Thank you Dore for the kind thoughts. She recovered well from her illness. She has been with us 7 or 8 weeks now and is doing great. She had her first transfusion in the US last weekend and it went just fine. It took 2 sticks to get a good vein but I didn't think that was too bad considering how small she is. I was really proud of her. Everyone kept asking if she had a port, if she was getting a port.... I finally said, "No, you'll have to figure it out without one!" They groaned a little but they're going to be seeing us every month so they'd better get used to it! She will be 2 next week and her iron is at 1600 right now. We saw Dr. Thompson in Chicago last month and she said she's just too young (and only 9.5 kg) to start Exjade but wants to start her in the spring. Her organs don't feel enlarged so that is good news. Considering she has been in an orphanage, she is in very good health and we can tell that they took excellent care of her.
Question: Our daughter did not really show any changes in energy or appear different to us before her transfusion (her hemoglobin was 8.4 when they transfused) but stopped eating very much about the week before. After her transfusion she has been asking for food all the time. We haven't had her long enough to know if this is common for her when her hemoglobin is low or if she just didn't feel like eating. Does anyone else notice a change in eating before and after transfusion?
Thanks for all the advice,
Diana