ME: "Oh, look! She's holding the bottle (of Pedialyte) all by herself!"
BRANDON (my brother): "Let's see you go without eating for 39 hours and see if you hold your brisket!"
(Enter: laughter and empathy here....we were enjoying some great barbecue in front of hungry Mercy at the time)
My brother and niece drove down from Minnesota, braving the closed, snowy roads of Nebraska early Friday morning.  Mercy loves her Uncle B and CuzE. 

The little nugget is recovering really well.  They performed the "classic" kasai procedure which is the attachment of the small intestine to the liver.   The same morning Mercy was in surgery, another little girl we met prior (9 months old) with Biliary Atresia named Ayvrie was having her liver transplant with Dr. Karrer. It was surely a day of blessings. Positive vibrations sent to her and her family for speedy recovery......

In order to manage her pain, Mercy has an epidural placed. SuperheroUncleAlan stopped by to check on us and make sure she was still comfortable.  I also requested that a PICC line be placed in order to eliminate as much needle poking and prodding as possible. No need to repeat that nightmare again. Her incision looks fantastic for being cut into three different times.  And so we waited......patiently.....for stinky, yellow poop. Or ANY poop for that matter....sorry to be so blunt here).  In her previous surgeries, it took a while for her insides to "wake up".  So far, we have seen the right color come out since the day after surgery. For some, the diaper changing process can be a drag. For us, we will change those dirty, stinky, nasty, green, yellow magnificent diapers all day, every day.........bring it.
Friday night, we were really excited because one of our favorite superhero nurses would be taking care of us. She was our 'Alan' that evening. We love her. Thank you, Aimee ;)

Today, we managed to get in a wagon ride around the hospital. Anything to take her mind off the fact that she was starving.  I learned that some Children's hospitals (Boston), but not all, consider breast milk to be a "clear" similar to Pedialyte. Fortunately, the surgeon on call that came to speak with me about feeding shared this thinking and gave me the green light.  Otherwise, she wouldn't be eating until tomorrow when we heard from the surgeon team again. That's brutal for anyone.....

My family leaves tomorrow, very glad they came down. It means alot. Tomorrow, I will still be on the lookout for yellow, green, stinky, etc. Sunday and Monday are "Lab Holidays"...meaning there will not be any blood drawn. She has given her fair share since we got here....a break is necessary.

Good night