"I'm better now ... praise God!"

That's exactly what Annalise told David the first day she finally started feeling better ... "I'm better now ... praise God!" Some of you have already heard this news but we had to take Annalise back to the clinic when her 104 fever persisted after 7 days. The diagnosis after a nasal swab, urine test, blood test and a chest x-ray?

Pneumonia.

The tests were somewhat traumatic for Annalise (as shown in the first photo above). How do you get a frantic 2 1/2 year old to stand still so the technician can get a decent chest x-ray? It took 3 attempts. And because her veins had collapsed from being so ill, the nurses had to prick her 3-4 times before they could draw blood. But she definitely has a high pain tolerance and as the doctor commented, Annalise is "one tough cookie."

Last Saturday (the 10th), they gave her her first round of antibiotics via an I.V. Due to her collapsed veins, the doctors kept the I.V. in her arm (see the white cast in the left photo?) so that they wouldn't have to reprick her the next time she was due for her next round. Originally scheduled for just 2 rounds via I.V, the doctor ordered a total of 5 rounds (given once a day for 5 days) because she wasn't responding as well as expected. The concern then was that if she doesn't improve soon, we would have to seek more sophisticated medical care by flying to Europe.

Many of you were praying ... thank you! She finally turned the corner yesterday. I knew it when she pulled up a stepstool to her dollhouse and started playing with it. For the prior 12 days, all she wanted to do was lay in bed or sit on my lap. And she's finally eating again. She even ate some ham tonight (or, as she calls it, "chicken") and brussel sprouts (or "funny broccoli").

She perked up just in time to eat heart-shaped pancakes with us today and to watch us decorate Valentine cookies. But she just wanted to watch ... which is how we know she's not quite at 100% yet because she has NEVER turned down cookie sprinkles before! But we know that she is finally on the right track! Thanks for praying for her! She has awesome friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Also, a very happy birthday to my dad, Peter Lee, in Upland! We all love and miss you very much and hope you had a wonderful birthday! We're thankful to have you as our dad, father-in-law and "Haraboji"!