One week post-transplant!

Dad had a good night with Carter and Mom slept well away from the hospital. Thanks for staying with me again Court!

Pretty early in the morning we found out Carter's liver levels were about the same. One was slightly higher and one was slightly lower. His heart rate was and continues to be pretty high. Also, his white blood cell count has gone up a bit. We continue to not have answers as to why any of this is happening, it's just part of the process we guess. Carter was tested today for a UTI (which can be common after having a catheter), this could explain his white blood cell count being elevated. He is also anemic right now, which could explain the high heart rate. These are all guesses. There could be a million different things going on. The doctors are hesitant to do a blood transfusion (which would help the anemia) because new blood would be thicker and they are trying to keep Carter's blood thin to prevent any clotting in these early days. It's all a balancing act. Carter did have an ultrasound today and two of the surgeons happened to come in during the ultrasound. They thought things looked good and it is most likely not a vascular issue. They are increasing one of the anti-rejection drugs (Prograf) tonight. We'll see tomorrow morning if this affects his liver levels. It's all concerning and the doctors are not discounting any of it, but they also continue to call Carter their "rock star" patient. Matt and I have always thought he was pretty incredible! But this is definitely stressful for us! Luckily, we have each other to talk down if one of us starts getting worked up and upset. We can't wait to be over this bump in the road!!

Bennett and Carter talked on the phone today. Bennett was home going through a Halloween catalog (his obsession this time of year). He was telling Carter he was going to be Batman and Carter was going to be Handy Manny. Carter was saying he wanted to be Mickey Mouse or a spoon. Bennett thought this was so funny, then Carter started cracking up saying he was going to be a spoon for Halloween. This conversation and laughing went on for several minutes. It was so cute, I wish I had a video camera!

The doctors reminded us today that Carter is extremely immunosuppressed. They said we should limit visitors to immediate family. We have had requests from so many friends to visit, and we would love to see all of you...however, we're going to have to hold off right now. We miss seeing everyone though!! Hopefully, we'll get to see you soon!