3-??-07

Aliyah is home .... She and I were sitting around the hospital room mid afternoon Thursday and they came in and said they wanted to send her home. The heart racing incidents had subsided and her second biopsy to check for rejection of the heart was again negative, excellent. After the false start on Tuesday I refused to pack for awhile, but eventually I got packed up to go. I should have waited awhile...since, of course, we could not leave without a little drama. The Central IV line they had put in her neck bled alot when they removed it. Quite a mess actually. The nurses got a little wet, but Aliyah kept quite calm, as usual, and they got that bandaged up and she was able to come home soon after.

Can Aliyah have visitors? Yes, however, she is very immuno-suppressed and should not be around people who are sick. They are also discouraging her from being around large groups of people for awhile. In public she will need to wear a mask for now, but she can get out when she wants to. Physically she is a little weak and will be for a few months, but Aliyah was able to take a 15 minute walk yesterday and is making progress each day. She is on strict dietary guidelines, low sugar especially (concentrated sweets), but also low fat, low cholesterol, low sodium. That will be hard for her, but she is adjusting pretty well already.

Aliyah will always have a few doctors appointment & tests and medications to take, but she should be living a mostly quite normal life in a few months. By Fall semester she should be back at Purdue full-time in Computer Graphics Technology and will probably still be able to complete a couple of her current semesters classes over the summer. The others she can retake in the Fall or whenever. Her mother and I are very happy for her.

Thanks again so much for all your thoughts, prayers, and help through this very difficult 2 years.