For those who may not have been aware of My previous information about Hannah, I'm reposting some of her situation along with this latest crisis.
In October of 2006, one of my neighbors had gotten word that her granddaughter, 4 year old Hannah, was diagnosed with a somewhat severe form of leukemia.
Hannah has, at no time, let this disease slow her down and certainly she has not allowed it to stop her from doing the things she has wanted to do. Hannah has gone through chemotherapy, spent time in the hospital (Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA ... they have been absolutely fantastic with her) and she has faced each of the new struggles with the determination and spirit that few adults could manage. When it came time to consider going to school, despite the concerns of her parents, there was absolutely no question ... Hannah wanted to ride that big yellow bus ... and she did. When weather causes school closings, Hannah gets upset about being forced to miss. She's determined not to "fall behind."
Over the past 16 months, Hannah has had her share of bouts with illness, but she's pushed her way through. Right now, Hannah is facing what may be her most serious struggle yet.
A few days ago, Hannah's fever began to rise, so she was taken to the local hospital for evaluation. They determined it was probably the flu, gave her antibiotics (after consulting with Children's) and allowed her to go home. The plan was to try to reduce the fever and let the antibiotics start to kick in, while letting the doctor's at Children's review the blood tests and decide what to do next. The next day, rather than improving or even stabilizing, Hannah's fever increased so the doctors told the parents to take her to the local hospital where they would start an IV antibiotic and then transport her by ambulance to Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, the local hospital did not have the antibiotic in the correct formula for use on a child, and after consulting with the doctor from Children's, it was agreed that it would be riskier to try to "adapt" what they did have, so Hannah was sent on to Pittsburgh right away. When she arrived at Children's, she was immediately admitted and treatment, including aggressive antibiotics and other meds were begun.
At some point, Hannah's blood pressure began to drop, to a point she was placed on the Intensive Care list (monitored and treated as if in ICU, but kept in her own room for isolation purposes.) More treatments have been used to help with the blood pressure, but so far the best result has been some fluctuation.
Hannah is now listed as in Critical Condition, so I'm asking for your thoughts and prayers to be sent for Hannah and her family.
BTW, an added note, recently Hannah's mother found that she was pregnant and the entire family was thrilled and excited. Her parents had planned all along to have at least one or two more children (Hannah has a brother already) but the thought of a new child possibly being able to help Hannah was obviously an extra hope. I'm sorry to say that about a month ago, Hannah's mother lost that child as well.
