April 15, 2008 TAX DAY!!

Ah, the dreaded April 15th Tax Day is upon us. I finally took some time last night to do my taxes (and Caitlin's and Ryan's) and it was close - I'm getting a minimal refund but at least I don't have to pay! I took Caitlin in yesterday morning for her blood draw and they called and said that she needed to come back in for dialysis. They plan on doing dialysis this entire week rather than just drawing blood and making a decision to do dialysis based on the results. She weighed in at a whopping 116 pounds, which is waaaaay too thin for her. The doctor is concerned because she continues to be nauseated and ultimately throws up every day which is preventing her from eating. They gave her some fluids while doing dialysis yesterday because she was dehydrated. The doctor is still trying to figure out if it could be medicine or something else that is causing the nausea/vomiting. Caitlin is so bummed out - like she said, "two steps forward, five steps back." She had planned on going to watch her brother, Ryan, play in his indoor football tournament last night but just didn't feel good enough to go. We're just taking this day by day and seeing what the good Lord has in store for us. It's hard to believe that in less than a week, she'll have a birthday (19 years old on April 21st). Let me tell you, this will be one birthday we will really be celebrating!!! She hasn't told me what she wants her birthday dinner to include but the birthday cake will be her favorite of Dirt Cake. It's a layered dessert of crushed Oreo cookies, a creamy middle filling, then more crushed Oreo cookies on top with Gummie worms coming out. Anyone needing the recipe, let me know! Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we continue down this road to recovery. Chris