Elizabeth did well yesterday. She fought, but not as hard as I had expected. It broke my heart because, as she sat with her arm ready for the blood work, she cried as hard as she could all the while crying "no, mommy, no mommy, no mommy". It was so hard to hold her and hear her begging me "no". After the first blood draw, they administered a nasal spray. She didn't fight it at all and did exactly what the nurse had asked her to do. Then we waited an hour. The nurse went through the training me about how to take care of her. It really isn't that bad. She was very insistent that we try first aid first. If after 10 minutes the bleeding has not stopped, then we administer the spray. If that does not control the bleeding, then we call the hematology department. Typically kids that have this disorder have very few problems. Often they do not discover it until the child begins menstruation or enters school and has issues with many nosebleeds at school or injuries or they discover it when they child undergoes major surgery (as in our case.... with the preop questions). Surgery is really not that big of a problem. The hematology team will devise a plan and then discuss it with the surgeon. She will be given medicine intravenously during surgery and then medicine afterwards. With the tonsillectomy, she will take medicine for 10 days following the surgery. We also will, most likely, be admitted overnight. It generally is a out-patient surgery, but with a bleeding disorder, they most likely will monitor her. Even though the ENT nurse suggested that there will be very little, if any, blood during surgery because they now remove tonsils with a laser, the hematology nurses suggested there still would be a concern with Elizabeth because you are dealing with a lot of mucous membranes. I am not sure what all that means, but evidently it means there will be blood occurring with her. We will meet with the ENT nurse/doctor and discuss if there is truly a need for this surgery and will proceed with it if there is.

As for life around here, it is normal. God is working in each of our lives. I am confident that He allows us to travel down different roads in order to prepare us to become the man and woman He desires us to be to further His kingdom. Right now, Emily is walking a road that is very rocky and very difficult. Please pray for her. God is faithful and I am confident that He has her in the palm of His hands. It amazes me how it seems that when you make a commitment to serve Him or follow Him, life becomes much more difficult and the road becomes very rocky. Time and again, when Mark and I have made a true commitment to follow what we believe is God's will, something immediately comes up to challenge our commitment or make it difficult to follow through with it. But EVERY time, God has been faithful to give us the ability to make it through and ALWAYS we are closer to Him when we come through it. So please pray for Emily. Erin and I will be making a trip there tomorrow. I am really looking forward to a couple of days with just the three of us. Mark knows I need to go, so he has been absolutely wonderful and supportive. Please pray for him has he has the 2 little ones and the boys. He has to handle a birthday party for Sam... though hopefully it will be fairly easy since they are just go to a paintball field (how fun will that be??). Still, he has to be in charge and the one to make sure it all goes well.