Fifteen

Sweet & Sour
So far Liam had two dialysis sessions.  They are still ramping it up gradually. 
Sweet: Some of the "bad" numbers are coming down - quite substentially.  In her 2nd session, they removed more than 1 Liter of "extra fluids".  That is 1 L that should have gone down through to the urine and out.  But since the kidneys don't do their job, fluids are accumulating.  Indeed, before dialysis started, she was very puffed up.  Now the puffiness has subsided.
Sour:  She vomits and gag a lot.  More than before dialysis started.  Her blood pressure is still too high.

Fifteen
And there she was.  Tiny tiny.  Straight black hair.  Rachel didn't see her at first, only I did.  Three hours later, the Dr came into the room and said that something might not be right with her.  That was fifteen years ago - today.  (Three days later she was rushed to the NICU in Egleston hospital, and the rest is history - but you can scroll back to the beginning of this blog to read a brief summary of Liam's life.) 

So today a few friends, family members, and medical staff folks all gathered to celebrate Liam's 15th birthday.  Liam slept through most of it, which is good since she badly needs the rest.  Thanks, everybody who came, thanks, everybody who brought gifts, and thanks for the rest of you well-wishers. (and THANK YOU whoever brought those killer cupcakes....it took me two weeks of hard labor to get rid of 2 ounces of fat....now it's all back, and then some....yeah, THANKS A LOT...alright, back to the treadmill...)

From right to left:  Meitav, Rachel, Rudra (Rachel's boyfriend and the son that I never had, and still doesn't...you'll find him in every photo), Chuck (Rachel's original boyfriend and the neighbor that ran away from us to a snobby neighborhood), Dr. Cooley (the coolest Dr, by far), Sage (one of our favorite nurses - but they all are), Savta (grandma).

It's good to be king (a rare moment with her eyes open)