Gianna's ordeal...

On Friday, November 11^th, Gianna presented with what we thought was the stomach flu, unfortunately it was something much worse, and over that weekend she did not improve so we headed to the doctor on Monday.  They were concerned with the amount of blood in her diarrhea and they placed her in the hospital in Santa Rosa.  She remained there for several hours while they monitored her but they decided she needed to be transferred to UCSF where they could handle this type of “disease.”  We shuttered when the word disease was used!  What could she possibly have??  Well the doctor in Santa Rosa had a feeling her sickness was due to a disease known as HUS, however her culture needed to test positive for E Coli to confirm this and it takes 48hrs to grow.  The doctor was feeling pretty certain of his hunch, so he transferred her that night just to be safe.  Gianna and Jarrid traveled together in an ambulance to UCSF immediately, Gianna was excited to ride in what she thought was a little school bus (breaks my heart). Thank goodness he went with his gut, because unfortunately he was right and Gianna had a severe infection caused by E.Coli and was at the beginning of a very long journey.  Luckily we were at UCSF when things climaxed.  HUS is only treated at UCSF, Stanford and Las Vegas, so we were in the right place at the right time! Gianna’s kidneys had shut down and she was very ill.  The disease caused her to need 3 weeks of dialysis among other treatments.  She also had to battle a blood clot in her leg, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure.  Too say we were terrified on a daily basis is an understatement.  But this little girl’s courage and strength were amazing and we had to be strong for her.  She battled the disease and made a remarkable turn around on December 2^nd and on December 6^th we were able to return home!!  Even her doctors were amazed by her strength and quick recovery.  While in the hospital Jarrid stayed with Gianna day and night, he slept by her side for almost a month, what an amazing man I married!! My Mom and I with baby Davis stayed in a hotel.  It was a long month for all.

Today, Gianna is doing very well.  She has to see the doctor weekly for the first month and then monthly after that.  So far her labs look great, just a little anemic, so she gets tired quickly.  She will hopefully be able to return to preschool and My Little Farm in January, she is very anxious to return, she asks to go to school daily. 

We want to thank everyone for their support, the outpouring of love and generosity from our friends and family has been amazing. I know that we could not have made it through without you all.  THANK YOU!! 

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) is a disease of blood clotting within the capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body. As red blood cells pass through the clogged capillaries, they are sheared apart and broken. This is called hemolysis and accounts for the first part of the syndrome's name. The other half of the syndrome's name refers to kidney failure in which urea and other waste products build up in the bloodstream because the kidney cannot filter and dispose of them. (urea=a waste chemical + emia= in the blood).  While the cause of HUS has not been established with certainty, researchers believe that an abnormal inflammation reaction is stimulated in the blood stream causing platelets (the parts of the blood that form clots) to sludge in small blood vessels and form blood clots where they are not supposed to. This uses up the platelets and causes a shortage of them in the rest of the body.

The day before she got sick playing in the little baby tub!

one of the ways she was entertained after leaving ICU

first day out of bed, in the playroom!

so happy to be "unhooked"

She had a nice view at least!

this is how most days were spent

our brave girl

Cassidy visited us, Gianna loved it!!

hooked up to daily dialysis

I cried when we arrived home to this!!

she received so many gifts, thank you all so much!!!