Mario Admitted to the Hospital again :(

Well, Mario had another episode of bloody vomit at around 1230pm today with the nanny while they were on a walk. I came home, assessed the 'color' to be "not fresh" like the last two times but called our tranplant nurse. She asked me to bring him for a blood test to check his red blood count. Eva, Mario and I headed toward Children's. On the way there, he threw up brighter "fresher" blood so we ended up going to the ER. He threw up more again while in the ER. Labs came back showing INR too high (2.4), Red Blood Count down to 20 (from 28 the week before - apparently dropping close to 1/3 is pretty bad) and then his blood pressure started dropping, so they did a rush of blood from the blood bank. By 8pm he was having a blood transfusion. He is stable now and being monitored overnight very closely. In the morning Dr. Horslen will do a "Scope" - they put Mario under anestesia and look down his throat/GI track to see if there are actively bleeding "varices" - there is a procedure that can be done called "banding" to stop the bleeding if they find any. That's what I know today... Israel is sleeping at the hospital with Mario, I've got Eva and we're going back in the morning to learn all about it. I'll take my laptop and try to do an update from there - wireless works but no phones...go figure. To bed for me...

Living Donation

I've had a few questions about this and thought it was worth sharing some details. Here is a link at Children's http://transplant.seattlechildrens.org/liver/liver_organ_donation.asp

And another
http://www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation/facts/

Mario could receive either a deseased or living donor liver. He requires an O+ donor. Israel is O+ and I am not, so he is getting tested. The testing process is extensive and takes some time. It is managed through UW in partnership with Children's...so two great hospitals working on it. They look at a variety of things from size appropriateness (they usually take the left lobe) to health of the donor and eventually do detailed ultrasounds, etc. to make sure the right arteries, ducts, etc. are going to fit/match (I'm no doctor so I'm speaking a bit beyond my understanding now).

If Israel is not a match, we can continue to send potential donors, one at a time, until we find a matching donor. I have a 15+ page questionaire/consent form from UW Medical that outlines the process, gathers info on a potential donor, etc. I'm happy to share it with anyone who wants more detail.

Sad end for one little boy in my online forum

The reality of this families situation frightens me today. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/severogonzales

Please tell everyone you know to be an organ donor.
Sobering statistics from UNOS.org
Waiting list candidates 98,028 as of today 5:45pm
Transplants January - October 2007 23,706 as of 01/25/2008
Donors January - October 2007 12,031 as of 01/25/2008

Labs OK

INR was still 1.4 so the Vit K 2X/day is still working. Basically everything is the same and we keep waiting. 9 Month well baby visit was fine. Mario is starting to rock back and forth on hands/knees, move backward, pick up cheerios with his fingers...all good signs he's developing as he should. Nothing else to report really :) We had a beautiful 3-4" snowfall last night and hope for more this evening!

All is well... (the same anyway)

Well, uneventful clinic today. We got in a bit early so the lab results weren't back yet, I'll be able to check them tmrw. Dr. Horslen is happy to keep Mario on the same dose of med to help with the periodic bleeding from his tummy. It sounds like it is very minor at this point, the last time he vomited blood the amount was very small (and old) so nothing alarming in that regard. Varices would be higher volume and more fresh (sorry to any squeamish readers). So, we continue to wait. Mario has his 9 month well baby with the pediatrician tomorrow. We have every reason to believe he is on track developmentally at this point - almost crawling, sitting up on his own, moving from tummy to sitting position and so forth. I'm noticing him starting to shy from strangers - another developmental point really. Plus he has limited social interaction since he is home now all day. We'll try to update this weekend with anything from the 9 month well-baby or lab results if they indicate anything different.

Hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far! Love, Phoebe

Checking in

Well, not much to report. Posting a new photo of Mario's fire truck that he got for Christmas...he just loves it! We had a mini version of the blood/vomit episode again this week, but since it was a much smaller amount the doc on call didn't make us come to emergency, instead increased one of his meds. I was in CA for work for 3 days, so everyone is exhausted (me from traveling and long work days, Israel from long nights with Mario). We're all looking forward to sleep this weekend. Mario has clinic on the 24th so I'll update more then. Best, Phoebe

Happy New Year

Sorry for the delay in posting again! Things have been hectic to say the least. Mario can not attend day care anymore. His poor little immune system needs a rest. So, we are shifting gears a bit this week and getting him settled at home with his new nanny. We did want to make sure everyone knew he was home and doing fine again. We have another new medication to add to the schedule but otherwise are settling back to normal for a bit. I tracked the stories of 4-5 "liver kids" from my on-line forum through their transplants over the holidays. With mixed emotions, clearly...sympathy for such courageous donor parents and joy/relief for the recipients. I know Mario's day will come and he'll get to start down the recovery road too. The waiting is so hard though.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year - lots of love and hugs, ARAUJO Fam

Going Home

Looks like Mario is going to come home today. Now poor Israel is waiting while the nurses and doctors go through their paperwork to release him. Frustrating on the weekend when things are slower. We hope that they'll be on their way home soon.

Emergency Room Visit

Well we had a rough night last night...around 11pm Mario vomited blood. First signs of Varices, caused by portal hypertension. I rushed him to closest emergency (Overlake) as directed by the on-call GI doc. There, he was found to be stable (and even smiling) so we got to ride in an Ambulance to Children's. Mario and I spent the day there...Israel sleeping with him there tonight. We hope to bring him home tomorrow as the docs think it was a first time minor event. He needs his new liver, but he isn't in immediate danger. We'll update more when we get the report from the doctors tomorrow at morning rounds. Take care all, think positive for our little smiling Mario. Love, Phoebe

BE AN ORGAN DONOR

Well, you had to know it would happen at some point. Here's me, telling you to tell everyone you know how important it is to be an organ donor. It seems obvious, I know everyone here in WA state can easily be an organ donor just by having a driver's license. But for some reason, not everyone is active...and kids like Bethany and Savannah (read stories - links to the right) go on waiting... An adult liver can be split and save a kid like Bethany, Savannah, Mario... Please be an organ donor and feel free to share this blog with anyone in your circle who needs to be convinced to be one. LOVE YOU ALL! Phoebe

HAPPY HAPPY MERRY

All is well. Thank you all for your cards, gifts, calls, thoughts, etc. We're a bit behind on getting cards and the lot out this year... I have some pics of the kids and stuff that I am meaning to get in the mail. Thanks for your patience :) Have a wonderful holiday. Mario's next clinic visit was rescheduled for the 8th of Jan...we have labs on the 27th still so we'll update if we get any news on that front. Know that you are all in our hearts as we spend the next couple days at home in our jammies being a family :)

Our love, Araujo's

December 18th

All is well. Besides Mario's ear/eye infection, Eva ended up with an ear infection. We left the kids with Aaron and Sarah (bless their hearts!) for the weekend and went to Whistler. It was nice to get away. Mario did fine! Eva always does fine with Isabel to play with. Israel's swearing in is Thursday this week...I said it wrong in last post. Good though cuz they'll take his green card and he'll have to apply for a passport and wait...so would have been bad to be greencardless over the weekend going in/out of Canada! I came home with a sinus infection, so I'm plodding along through work today...yuck. Mario has clinic on the 27th so we won't have any major updates before then unless the pager goes off.

Everyone have a wonderful holiday! Thank you for all your cards, care packets, presents. I'm sorry to say I have done NOTHING this year. Not even put together a stack of holiday cards to mail...It has been so hectic. Please know we are thinking of you all during the holiday and wish you nothing but happiness in the new year.

Mario: Eye/Ear Infection, Israel Citizen on Thursday

Well, Mario has an eye and ear (both) infection. He's on a round of antibiotics. He also had labs drawn yesterday to check vitamin levels again. He still smiles, but it is sad to see him with goopy eyes.

On another note, Israel had is citizenship interview today and passed with flying colors. Seems they were most concerned with english language speaking and only asked a few of the "test" questions about US constitution and government...although he studied all 100! His "oath taking" ceremony is on Thursday.

I'm in Dallas, tired from flying early and still have late meetings tonight, home tmre night - marathon. Take care all

Listed

3PM 12/5 **Transplant coordinator notified me today that he was listed with a PELD of 10. It got worse because of his INR and other lab results.

10AM 12/5 Mario is officially on the liver transplant list. His INR did not improve week over week so we have to check that again next week...even though we've doubled the oral vitamin K. It wasn't bad enough to need a shot this week but needs to be checked frequently. Poor kid is having to give blood more frequently which is hard. We knew this was coming but it is still very hard on all of us. Thanks to all who have called, emailed, continued to check in and keep Mario in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks also for all the calls to check in about all the WATER in Washington this week. We were lucky this time and the river stayed within it's banks. Most of the flooding was south and west of us this time. Take care all

Mario will be listed tomorrow

They decided at the weekly transplant team meeting today. We have labs and an appt with one of the surgeons tomorrow afternoon to review details and we'll have Mario added to the liver transplant list.