Day 3: 11am

Kristi had a rough night's sleep. Lots of beeping. Her central line caused some swelling, so she was pretty uncomfortable. Icing her neck helped a lot. Our night orderly was a real character. Kristi describes him as a southern military academy dropout, like Peter Saarsgard in Jarhead. He was very attentive. Today, her morning vitals showed that she's 10lbs heavier than when she arrived 2 days ago. It's all fluids. They are pumping 200mL/hr of Bicarbonate (to maintain blood pH) and saline, plus whatever the antibiotic drips deliver (they aren't on right now so I don't know). Our breakfast is here now.....

Kristi's cousins from Wyoming are here for a visit, with their two kids. The room is full. Poor kids are Bored (with a capital 'B'), me too kinda. The thing we should be doing right now is deciding wether or not to do the study. She's talking about it, and basically understands the major issues. If only her need for a transplant was more fully understood, the decision would be easier. We need to decide sooner than later. The doctors are eager to start treatment. She has already signed the papers (mostly related to study samples) so that the blood work can begin. Even if she does decide to do the study there is a 50% chance that she'll be in the controll group, which means she gets the standard treatment anyway.