We've been pretty busy the last few weeks so we apologize for the lack of updates!
As many of you may know, on January 25 we were transported via ambulance from Swift Current. Isabella went into surgery on the 26th to address an intestinal blockage within her bowels. She did amazing through the six hour surgery, and has healed very well.
Unfortunately since then Bella’s bowels have made no progress. Although she’s comfortable, in good spirits, and has no abdominal distention, her bowels are still in hibernation and have no output to her (installed during surgery) ostomy. Over the next two weeks Kyla and I will start training to administer Bella’s IV Total Parental Nutrition ourselves. This takes about 2 hours every morning, so I will be required in Calgary for that full duration. Once training is complete in two weeks, the hope is that we can do everything they’re doing here at home in Swift Current, while we remain hopeful for her bowels to start moving again. TPN is not a permanent solution. It requires consistent monitoring of blood levels, and over year(s) it can become quite damaging to specific organs. In that situation, a total bowel transplant is the only last step…
On the bright side, we continue to receive more information from
Bella’s bloodwork that her bone marrow transplant has been extremely
successful.
Kyla will write a detailed post on here next week. For now, please visit Bella's Facebook page : Isabella's Mustard Seed for quick, daily updates.
- Lyle
