Houston: Day 5

I'm still titling my posts with "Houston" since Gigi is still there but I'm no longer there. Sorry my posts have been absent in the last 24 hours or so. I was too drained after we left Houston and Jonathan and I spent the night in Ft. Worth with my sister so we were just trying to take a break from it all. Let's start with some encouraging updates. Gigi has been moved to her own room as of late afternoon yesterday. We were really hoping for this so that she could get better rest and visitors could see her a little more freely. She had a few people visit her yesterday and her best friend from Odessa also flew in to be with her. Nicole, Jennifer, & Jennifer Gail were all left in town as well so I'm sure there was a crazy & fun gathering of people.
When we left Gigi was really in great spirits. She looked a lot better than she had the day before. (Friday) She was able to talk a little better and was attempting to eat; I say attempting because its hospital food so its not the best food so there wasn't much motivation to eat! She was being her normal, silly self. We had tender moments and we had goofy moments. I hope that isn't going to be my last interaction with her but if it is I know that it was the perfect ending to have with her.
From what I hear, today is still going well for her. Last night she had a hard time getting rest because she was so uncomfortable but she will be getting a sleeping pill tonight so hopefully she can sleep better. She still has some visitors so she's still having a blast. I know it sounds a little weird to say that Gigi is in such a fragile state health wise and yet we are all sitting around with her laughing and having a good time. If you really know her then you know how much that means to her, and really that if you are around her you are guaranteed a laugh at some point. She is a naturally happy person who is rarely in a bad mood so its just natural that she still has a great & contagious spirit.
All of the kids are gone from Houston. As I type, Jonathan & I are less than an hour outside of Lubbock. Nicole & her bunch are still en route to El Paso. Daniel & Jessie had some car trouble last night but I think they are on their way again. Jennifer & Oscar should be back in Arkansas by now. Leaving has been really difficult & awkward for all of us. Re-entering the "real world" is tough. When we were in Houston we had each other's support & we all understood everyone's different ways of coping. Back in the real world other people don't know how to ask how things are without making us emotional. We don't know how to answer when people say, "How's your mom doing?" If you've ever been in a similar situation then I'm sure you can sympathize and understand where we are coming from. Please continue to pray for us that we are able to deal with these different things and still keep a happy spirit like Gigi's.
Tomorrow a team of doctors are supposed to meet to review her case and see what's the best thing for her. We hope that she can make it back to El Paso at some point but we just want what is best for her. I'll continue to post more as I hear updates.

 Some pictures Wes posted on his facebook. The top is when Gigi first got her own room. The bottom is her friend putting some jewelry on her- she knows her best friend! Gigi is rarely seen without some kind of jewelry on!














Update: 10:00 pm (CST): Things took a scary turn again. Here's a word from Wes.
We have had two wonderful days of memories, laughs and tears. Tonight is mostly tears, as Cindy has had another episode of throwing up well over a liter of blood and she continues to bleed. They believe they will be able to stabalize her for the evening, but the prospect for the future is really limited. Please pray for us, we will probably make it through this episode and through the night--hopefully to a consult tomorrow. We still may be able to buy some time, but this will probably not go away. We will have to have some hard conversations tonight and I don't know how to sort out all that I am feeling, but I love her and she needs me now, and I am going to spend this time with her--praying, crying, laughing, planning and thanking God for 28 years of unexpected extra time.