascites at that time as well.

We're so thankful that she remains happy, has no pain, eats like a champ, and tolerates all of her medicine. She even allowed the doctors to examine her without complaint yesterday. God is teaching our family amazing things through this little girl!