Life has been a little busy in the Kopelan house this past week. We haven’t had a nurse for the past couple of days and Rafi has become a little more demanding of our time. This is a good thing of course. She constantly wants “to play” and run around. This would be all the more great if this all lead to Rafi sleeping well at night. She doesn’t. We have been having some vomiting issues before bed and during the night. Rafi is a prime example of Pavlov’s theories. Due to the vomiting, Rafi has figured out that she doesn’t want to go to sleep. I hear, “Daddy, I’m done sleeping” a little often for my taste. Anyone have something better than Ambien? Yes, we’ve tried melatonin, with no success.

Our big hope is when Rafi starts eating more that the vomiting will stop. She is constantly saying she is hungry but then won’t eat when food is in front of her. We’ve been trying to get some formula into her, through the gtube, and I think we are going to need to be a little more aggressive in that venture. She starts feeding therapy next week so we are hopeful that will help.

As to blistering and skin tears, Rafi is healing more quickly than before the transplant. I would say she is getting less blisters on a daily basis as well. She is, however, still getting blisters, and her wounds still get infected, as we are battling some small infections now.

Her hair on her head is starting to grow back in. The cyclosporine has really kicked that endeavor into high gear. She has hair everywhere, on her shoulders, on her back, and on her tushy. The most pronounced areas are her eyebrows and her eyelashes. Before this hair growth is over, I will get my wish to have played with a chimpanzee for a period of time.

I will post more frequently going forward.