Today was probably my most challenging day in Pittsburgh, so far anyway.  It began with the nighttime hours, with very little sleep as per usual.  The ortho docs came in at 6 a.m. and woke both of us up, just to say they were happy with how Bella looked.  Nice.  Then she went downstairs to the OR to have her PICC line placed, and they told me it would take a max of 45 minutes.  2 hours later they came to get me from the waiting room.  Needless to say I was a complete wreck, and it took all of my emotional energy to not let myself panic.  Of course everything went fine, they said it is so routine that they don't usually give parents updates.  Maybe it is routine for them, but not for me.  I was pissed.
Bella then slept until about 12:30, as they had given her some pretty hefty drugs.  So that meant no afternoon nap.  That was really fine, as she was in a great mood.  We did get discharged to the Ronald McDonald House, thank God.  She has been happy as a clam playing around on the floor, even standing up a bit, beginning to bear weight on her left leg again.  3 minutes after we walked in the door she tried to stand up at the edge of the bed, slipped, and gave herself a bloody lip.  That just about put me over the edge as I mopped up her bloody mouth and contemplated another trip to the ER.  Luckily she was fine. 
So now the waiting game begins again, with added complications this time.  Bella is on i.v. antibiotics through her PICC line for three weeks.  She can officially receive a transplant as of tomorrow, either hepatocytes or organ.  The doctor who will do the hepatocyte transplant is going to Africa on the 13th.  Now we have to figure out how long to wait down here, do I come home and wait for a liver there while the hepatocyte transplant surgeon is out of town, or do we feel that we will get another offer of a liver soon like the 2 we saw this past weekend.  As of this moment we are not making any decisions before Monday.  Dr. Fox will be here until then, and we can re-evaluate after we make it through the weekend.  Once again we are faced with having to make decisions based on odds and luck, and not a lot of concrete facts and ideas.  It certainly makes for a whopping headache, and I have no idea where to buy a bottle of wine in this freaking town.  If anyone is familiar with liquor control laws around here, please let me know!  They are very strange.
Good points for the day:
1. Bella no longer needs to be stuck or given shots for blood draws and antibiotics because she has her PICC line.
2. Bella's ammonia is stable in the 40's.
3. We are very comfortable in the Ronald McDonald House.
4. My girls are beautiful, and Addie read me an entire Reader's Theater play over Skype.
5. Katie is coming tomorrow.
6. Prescription drugs.

I WILL sleep more than 4 hours tonight, maybe even 4 in a row at one point or another.  I WILL be in a better mood tomorrow, in part because we are supposed to see that yellow thing in the sky for the first time in the past few days.  I WILL walk more than 14 steps outside tomorrow. 
I love you all.  Thank you for telling me that you are reading this blog, and letting me know that I don't always sound as crazy as I feel.  Thank all of you, too, for taking care of my family when I can't.  It is a gift that is beyond measure.