10/24/05 - Hannah has been progressing well over the past month. She is becoming more active & has been eating good at times. BEST OF ALL this week Hannah's hospital visits have gone from 3 times a week to ONLY ONE DAY A WEEK for blood work. She no longer needs the IV medication she was receiving at the outpatient clinic 3 times a week. She has also been cutting down on her other medications. Hannah is still receiving tube feedings through the night to increase her calorie intake. She has been maintaining her weight but not gaining any yet. Hannah has been getting back into her schedule and is adjusting well to being at home. KEEP IT UP HANNAH!!

9/14/05 - Hannah has spent a FULL WEEK at home. She has been adjusting to being back at home & trying to fit back into her daily schedule. Hannah has been doing well overall. She has had some tough nights, which will be expected during the transition. Hannah has been enjoying spending her days & nights with Emily, Mommy & Daddy ALL TOGETHER! Hannah's appetite has been fluctuating, some days fair, others poor. Hannah does receive the tube feedings through the night for approximately 10 hours and an hour or two during the day. She attends the outpatient clinic every Monday, Wednesday & Friday for her IV medication & blood work and still receives visits from a nurse twice a day for more IV antibiotics. Hannah's progress is improving daily. She is gaining back her strength slowly. Being home has been the BEST MEDICINE she could ever have!!!

9/7/05 - HANNAH IS HOME!!!!!! AFTER 7 LONG MONTHS HANNAH HAS COME HOME FOR GOOD!!!! Hannah was discharged yesterday from Sick Kids hospital. She has been REUNITED with her family: MOMMY, DADDY, & EMILY. Hannah has spent her first night at home in a LONG TIME. Emily has also returned home after living at Grandma's. The SISTERS have been INSEPERABLE! Hannah is EXTREMELY HAPPY to be home again. She is already picking up the role of PROTECTIVE BIG SISTER, always looking out for Emily. Hannah did develop an infection prior to leaving the hospital but is treated at home twice a day with IV antibiotics given by a nurse. Hannah receives a visit from the nurse at 9am & 9pm everyday to give her IV antibiotics, change all her dressings and monitor her feeds. Hannah is on the feeding pump for 10 hours at night (while she sleeps) and about 2 hours during the day (during quiet time). Hannah has been eating quite well since she has been home. The feeds will be adjusted as her appetite continues to improve. Hannah is attending the out patient clinic on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for a different IV antibiotic. This one cannot be given at home because it contains blood products. This is only for a few hours three times a week until she is cleared of the infection. Once cleared Hannah will only have to attend the clinic one day a week for blood work. Hannah is to start physiotherapy at home tomorrow. There will be a physiotherapist that comes to the house to do exercises with her to help her gain the strength back in her legs. YOU DID IT HANNAH!!! WELCOME HOME!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

8/25/05 - HANNAH'S RESULTS ARE IN.....THE BONE MARROW HAS TAKEN!!!!!!!! WE JUST RECEIVED THE MOST INCREDIBLE NEWS!!! Hannah's blood test taken 4 weeks ago has CONFIRMED what we all have been praying for. Hannah has MORE THAN 90% DONOR CELLS. This means that the donor bone marrow has taken over and Hannah's body is accepting it. The only thing holding Hannah back from returning home is her G-Tube. Once she is able to tolerate the feeds she will be discharged from the hospital. That will be within the next 2 weeks. HANNAH, YOUR LONG & EMOTIONAL BATTLE IS OVER!!! YOUR UNWAVERYING STRENGTH & COURAGE has seen you through this difficult time. With the support of your mommy, daddy, and the rest of your family you have WON!! We can't wait to see you home again.

8/23/05 - Hannah has COMPLETED her surgery today with NO COMPLICATIONS. She now has her G-tube (feeding tube into her stomach) in place. Liquids will be gradually introduced to her via the G-Tube until she is able to tolerate larger amounts. She will have the tube in until she is eating enough on her own. Hannah returned from surgery with a NG tube also in place, it's a tube that goes through her nose and into her stomach. It will be in temporarily (12-24 hours) until the G-Tube is ready to use. Hannah had some trouble adjusting to it and was quite upset with the tube irritating her nose. She has already tried to pull it out. It is VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. HANG IN THERE HANNAH!!! YOU ARE DOING GREAT!!! JUST A FEW MORE STEPS AND YOU'LL BE HOME!!!

8/18/05 - HANNAH'S PROGRESS HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS THIS PAST WEEK. Hannah now attends physiotherapy 3 times a week for one hour in the hospital gym. She is even starting to walk again ON HER OWN. Hannah is full of life & enjoys her days doing crafts and watching tv. Hannah's energy level has been increasing daily. Although we will not know the results of last weeks blood test for another 2-3 weeks Hannah's progress has everyone LEANING TOWARDS the HOPE that Hannah HAS taken to the donor bone marrow. The exact percentages will not be known until the results come back. Hannah's blood counts have all been rising and have exceeded the "DANGER ZONE". The only drawback is that Hannah has not been eating well and the fear that she may loose too much weight if sent home has brought the doctors to the decision of inserting a G-Tube (feeding tube) into Hannah's stomach. She will have her surgery on Tuesday, August 23. This tube will allow Hannah to be given a meal supplement above anything she eats or drinks orally and will ensure that she does not loose any weight. The tube will also be used to give Hannah her oral medication that she has trouble taking. This will help Hannah to gain some extra strength and will speed her recovery process. Hannah will be tube fed a few times a day (schedule yet to be determined). If stable Hannah will go home with the G-Tube and it will remain in TEMPORARILY until she is eating well. (Maybe up to 6 months). THE GREAT NEWS IS HANNAH MAY BE ABLE TO GO HOME AS EARLY AS 3 DAYS AFTER SURGERY. If Hannah continues to progress the way she has been it looks like Hannah will be REUNITED with her family in the next 2 weeks. It has been a LONG, LONG 6 1/2 MONTHS. But it's ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO HANNAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8/8/05 - Hannah had a ROUGH night and an OFF day today. She was complaining of a lot of pain due to a bad skin rash. Her skin breakdown is all the side effects from the chemotherapy, very RAW in places, especially her lips & bum. Hannah had a CAT scan today to determine if the sinus infection she had was improving. IF so, she will be taken off her antifungal medication. Hannah ate small amounts today but threw up a few times. She had her physiotherapy today for about 1/2 an hour. It consited of playing on the mat and doing some small excercises. She is also encouraged to try walking BUT requires A LOT of support. Her muscles have become very weak from being BEDRIDDEN for so long. Hannah has had a slightly high blood pressure, a side effect of the antirejection medication. She is taking meds to control that. She is also taking some medication to help with her loose bowel movements & vomitting. Hannah has not required ANY blood transfusions since last MONDAY, HOORAY!! Her hemoglobin and white blood cells remain stable BUT for some reason her poly's have dropped from 0.65 to 0.44 today. Her poly's had to remain above 0.5 for three days in order for her to go into the stepdown room, which they did yesterday. That allowed an extra bed to be brought into the room so mommy or daddy could sleep in the room with her. Unfortunately, if her poly's REMAIN LOW or DROP at all Hannah MAY have to return to her ISOLATION room. TOMORROW IS A VERY IMPORTANT DAY!! Hannah is having her SPECIAL BLOOD TEST which will determine the percentage of DONOR bone marrow. Anything above 90% donor & below 10% Hannah is GREAT (or close to that). Unfortunately, it takes 4WEEKS TO GET THE RESULTS. We can only pray that the numbers come out the way we expect. LET'S HOPE TOMORROW IS A BETTER DAY!