11/19/08:  Well here we go again.  Friday Lauren will undergo some tests to complete her transplant work up.  I never in a million years thought I would be writing this today.  We met with Dr. Vianna (her wonderful surgeon who performed all of her surgeries) two weeks ago and he recommends we re-transplant.  He is going to list her as a multi-visceral (bowel, liver, stomach, spleen) with the goal to be able to transplant only liver, but with the intent to have the other organs as a back up if needed.  Lauren's real issue is her vessels.  We know her portal vein is blocked and believe her hepatic vein is as well.  By transplanting the bowel, Lauren would get the vessels needed.  I think Jim and I are still in a bit of shock but part of me is just ready to do something.  She is still having difficulty with the fluid around her lung although she seems to be breathing better.  Her appetite has really decreased which is hard to see after she was eating like a truck driver!  She gets tired pretty easily but still manages to rule the roost and run Ethan and Owen ragged.  We will also be going for a second opinion on Dec 9th to Northwestern in Chicago.  As always we greatly appreciate your prayers and support as we begin another chapter.  And please add Paul and Faith Katuse to your pray list.  You can read their note in our guestbook.  With love & gratitude~Jim and Suz

10/18/08:  It is amazing how quickly things can change in a matter of weeks.  Since my last journal entry Lauren has spent time in Riley following a GI bleed from one of the varices in her esophagus.  During her stay Dr. Marshaleck did a venogram and found that her portal vein was blocked.  He was able to dialate it and we went home after a 6 day stay.  She also developed fluid around her lung (pleural effusion) that was later drained by Dr. Marshaleck.  A week later a follow up ultrasound showed her portal vein was again blocked and the pleural effusion had returned.  We had a tough couple of days with decisions as to the best approach to take with the portal vein.  There was discussion of placing a stent in the vein to try and keep it open and also talk of re-tranplanting.  The plan at this point is anticoagulation, adding another medication to help with the portal hypertension, and closely monitoring the varices.  She had a rough go of it for awhile as the fluid was making breathing difficult but the last few days she seems to be back to normal.  A f/u chest x-ray yesterday showed the fluid around her lung improving.  Finally some good news we all needed.  Although we have all the confidence in the world with our docs at Riley, we will be asking a group of physicians at Northwestern in Chicago to review her case.  Hopefully this will occur soon.  Jim took the boys up North for the weekend and Lauren and I have enjoyed a quiet girl's weekend.  We went shopping and out to dinner today with Aunt Ju Ju.  She was shopping for shoes like an old pro.  Can't imagine where she gets it!  We received a letter back from her donor family this week.  Definitely a bright moment for all of us but very emotional as well.  Lauren's donor, Maggie,  was a 12yr old girl who was the middle child of all girls!  She even had younger twin sisters!  Her parents indicated they would like to meet us and especially Lauren.  I hope we can do that soon as I think it would bring them such joy to see what their selfless act has done for Lauren and our family.  Lauren will have a f/u scope on 10/30 to check on her varices and band any that need it.  We will f/u in a month with a venogram to check on her portal vein.  We ask for focused prayers regarding her portal vein opening to allow blood flow and decrease the portal hypertension.  We have certainly seen many, many miracles in her short lifetime and I am counting on another one.  Thank you for your continued support of Lauren and our family.  With love and gratitude~Jim & Suzanne

 9/3/08:  Wow~September 3rd already!  I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and long weekend.  We traveled up North to join friends for a party at the Hurfords.  Thank you Mike and Michelle!!  It was so great to see so many people who worked so hard to make Lauren's golf outing the huge success it was.  So many people mentioned they continue to check out her site~so I decided I needed to be better at updating my journal.  The kids had a BLAST at Grandma and Papa Seiders Sunday riding tractors.  Owen loves driving the tractor with papa and has the biggest smile as he drives by.  Lauren continues to be the happiest, bossiest little girl around.  She is starting to run slowly and continues to try and do everything the boys do.  The other day I was scolding Ethan for something and Lauren repeated everything I said in the exact tone of voice I was using.  Needless to say, Ethan did not appreciate receiving a scolding twice!  A few months ago, Dr. Molleston scoped Lauren and found some varices in her esophagus.  Unfortunately, this is a result of a blockage in her vessels (either her portal vein or her hepatic vein) which is causing portal hypertension.  We are waiting to schedule another liver biopsy and an advanced x-ray of her vessels to see if a blockage is visible.  The good thing is her liver enzymes have never been lower and she appears to be feeling great.  Her appetite is still that of a football player!!  She continues with speech, physical, and occupational therapy.  A developmental therapist will be coming  out soon to evaluate her to ensure she is meeting all her milestones developmentally.  Thank God for all of these wonderful services she receives!!  We would love to invite everyone to join us on September 27th for the Liver Life Walk which starts at 9a at Fort Harrison State Park.  After the walk we will be hosting a lunch at our house to thank our wonderful friends and family for their never ending support.  We hope to make this an annual event.  Please visit www.liverfoundation.org/walk for more info.!  With love and gratitude~Jim & Suz

7/26/08:  Today we celebrated Lauren's one year anniversary of receiving her second chance at life.  I can not beleive it has been a year and then sometimes it seems like an eternity.  What a monumental event to celebrate with an underlying sadness for the family of Lauren's donor who is marking this anniversary in a very different way.  I pray for them and think about them so much.  We marked today by playing, watching her favorite movie Nemo, and eating cookies for lunch!  Basically anything she wanted to do.  We missed Daddy though as Jim is canoeing with three buddies in the Boundary waters.  Lauren is doing so well!  She is walking everywhere and only crawls now if she is playing a game with her brothers.  Her appetite continues to amaze everyone.  Her typical breakfast is three waffles, an entire cup of yogurt, and as many strawberries as she can stuff in her mouth.  She is up to 24.6lbs, an increase of 5lbs since her transplant.  Owen better watch out as she is slowly catching up!  She is also talking like crazy.  She is using short sentences and repeats EVERYTHING she hears.  Her hemoglobin has been running a bit low for awhile now and we will be starting her on Epogen shots twice a week in an effort to boost her RBC count.  She also has trace blood in her stool.  Dr. Molleston will  be doing an upper and lower GI to find the souce of bleeding the end of August.  I am anxious to see what is going on but I am thinking it may be a varice left over from when she had the GI bleed a year ago May.  We have been keeping so busy with work and playing in the sun.  Lauren and Owen love to be outside.  They enjoy going to the water park with their beloved Ms. Melody and to swim at Aunt Elaine and Uncle Troy's pool.  Lauren loves the water and floats great with the help of her big belly!  Ethan had an absolute blast at Disney and we so enjoyed thetime spent with our family.  We can not thank Jim's family enough for staying with the twins so we could spend some quality time with Ethan.  He had a blast playing baseball and going to Boy Scout camp.  I think if asked how his summer is going he would smile and say great!!  At least I know I would say that.  Especially compared to last summer.  Wow.  What a difference a year makes.  We could not have made it without the love, prayers, and support of all of our family and dear friends.  We are so truly gratefull to all.  Thank you thank you!  I look forward to another blessed year and am so honored for the chance to be able to watch our little princess warrior continue her journey.  Love to all~Jim & Suz

5/08/08:  Happy Spring!  We have been enjoying some spring showers these past few days which Lauren and Owen are not happy about!  They have become very fond of swinging and ask to go outside every chance they get.  And very soon Miss Lauren will be chasing birds along with Owen.  She has just started standing by herself and walking a few steps!!  She is still timid and a bit nervous about it, but everyday you can just see her confidence building.  So we are all so excited and getting prepared for the day the two will be running in different directions!  She had a venogram on May 1st which did show a very small blockage in her hepatic vein that drains blood from the liver.  The interventional radiologist was able to open the vessel and he was very pleased with the outcome as was Dr. Molleston.  So we are pleased.  She was a trooper as always and we thank grandma Smith for coming and watching the boys while we were at Riley.  Her cough is now becoming a normal household sound but fortunately she is still sleeping through the night.  Yesterday she was diagnosed with bilateral ear infections but hey, we can handle the normal kid stuff and she seemend back to normal already today.  Tough little muffin.  Owen is fiesty as ever.  He keeps us all in motion and we thank God daily that he is so cute.  We will be having his hearing checked next week as his speech just is not progressing like Laurens.  Lauren is starting to put two and three words together and poor little O is so hard to understand.  But he sure is trying!  We look forward to celebrating their second birthday at the end of the month.  Unbelievable!  Ethan continues to do great at school and will be recognized at the end of the month with a Personal Best award.  I am not sure what it all means but we will attend an awards ceremony with the superintendent presenting awards.  So we are very proud of him.  He is also a proud daddy of baby praying mantis.  About 300 of them!!  We bought him a praying mantis kit for Christmas and have been watching the little pod for weeks for a sign of life.  Yesterday the pod burst freeing praying mantis everywhere!  It really is a fun thing and Ethan is already very protective of them.  Blessing to all and many thanks for your continued prayers.  Jim & Suz

4/17/08:  It is so hard to believe it has been a month since I last wrote.  Time is truly speeding by.  Little Miss Priss is keeping us busy along with her big and little brothers!  She is gaining confidence daily and has finally resigned to the fact that she can indeed walk while holding onto just one hand!  I do think she is still fearful of falling and her belly throws her off balance at times.  I am remaining optimistic that she will walk on her birthday.  Her liver enzymes remain at an acceptable range and her kidneys are doing well.  We have decided to go ahead and do a venogram to verify adequate blow flow both to and from her liver.  We want to see if she does potentially have a block and if so, intervene now in an effort to provide her liver optimal blood flow for the future.  So she is scheduled for May 1st and I believe it is just an outpatient procedure.  We also visited a pulmonologist last week to see about her cough that she has had for about 13 weeks now.  She started her on a steroid inhalent that I do believe is helping.  She is finally sleeping through the night but wakes up coughing quite a bit.  So hopefully once the warm weather comes she may get some relief as well.  We are still working on the potty training but little steps.  Our other big news is Ethan turned 7 on April 5th!!  The big excitement of the day was the announcement of an upcoming trip to Disney with grandparents Smith, Uncle Bob, Aunt Julie, and especially cousin Zoe!!  But I think the big smile came when we told him the twins were staying home with grandparents Seiders and Aunt Lynn!!  He truly deserves this get away as he has been right there with us through this incredible journey without a complaint.  What a great kid.  Owen is becoming an amzingly sweet, kind little boy.  He is currently taking some abuse from his big sister as she is very protective and territorial of her space and time with just about anyone.  And she lets him know by pushing or smacking him!  She has been recently introduced to the "time-out" chair and is not enjoying her visits there.  I am hoping this abuse by sister will somehow help Owen in his future relationships with women!!!  Thank you everyone for your continued love and support.  Special thanks to our dear friends who continue to work on fundraising ideas for Lauren.  A big hug to my dear friend Elaine who keeps us all organized.  Love to all~Jim & Suz

3/18/08:  Lauren did have a biopsy this past Friday.  Her labs continue to be on the high side but the biopsy showed no rejection or infection which we are thrilled about.  The biospy did show some potential issues with blood flow from the liver which may be related to her anatomy.  We saw Dr. Molleston today and she plans on keeping an eye on things with ulrasounds and every other week lab checks.  She thought Lauren looked great and as always we were glad to see Dr. Molleston.  Owen is ready to get up from his nap so I must run.  Lauren and Owen's latest obsession is Bob the Builder.  It is the cutest thing to hear them say but I think everyone else in the house is tired of Bob!  Love to all!  Jim & Suz 

 3/6/08: Big news!!  Lauren went poopie in the potty twice this week!!  Thanks to the best babysitter and friend in the world, Ms. Melody!!  She is just moving right along and is getting stronger daily.  She is still cruising around the couch but can now pull herself up to standing and sit back down.  She just started having the confidence to walk with you holding onto just one hand, but is still not too steady.  The cutest thing is when Owen wants to hold one of her hands to help big sister walk.  Sometimes she trusts him to help and other times~not so much!  They are playing together and with Ethan so much more and are so fun to watch.  I would ask for some focused prayers regarding her liver enzymes that have been slightly elevating over the past month or two.  We are not sure why and hope it is related to the virus she has had for about 6 weeks and can not seem to shake.  We had some additional blood work and a liver ultrasound done yesterday.  Hopefully we will get some good news.  If the labs come back high again, Dr. Molleston will do a liver biopsy next week as a precautionary measure.  I pray we do not have to put her through that.  I will be taking the twins with me to Chicago this weekend.  They will spend time with my family and Jim's sister and brother-in-law while I enjoy a girl's weekend with my lifetime friends celebrating the life of our dear friend Jeannine.  Jeannine was one of my best friends who passed away ten years ago from ovarian cancer.  Please keep her family in your prayers as the month of March is always a tough one.  Thank you again for your continued support of our sweet Lauren.  We love you all!  Jim & Suz

02/14/08:  Happy Valentine's Day!!  Boy time flies when you are having fun and we ARE having fun!!!  We are just amazed everyday by our strong little lady.  To think that a year ago this time she was in the hospital with a life threatening infection which led her to be listed for a transplant.  And today she is cruising around the couch and wrestling with her brothers.  She gets stronger everyday and is working on pulling herself up to the couch.  She is starting to say more words and tries to repeat everything you say.  Of course my favorite word she says is Momma!!  We see Dr. Molleston every two months and things are looking great.  We did see a wonderful renal physician who diagnosed Lauren with RTA (Renal tublar acidosis) which is a rare side effect of her anti-rejection med Prograf.  Basically, it causes her kidneys to malabsorb sodium bicarbonate.  Luckily, there is an easy treatment which involves replacing the bicarb three times/day.  This may be something she will have the rest of her life but thankfully it can be treated and does not necessarily lead to kidney disease.  Ethan continues to love school and is doing exceptionally well.  He (and Daddy) won first place in his Pine Wood Derby race for Tiger Cubs last weekend.  He will have another opportunity to race against other winners in April.  Owen is always on the go and is very interested with anything that causes a loud noise or a big mess!!  Both Lauren and Owen will be starting speech therapy on Monday.  We are on our way for a little Valentine's Day dinner.  Hugs and kisses to everyone!  Jim & Suz

01/14/08: Happy New Year everyone!  The New Year's party in honor of Lauren was a magical night with around 500 people attending the party at Union Station.  We are so grateful to Danielle Beck who organized the event by having the courage to follow a dream and the kindness to allow our family to participate in it.  We thank my parents, sister and brother-in-law for being a part of the evening and thank Jim's parents who stayed with the kids so we could be away for the entire night!!   Thank you also to all of our friends who spent the New Year with us, especially our dearest friends who traveled from out of town.  Lauren has been doing well and tonight I walked into her room to find her standing up in her crib hanging on for dear life on the rail!  This is the first time she has pulled herself all the way to standing and is not yet sure how to sit back down.  So we will be quickly practicing how to do this trick!!  She continues to progress well with PT/OT and will be starting speech therapy next week as will Owen.  Although they seem to know what each other is saying.  We will be taking Lauren to a renal doctor tomorrow because she has been having a low bicarbonate level.  We will see the physician and then have a renal (kidney) ultrasound.  We pray for good news and ask for some focused prayers regarding her kidneys.  Hopefully we find something that can be easily treated.  Ethan is busy with Basketball (daddy is the coach) and tiger cubs.  He continues to do extremely well in school and we are so proud of how he has adjusted through Lauren's journey.  Owen continues to crack us up daily and is one busy little man.  Lauren is COTAs 1,200th patient and will be receiving some extra media attention because of this important mark for them.  I will keep you up on the latest adventure!!  Blessings to all and check out the new pictures Jim added!  With love and gratitude for al your continued support and prayers~Jim & Suz 

12/25/07: Merry Christmas!  We hope everyone enjoyed a day with family.  We had a relatively quiet day after surviving the stomach flu which started with Lauren vomiting Friday morning.  Lauren had a scheduled appointment at Riley for a liver ultrasound (which turned out perfectly) so we were fortunate to see Dr. Molleston and quickly determine she had the stomach flu.  We ended up spending the day in the ER for IV fluids and ended up being admitted.  We were grateful for Dr. Molleston's wise decision to treat her cautiously and for our favorite GI fellow Dr. Jason for being there to care for her.  It was also great to see all of our favorite nurses on the transplant unit and LaTonya from PICU.  Dr. Kazimi even popped in for a quick visit and thought she looked great.  We were so grateful that all she had was the flu that I made the comment (I guess more times than I should have) that as long as it is just the flu we could handle it even if everyone in the family got it.  So be careful what you ask for because...She came home  Saturday night just in time for Owen to begin vomiting followed later that night by daddy.  Ethan called out about 4 am with complaints of feeling hot.  He must have a stomach of steel because he was the only one who did not feel the GI symptoms~just a fever.  I started feeling poorly Sunday morning but at least was able to get through the worst part of it with Owen.  Everyone started feeling better Monday night but little Owen started vomiting again today.  He was finally able to keep some dinner down and drink some water.  It is hard because he is such a big milk drinker and we quickly found he was not ready for dairy!  Unfortunately we missed having Grandma and Papa Seiders visit for Christmas as we did not want to infect them.  Ethan loved his presents and played all day long.  The twins quickly figured out how to tear into their presents and had fun playing with their cell phones.  Owen wore a path in the floor running his new vacuum and I only wish it was a real one.  Jim made a great dinner and although we did not sit down at the dining room table with the fine china (and by the time we sat down, the food was cold!) we enjoyed dinner with our little family.  Love to all our family and friends and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!  Jim & Suz

12/14/07:  The Seiders family received an early Christmas present!!  Lauren began crawling this week.  It is such a huge milestone for her and something we have been anxiously awaiting for a long time.  She is very proud of herself and gets stronger and better at crawling daily.  Wow~to think of where she has come in such a short time.  I know it will be a matter of time before she is walking as she is already starting to pull herself up to her knees.  So the fun begins!  The days of chasing just one of the twinkies is over.  And we welcome the challenge!  Love to all!  Jim & Suz

12/5/07:  The days are just flying by as we get ready for the upcoming holidays!  The snow falling this morning put everyone in the Christmas mood and was just the tool I needed to get Ethan out of his warm bed.  The twins were very excited and happily pointed at the falling snow at 5 this morning!!!!  Owen is keeping us up with his cough as he has croup.  Hopefully he is on the mend and thankfully Little Miss has not caught the cough.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.  Lauren continues to do well and move in the right direction.  We are now seeing Dr. Molleston on a monthly basis as we recently celebrated her 4 month post transplant day.  Hard to believe.  She continues to eat more than her brothers and has gained 3lbs since she has been home.  She is getting use to scooting around on her bottom instead of pushing herself to crawl.  We continue to work with her PT/OT to motivate her and push her to move more.  She is standing on her legs for longer periods of time and can pull herself up with help.  So baby steps~literally!!   Thank you to grandparent's Seiders for coming this past weekend to help Jim with the kids while I enjoyed a weekend away with my dear friend, Elaine!!  Love to all!!  Jim & Suz

11/26/07: I hope everyone  had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We all had a great time up in Chicago with my family.  The kids traveled well and enjoyed the pumpkin pie.  They had a visit with Santa on Friday night.  Lauren was not sure about the big man with the beard but Owen, Ethan, and Zoe were thrilled.  Thank you to Sarah and Emily White for having a garage sale in Lauren's honor.  We thank you for thinking about her!  Have a great week and please consider joining us on New Year's Eve.  We would love to celebrate with everyone!  Love to all~Jim& Suz

11/22/07:  Thanksgiving blessings to everyone!  Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and this one is the best one ever.  We will be giving thanks for the miracles that we witnessed daily with Lauren, for the wonderful doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists at Riley, for the health of Ethan, Owen, AND Lauren!  We are so thankful for our wonderful family and friends who made an unbearable situation bearable.  We are also so very grateful to our dear friends who have been working tirelessly with COTA to take the financial worry from us.  I am especially grateful today for the family who chose to give Lauren the greatest gift of all.  I am thinking of them today as they celebrate their first Thanksgiving without their sweet child.  Hopefully someday they will meet Lauren and know they made the right decision.  Love to all~Jim & Suz 

11/12/07:  Lauren continues to amaze us daily.  She just started rolling from her back to her stomach and then she pushes herself into a sitting position!  Grandparents Smith were here for a few days and were amazed at the progress she made in just a few days.  She has found that sleeping on her tummy with her behind in the air is comfy and she has slept through the night in this position the past two nights.  Needless to say, Jim and I are thrilled and enjoying sleeping through the night with her~finally!!  I realy think she will be crawling soon and then look out!  Halloween was a great time for all and the twins were troopers.  Owen wanted to grab the candy, check out the inside of our neighbors homes, and eat through the wrappers to get to the good stuff.  We will get some updated pictures on the sight as soon as we can figure out some technical issues.  She did have an ear infection that has cleared nicely with antibiotics.  She is now going to clinic every other week and we will get blood work and visit Dr. Roe tomorrow morning.  Thank you to my dear friend from junior high Julie Moran for sponsoring a jewlery event for Lauren in Chicago.  Also many thanks to the ghost golfers and the Gull Lake golfers for their generous gifts to Lauren's fund.  The latest total for the pig roast/golf outing is $10,899!!!  Absolutely amazing!  We are truly grateful for all of our friends and family who continue to provide us with love and support!  Love, Jim & Suz

10/29/07:  Thank you to Frank and Deb Morrone for opening their home yesterday to support a jewlery show in Lauren's honor.  They raised a remarkable $600 and we so appreciate all the time and energy they put into the event!!  I heard Frank made some outstanding mushrooms and Sangria!!  THANK YOU!!!  Lauren continues to do well but has been fighting a cold.  She has been tugging at her ears this weekend and kept the Seiders' household up last night!!  So I will be running her in just to check her ears and get her flu shot. (Normal kid stuff)!! This past weekend I had her in the crawl position, left the room for a few minutes, came back to find her sitting up all by herself!  She is starting to really want to move and we just need to continue to encourage her, even when she does not want to!  She is a stubborn little one.  I promise to get some Halloween pictures on the site and add some pictures from the hog roast.  Love to all!  Jim & Suz

10/24/07: An exciting event is coming up this Sunday in Naperville, IL at Deb Morrone's home for Lauren.  A jewelry party featuring Lia Sophia jewlery will begin at 2p Sunday October 28th.  Deb's address is 840 S. Loomis in Naperville.  If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase jewlery please contact Sandy Zunkel 630-916-1419.  THANK YOU DEB!!!

10/24/07:  The golf outing and pig roast in Walkerton were a HUGE sucess.  We had the perfect, sunny day and everyone who golfed had a great time~regardless of how well they played!  We have so many people to thank and I hope we were able to thank most people in person.  Thank you John Bryan and John Johnson, for turning a day of golf with a few guys into a great event.  The Hurford's (Lowell, Jan, Mike, and Michelle) donated not only their time to make the delicious food but also donated the food.  A special thank you to Jeff Berg who donated the hog.  We are so grateful to them.  Rick & Geri Ruby, Kim Towle, & Grandma Seiders for all their effort not only before the event but also during. I hope you have caught up on your rest!   Abbi and Lisa for help with preparation, set up and keeping the party going!!  Janelle Johnson for her beautiful storyboards and table cards, which she did by hand!!  And my treasured scrapbook!  The Steve Foresman Band was a great way to continue the evening and we so appreciate their time and talent.  I know I am forgetting people!  I would like to thank everyone who traveled to be with us.  Angela and her lovely family, my parents, sister, brother, and niece, Zoe, our dear family friends Chuck and Nancy Rose, Penny and Gene Hughes, Aunt Lynn (thank you for staying with the twinkies), our best buddies from Indy, Melody and Jim Rahrig, Mike Garrard, and Sara Donlan (COTA lady~ha!).  It was just such a great day and the outpouring of love and support for us is something we will never forget.  We will put the final tally on the site, but the golf alone brought in about $4,000, the pig roast $5,000 and miscellaneous donations to Jim & I $900!!!  Unbelievable.  What a great example of what a group of people with a common goal can do~a lesson I know my kids will embrace from the many examples they have witnessed!  Love to all~JIm & Suz

10/17/07:  Wow!  I just took a couple of moments to read through the journal.  What a crazy trip it's been!  Lauren just continues to grow and improve daily.  She is eating great and usually is the last one eating the last crumb at the table.  She loves her pizza, green beans, and bean & cheese burritos!  She has also completely mastered the sippy cup and no longer has any trouble with gagging or choking.  She just truly amazes us!  She has been working very hard with her OT Marci and PT Cari (love them both) and is trying to move a little more each day.  She is getting good at pivoting in a cirlce on her bottom so she can keep an eye on that little brother.  She is also tolerating when we assist her with transitioning to the crawl or stand positions.  She can stand with assistance for a few minutes and will scoot down off the couch with help.  You can just see how frustrated she gets though when she wants to do something Owen is doing and she can not yet.  But we are hoping this will continue to motivate her to start moving more.  I am still keeping my fingers crossed for Christmas morning to see my three wee ones stumble out to the tree.  But as we all know, Lauren does things in her own time, in her own way, so we will be thrilled whenever it happens.  Love and thanks to my dear friend, Susan Garrard, for hosting a lovely evening at her home last night for Lauren.  Thank you also for the friends who participated and donated their time and money to Lauren.  Big thank yous to Michelle, Bridgett, Gwen, Laurie, and Gail.  Special thank you to my mom and Aunt Annie for making the trip from Chicago.  It was so great to see you!  We are very excited about the golf outing up near Jim's hometown this weekend.  I have just been hearing little tid bits of plans that have been brewing.  So much time and energy has been put into this and I know it will be a great day. We are still just in awe of the love and support we receive daily and are so very grateful!  Love to all~ Jim & Suz

10/9/07:  Lauren continues to do well at home.  Right now Jim is outside with Lauren and Owen enjoying this beautiful evening.  Lauren had a great appointment with Dr. Molleston today.  Her labs look great, her incision is healing very well, and her weight is pretty good.  She weighed around 20lbs when we left Riley and weighed 19.2 today.  So not too bad considering she is not on any nutritional supplements.  She has been eating very good the past few days~unlike Owen who is on a hunger strike.  Tomorrow will be a big day as I am heading back to work and the wee ones will be going to Miss Melodys, who they both love dearly.  So life really is getting back to normal and it feels great.  Love to all and check out the updates that our dear, crazy friend Mike Garrard added to the site.  Joon~I would love to talk to you if you would like to call~706-1328. Love to all~Jim & Suz

10/5/07:  Boy, life has been busy around here!!  The yard sale was a huge success and I think everyone is still recouperating from all of the hard work.  The event raised around $12,000!!!  We still can not believe it and are so very grateful to everyone who helped or sent their good wishes our way.  It really was a sight to see and I know Lynda and Gordon are so glad to see their garage again.  What a wonderful neighborhood we live in!  Monday Lauren saw Dr. Vianna and Dr. Kazimi who both thought she looked great.  They pulled out her PICC line so she is now free of everything!  She took her first bath in the big tub with her brothers that evening and had a blast splashing around.  She has been eating pretty well, but still chokes on some foods.  She is now holding her own sippy cup and drinking away.  Anything Owen can do she wants to do~and better.  She is a determined little girl!  Last night she ate some black beans, quesadilla, and salsa.  Her occupational therapist said often the kiddos who have been on a vent for awhile have decreased senses so they need more stimulating tastes.  She loved the spicy food!  This weekend will be spent relaxing with friends and just doing normal stuff.  We are so glad to be back to normal and just enjoy time together.  Ethan has an event at the track for Tiger Cubs that I will take him too while Jim spends some time with the twinkies.  Owen has an ear infection he is recovering from but doing pretty well.  Thank God it has not kept him up at night!  Lauren generally goes to bed around 8p, wakes up to eat a bit around 11p, then sleeps until Owen wakes her up around 7:30a.  She is just doing so great and we so appreciate all of your continued prayers.  Enjoy the weekend!  Love to all~Jim & Suz

9/27/07:  Lauren is continuing to improve everyday at home.  She is starting to get into a good routine and nap schedule.  YEA!  She is doing well with eating and we try to give her more solid food daily.  She really is over the baby food and just wants to be like her brothers.  She will finish up on her nutrition supplement through her PICC line tomorrow, and hopefully we will pull the PICC line out at clinic Monday.  It was great to see Dr. Vianna at clinic today and he thought Lauren looked just great.  Our next step will be to resume our wonderful physical therapist, occupational therapist, and dietician visits to get her moving.  She is ready to chase Owen and Ethan.  Not sure if they are ready for her!!  Monday night was a wonderful night and Jim and I are so grateful to all of our wonderful friends who put so much time into the benefit at Moe & Johnny's.  Thank you to everyone who joined us.  We are so looking forward to the yard sale on Saturday and huge thanks to Gordon and Lynda Durnil for their many hours of hard work.  We are so appreciative to all.  WIth love, Jim & Suz

9/23/07:  Lauren is home!!  We arrived home Friday afternoon and Lauren has had a huge smile on her face ever since we walked out of Riley!  Owen and Ethan were both so, so happy to see her and have had a blast playing.  Owen has been very gentle with her.  He rubs her hair, ALMOST gives her his toys, and tries to give her his sippy cup for a little taste.  ( We quickly intervene with that one)!  Whenever Ethan is in the room, Lauren has a big smile on her face and a continuous giggle.  It really is so awesome to see them all playing together again.  Lauren is eating well and doing great with her sippy cup.  She is beginning to get a bit angry though realizing that she is back to baby food while Owen is eating pears and waffles!  For lunch she had a few soft carrots which she picked up off the tray herself~she was very happy with herself.  She is taking her meds like candy and for the most part is keeping it all down!  She did come home with her PICC line which we infuse a nutrition supplement 7p-7a.  Since she is eating so well I do not think she will need this for much longer.  It really seems like she is making improvements hourly!  Lauren was so blessed to have such great care from the entire team at Riley.  She has the BEST doctors~Dr. Vianna, Dr. Mangus, Dr. Molleston & Dr. Kazimi, who was always so great to us and Lauren even when running on no sleep and junk food.  The entire staff on PICU and 2B were exceptional and I know Lauren felt the love from them all.  It has been an amazing journey the past 10 weeks at Riley.  A journey we would not have survived without the love and support from all of you.  Our entire family will be forever grateful.  I need to move along~I hear the peeps of a sweet, little miracle girl coming from the room next to me.  What a great sound that is!  Love to all!  Jim & Suz

9/19/07: Sorry for the lapse in updates but we have been busy playing with and feeding Lauren! Our PYT (Pretty Young Thing) is doing super. She is taking her medicine by mouth extremely well. She does have an appetite but still gags and vomits some; this should pass with time. Lauren is now able to leave her hospital room to go for wagon rides...she has even been outside a few times! There has been talk by the surgeons that this Friday may be the day! Say a little prayer, cross your fingers, and rub your lucky rabbit feet... Hopefully, the next journal entry will be from home with Lauren by our sides. God bless and many thanks, Jim & Suz

9/13/07: Lauren has been doing so well the past few days.  She is all settled in her new room on the transplant floor and is a happy girl.  It is so wonderful to see her laughing and playing like she did prior to her transplants.  Yesterday we removed her feeding tube from her nose in an effort to determine if that was somehow causing her to gag.  She had a really great day yesterday and took her medicine via syringe in her mouth.  This is  truly a huge step for her as her meds are so very important and if she will take her meds and eat on her own, she will not have to come home with a feeding tube.  She also sat up in her high chair and ate some green beans (all time fav) and squash for lunch and dinner.  She seemed to enjoy it and swallowed without difficulty.  We really had a great day!Grandma Smith spent the night with her last night and this morning the occupational therapist will work with her on using a spippy cup.  Everday this little princess warrior is getting stronger and stronger.  We give the doctors and nurses so much credit for their excellent care and all of you for your continued prayers and good wishes sent our way.  With love and gratitude, Jim & Suz 

9/11/07:  Late Saturday night Lauren spiked another temp, her heart rate was running fast and she was having to work a little harder with breathing.  Dr. Kazimi made the smart decision to send her back to the PICU, stop her tube feedings, and begin another antibiotic.  Very quickly she began to perk up and Sunday and Monday had the best days she has had since her admission.  She laughed and played all day.  We think she may have missed all of her wonderful friends in PICU.  She had a CT scan of her abdomen and chest Sunday which looked pretty good.  We are still puzzled as to why she keeps having fevers and is not tolerating her tube feedings.  She has been sitting up though in a high chair and eating a small amount of baby food.  Slowly but surely!  I think if we set a slice of cheese pizza or a bean and cheese burrito on her tray she would be one happy girl.  But we will have to wait for that day.  She returned to the transplant unit last evening and spent the night with grandma Smith.  Love to all!  Jim & Suz

 9/08/07: The past week has been a busy one for Lauren.  She had an Upper GI to test the functioning of her digestive tract to ensure she had no problems with food passing through her system.  The test looked good, but did confirm she is aspirating into her trachea a small amount of fluid.  An ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor checked her vocal cords to ensure there was not a physical reason for her aspirating.  She passed with flying colors. At this point, there is no phsical reason why she is aspirating and still having problems with gagging. It will just take her some time to re-learn how to eat, swallow and breathe.  She did eat about a tablespoon of pears yesterday for daddy so progress is being made!  She was also started back on feedings via her tube in her nose.  She did fairly well but her belly became distended so they are giving her a break for a few hours today.  We just have to be patient and give her some time to heal from the past 8 1/2 weeks of torture she has been through.  She is still running a low grade fever which may be caused by some fluid that remains around her right lung.  The key now is to keep into perspective the amazing progress she has made and remember that the trials now are small compared to what she has already overcome.  Everyday she gets stronger and stronger and one day we will walk out of those Riley doors to home.  Whenever she is ready~we will be waiting!!  Love to all and thank you for your continued prayers~JIm & Suzanne

9/04/07: Lauren is still plugging along on the transplant unit. This past weekend she spiked a low temperature but so far, no major infection has been identified. The chest tube was removed on Sat. and so far she is doing pretty well. We are waiting for the results of her latest chest x-ray as she is breathing a little harder and faster than recently. We will also be visited this afternoon by a pulmonologist (lung doctor) just to be sure there are no lung issues. We have been working with her feeding tube, as she is having some issues with gagging when the nurses give her meds. But last night she ate about 5 bites of pureed green beans without difficulty! So we really need to be patient with her and remember everything that she has been through. It will take her time to feel like eating. She has been laughing and smiling quite a bit today and was excited to see her grandparents Smith, great grandma Smith, Aunt Paula, and Uncle Monte. (great gram, Aunt Paula, and Uncle Monte are in from Wyoming)!! She enjoyed the weekend with daddy, grandma and papa Seiders while momma and the little men went to Chicago for a family wedding. It was great to be away for the first time in over a year and so good to see family who traveled far. Thank you for all of your continued support and prayers. Love, Jim & Suz

 8/31/07:  Lauren is enjoying her new space on 2B, the transplant unit.  We moved over last evening and it was a pretty emotional time.  We will truly miss the staff on PICU~they are just the best.  As we were leaving, a new kiddo with multiple IV drips and on a ventilator was just arriving next door.  In some ways it seems like just yesterday when we waited as they rolled Lauren down the PICU hall for the first time.  In other ways it seems like a thousand years ago.  We wish that new, little pumpkin and his family the best as they start on their journey on PICU South.   For us~we are so ready to move on. Daddy will be spending the weekend with Lauren as I take the boys up to Chicago for my cousins' wedding.  My 90 year old grandma, who lives in Wyoming, will be there and we can not wait to see her.  Although, I will be just as eager to return home.  Safe travels this holiday weekend.  Love to all, Jim & Suz 

8/30/07: I apologize for the delay in writing but we have been busy preparing for the big move. Lauren will be moved out of ICU today to the transplant floor!!!!!!! What a huge day for us, although we are not home yet, we are one step closer. Lauren is doing so well. We hope to get the chest tube removed today and place a feeding tube through her nose. Her swallowing study showed she is not quite ready for liquids, but she was able to eat applesauce and pudding. Yum! So for awhile we will feed her formula through the tube until she is taking enough calories on her own. Knowing our little fighter, it will not be long. Love to all and many thanks for your continued prayers! Love, Jim & Suz

 8/28/07:  Lauren remains in the PICU while they continue to wean her off of the morphine drip.  It is a slow process in order to avoid her becoming too uncomfortable with the withdrawal symptoms.  She has been resting very well and has been playing a bit when she is awake.  Everyone is impressed with how strong she is and how far she has come in just a few days.  She has been off of the vent for a full week now and remains on a very small amount of oxygen.  What a tough, little lady.  The swallowing study is scheduled for tomorrow so we are anxious to see how that turns out.  Many thanks to my friends at Clarian for sponsoring a garage sale this weekend for Lauren.  We are truly blessed and grateful!  Love to all!  Jim & Suz

8/25/07: Lauren continues to do well off of the vent! She had a very restless couple of days which is most likely due to withdrawal as they are decreasing her morphine drip. The plan now is to wean her at a slower rate in order to keep her more comfortable. We will not be able to move to the transplant unit until the morphine drip is off. We are keeping our fingers crossed for Monday! She is sitting up propped with pillows, likes to sit in her bouncy chair, and fell asleep in my arms this afternoon. Boy, that felt good! We are going to have a swallowing evaluation on Monday to ensure she is able to handle taking a bottle without aspirating due to the length of time she was on the vent. We are hoping we will get good news. Everyone that sees her thinks she looks so good~just wait until they see her in a few days when she flashes a smile!! Love to all~Jim & Suz

8/23/07: Lauren continues to do well breathing on her own. She had a restful sleep last night with mom and is starting to want to stay awake more and more. She is a bit more restless today but did eat half a popsicle (along with the tips of my fingers~she was so excited)!! Hopefully tomorrow we can try a bottle. Her lungs are still clear, her chest x-ray looked good this morning, and her liver labs continue to move in the right direction. Our next goal is to have her take a bottle and eventually her meds by mouth. Then we will plan for the big move down the hall. We are ready whenever she is! Love to all~Jim & Suz

8/21/07: As of 8:30 this am, Lauren is off the vent and breathing well on her own!!!! (Thank you, Will R.T.) Today the plan will be to allow her plenty of rest and continue her respiratory treatments and IV antibiotics. We hope to begin feeding her tomorrow~I know she has been dreaming about those cherry popsicles!! Thank you for your prayers and continued support. Thank you to the wonderful friends who work with Jim for the very generous donation. Thank you to my wonderful co-workers for your donation of time and meals. We are very grateful and look so forward to a good meal! We are blessed! Love, Jim & Suz

8/20/07: As we quickly approach our 6th week in ICU, Lauren still remains on the vent. She had a fairly quiet weekend and rested well. Today the docs have decided to put her to work and begin decreasing her vent settings, allowing her do some work of breathing on her own. She still has the chest tube and now has another infection from her PICC line (the port used to administer meds and draw blood). They are also treating her for pneumonia as she has a large amount of secretions and requires frequent suctioning. She has been awake a little this morning and we had some girlie time giving her a manicure and fixing her hair. (which has grown and is very curly)! I think she is ready to do some work to get that breathing tube out!! Focused prayers needed for her strength to start breathing on her own and get her extubated tomorrow!! We can not thank you all enough for the continued support and prayers. We truly look forward to reading the guestbook everyday! Love Jim & Suz

8/17/07: Lauren remains on the ventilator today. Yesterday she began having trouble keeping her oxygen levels up which resulted in moving a step backwards with her vent settings allowing the vent to do more work. Her heart rate started climbing up yesterday and she began having some irregular heart ryhthms. She rested fairly well through the night, but at 5 am became very restless and spiked a fever, which explains some of her behavior yesterday. The concern is pneumonia and she was started today on two IV antibiotics. Needless to say, she will remain on the vent until this infection clears. Hopefully sooner than later as we are anxious to once again get her off the vent. The good news is her liver continues to work extremely well and we will get through these other issues which truly are minor in the big picture. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of this!! Have a great weekend and love to all! Jim & Suz

 8/15/07:  I guess we would not appreciate the highs so much if it were not for the lows.  Lauren started having some difficulty breathing on Monday.  A chest x-ray determined she had some fluid around her right lung so yesterday she had a catheter placed in her chest to drain the fluid.  She had quite a lot of fluid and no wonder she was having a hard time.  After the procedure she had some difficulty breathing and was placed back on the ventilator.  It was very hard to see her back on the ventilator after she fought so hard to get off and just the night before, she was up laughing and playing with her Aunt Julie and one of her favorite nurses, Erica.  Tough day for all.  She rested well last night with daddy by her side and the focus today is to wean her off the ventilator.  We are hoping she will be off and breathing on her own by tomorrow.  So we will continue to be strong as we ride this current wave and continue to pray for the next good day.  Ethan started 1st grade today and decided he would like to return tomorrow!  Love to all~Jim & Suz

 8/11/07: Yesterday was a great day!  I was able to hold Lauren for the first time in 4 weeks!  She rested well last night and is having a good morning so far today.  Daddy may see if she would like to suck on a popsicle later today~what a special treat for her.  The transplant surgeon feels she may be ready for a bottle tomorrow.  We are hoping she will welcome a bottle and food soon so the NG (tube in her nose to her stomach for administering meds and formula) can be removed.  Little steps, but nothing she can't handle!  With love, Jim & Suz

8/10/07: Our beautiful, little, fighter has crossed one more path toward recovery!! Her breathing tube was removed yesterday and she continues to do well breathing on her own today!!! It is so good to see her pretty face and hear her little voice. She was even playing with her pink puppy and flashed a couple little smiles our way. (Check out the new picture Jim added). We are beyond thrilled and so grateful for the wonderful doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists (Will & Pam) here at Riley. Today will be a day of rest and working to wean some of her meds. And keep her breathing on her own!!!! We are so happy and know, once again, the power of prayer. Thank you all. Love, Jim & Suz

8/6/07: The results of Lauren's CT scan showed either a fluid filled sac or a hematoma near the liver. This is not an uncommon finding for what she has been through and will hopefully resolve on its own. Lauren was showing some signs of withdrawal this weekend and so a new plan is in place for her pain management and sedation. The goal is to keep her comfy, while allowing her to be awake enough to continue some of the work of breathing on her own. Lauren remains on the ventilator. The plan now is to slowly decrease the work of the vent daily or as Lauren can tolerate it. The struggle we are having with extubation (removing the breathing tube) is due to the length of time she has been intubated, a collapsed lung, lack of nutrition, and distention from her abdomen. We remain optimistic that she will be extubated soon (at least not for another 5 days, though) but would ask for some focused prayers regarding extubation!! Lauren now has a blood infection, causing her low grade fevers that may be from her cental line (port in her chest for med infusion and blood draws). The line will be removed tomorrow and a temporary line will be placed. Hopefull the fevers will then resolve. Thank you for the support we get daily from you all! We were blessed with the support this past weekend of our parents and thank you to Grandma Smith for taking night shift last night. Love to all! Jim & Suz

8/5/07: Grandma Seiders delivered us the "results" of a 50/50 drawing that was held at Masonite Corp. in Walkerton, IN. The generous participants were able to raise $986.81 for Lauren's fund! Lauren's family would like to thank everyone for the donations. This is very humbling. Thank you all, Jim & Suz 

8/5/07:  Lauren had a restless night last night. The doctors thought her belly looked more swollen. We are awaiting the results of a CT scan this morning. Thank you to Grandma Seiders for staying with Lauren last night!

8/4/07: Lauren continues to gain strength everday. Her new liver is working well! She remains on the ventilator (which is definitely testing mommy's patience), but they continue to wean her oxygen requirements and so far she is handling the minor changes. Her liver is large and her abdomen remains swollen so her lungs are not able to work to their full capacity. We have to keep remembering the big picture~she has a new, healthy liver!!! She has had a low fever yesterday and today which the docs are working to figure out why. She opens her sparkling, blues eyes and definitely lets you know when she does not like something by kicking her little legs and swinging her little arms. She has started to get some of her spunk back. Thank you again for your messages and blessings for Lauren. It really is exciting for us to read your notes. Check out her newly updated photo album! Jim & Suz

 7/31/07:  Lauren is doing well today!  Dr. Vianna performed her 8th (& hopefully last) surgery yesterday afternoon to close her muscle and incision.  She did very well and Dr. Vianna was pleased with how everything looked.  She was wide awake after surgery and remains fiesty.  Just the way we like her!  The next step will be to remove her breathing tube.  They have started decreasing the work the ventilator is doing, in the hope that Lauren will be strong enough to begin some of the work of breathing on her own.  She is moving around quite a bit and seems very annoyed by the breathing tube in her mouth.  We will all breathe a big sigh of relief once the tube is out and she is breathing on her own.  Thank you for your continued prayers and love for Lauren and our family!  Jim & Suz

7/28/07: Lauren continues to do well after her last surgery Thursday! She remains on the ventilator, but was taken off the paralytic yesterday, which allowed her to move and open her beautiful, blue eyes for the first time in a week. What a great moment for us! At this point, we are allowing her to rest and continue to gain strength in preparation for her next surgery Monday. During this surgery, Dr. Vianna plans on closing her incision. We continue to be amazed by her courage and determination. We continue to gain strength from your prayers and kind words. Love, Jim & Suz

7/26/07: Prayers have been answered for Lauren today!!  The transplant went very well last night after a 6 hour surgery ~ Dr. Vianna and the transplant team are truly amazing!!  The liver was a good size and the vessels are open.  Her bowel appeared to be swollen and dusky so there was some concern about a possible issue with blood flow.  Dr. Vianna took Lauren back this afternoon to see the condition of the intestines.  Lauren just came  out of her 7th surgery in 2 weeks with very optimistic news.  The liver looks great and so do her intestines.  We are truly grateful and although we realize there will be trying times ahead ~ we are grateful for today.  With love and gratitude,  Jim & Suz

7/25/07: We are waiting to hear about a potential liver for Lauren.  We will know hopefully around 2p and hope to have her in surgery around 4 or 5p if the liver fits.  Prayers for the family suffering the loss of a child today and prayers that Lauren may be blessed with this second chance.  Love to all and thank you for your beautiful messages.  It is a highlight of our day to read all the wonderful wishes.  Jim & Suz

7/24/07: Lauren remains in ICU on the ventilator and paralytic.  She had a good night with daddy while I spent some well needed time with Owen and Ethan.  She will receive some blood and platelets today and be put on a "cushy" bed to help avoid pressure sores since we are quickly creeping up on week two of her stay.  Her liver enzymes have improved since yesterday which led our wonderful doctors to shrug and say 'don't ask me why, she is a tough little lady'.  We know it is more than just that~with the love, prayers, and support she is receiving from all of you, she will stay strong until the right one arrives.  Love and thanks to all, Jim & Suz

7/22/07: Lauren went back into surgery to begin the process of closing the incision.  During surgery Doctors discovered that there’s no blood flow to the inside of the liver and realized that the new liver has been damaged.  Doctors make the decision that Lauren needs another liver transplant. 

7/19/07: At 5:30 am Lauren returned to the operating room and was diagnosed with Compartmental Syndrome.  Doctors opened up the stitches to relieve pressure in her abdomen.

7/17/07: Lauren returned for final step of the transplant to close the muscle.  Surgery went well and Doctors were able to hear blood flow through the branches of the Hepatic Artery for the first time since initial surgery.    

7/15/07: Lauren was taken off the ventilator and able to breathe on her own.  Awake and making eye contact.  Her nurses have been wonderful and are amazed by her strength and how alert she is.

7/12/07: A clot was found in the Hepatic Artery and Lauren underwent surgery again to repair clot.

7/11/07: Call for possible liver at 3:00 am.  Liver found to be “perfect”.  Liver transplant surgery started 6:30 pm, completed 2:15 am 7/12/07.  Doctors felt surgery was a success, complication with a clot in the Portal vein and some reconstruction needed in the Hepatic Artery, but felt transplant an overall success.

6/29/07: Admitted to Riley with fever of 101.7, diagnosed with Strep Bacteremie.  Released on7/1/07, again happy to be home.

6/8/07: Admitted to riley to band 2 more Varicies.  Dr. Molleston pleased with procedure.

6/4/07: Received call that Lauren was potential recipient for liver, again after several hours of waiting the liver was too large.

5/24/07: Lauren diagnosed with Stage III Esophageal Varicies.  Doctors at Riley banded 2 varicies and Lauren was in ICU for three days (in ICU on her first birthday May 26)  then transferred to the Transplant floor.  While in the hospital her PELD score was raised and she was listed first in Indiana.  Started on TPN feedings to encourage weight gain.  Home from hospital on 5/31/07.

5/23/07: Admitted to Clarian North with fever of 101.4, thought possibly teething.Lauren became fussy and listless at night and her blood pressure dropped to 40.  She threw up large amounts of blood and was transferred by Lifeline Transplant to Riley Hospital at 2:00am.  At Riley, Lauren was transfused all day to stabilize.

5/8/07: Released from hospital and began Live Donor process.

5/3/07: Admitted to Riley with fever of 103.  Diagnosis Strep Bacteremia from central line. While admitted possible livers available but not the right time.

4/19/07: Call for potential liver.  Waited at Riley for 2 hours only to find the liver was too “chubby”.  Doctors feel that Lauren is healthy enough to wait for the right liver.

4/9/07: Visited Dr. Molleston who was impressed with Lauren’s developmental achievements.  Lauren said “night night” to her for the first time.

3/23/07: Visited Dr. Molleston. Lauren talking and laughing, weight 14 lbs 11 oz, Bili 1.5.

2/28/07: Admitted to hospital with fever of 101.8. Owen, Ethan, and Suzanne home with colds.  Lauren while admitted still laughing, playing and sleeping well.  Released 3/2/06.

2/1/07: Admitted to Clarian North with Pseudomonas and Cholangitis, Bili up to 15.  2/6/07 Central line placed.  2/8/06 Placed on transplant list, and met Dr. Tector who will perform transplant surgery.  2/12/06 Happy to be home from the hospital.

1/19/07: Visited Dr.Molleston and Dr. West, both happy to see Lauren sitting up and on task. Weight 14 lbs 7 oz.

12/20/06: Fever 101.2, admitted to hospital. When released on 12/22/06, Bili numbers 1.6, the lowest ever.

11/7/06: Admitted to Clarian North with RSV. NG tube inserted to begin night feedings.Home from hospital 11/9/06, weight 12 lbs 15 oz.

10/15/06: Fever of 102.7, admitted to Clarian North Hospital with diagnosis of Cholangitis. Home from the hospital on 10/21/06, appetite has improved.

10/13/06: Visit to Dr. Molleston, color looks good and weight 11 lbs 8 oz.

9/11/06: Fever of 101.8, admitted to hospital for 3 days.

9/1/06: Lauren released from hospital & on her way to recovery.

8/25/06: Kasai Procedure preformed at Riley Hospital for children in Indianapolis. Surgeon pleased with the surgery and optimistic about Laurens future.

8/23/06: Liver biopsy confirms diagnosis of Biliary Atresia.

8/15/06: Lauren’s blood work showed potential liver problems.

5/26/06: Lauren and her twin brother Owen were born.