So much to say. So little energy

The last 2 days have been really difficult for us. Medical appt and orphanage visit. Today I will share the medical visit. 

I left you last time as we were going to the required medical appt. Yikes. 

Everything started off just fine. 

She was playing with another little girl in our group. 

Had her vitals taken. 

Quick eye check. 

Then things got scary for me. We got to the part where they do an actual physical examination. The younger female dr started out just fine until she got to Betty-June's abdomen. She got a very serious look on her face and went for the older male dr. He checked her belly and asked me when her last transfusion was. When I told him Aug 4 his face went dark and he told me she needs a transfusion every month. Wel gee why didn't I think of that?  He wanted her hgb checked and thought she would need a transfusion before we left China. The hospital we would need to go to requires a 2-3 day stay in the PICU ward. And the worst part is, I could not go with her. 

It was a long night while I waited to find out her hgb. It was impossible to get a straight answer from our at home medical team regarding how low is too low to travel. IMPOSSIBLE. 

Dear Medical Community,

We all know no 2 cases are the same. We get it. But someone somewhere says normal hgb is between 11-15. Someone sets standards. Just say 'don't travel in a pressurized cabin with a hgb below X'. 

Her hgb level came back at 6. Not great by anyone's standard. But good enough I can say no thanks to transfusing her here.  

I felt a lot better after that. 

Next post will be about the orphanage visit.