Jessica's appointment

It was Friday July 20th. Jessie went in to get her blood drawn. It was a quick doctor's appointment. We came home and a couple hours later her doctor called and said I would have to bring her to the hospital because her Hemoglobin came back too low and she will need a blood transfusion. Richard and I were not too thrilled but, what can we do.We asked if we could donate blood but they don't want us to because they said if she would ever need a bone marrow transplant and we were a match it might reject it because she has had our blood.I took her in at 4:45 and we left about 11:45 pm. She did very well and has much more energy.For those who don't know what Hemoglobin is,it is a protein that is carried by red cells. It picks up oxygen in the lungs and delivers it to the peripheral tissues to maintain the viability of cells. Hemoglobin is made from two similar proteins that "stick together". Both proteins must be present for the hemoglobin to pick up and release oxygen normally. One of the component proteins is called alpha, the other is beta. Before birth, the beta protein is not expressed. A hemoglobin protein found only during fetal development, called gamma, substitutes up until birth. So Jessie is doing great!We are trying to keep her nice and healthy for Friday, she has chemo!