I'm worried about my cousins. Really worried. First there was Alex, age 12. She was checked into the hospital over a wk ago because of a virus she picked up. Normally this virus is no biggie, my almost everyone in my family has Spherocytosis, a blood cell disorder where the cells are round, not oval as they usually are. And when you have this disease any little virus or infection can become life threatening. My brother and I don't have it. We are lucky.

So little Alex was checked in early last week and was very critical. They had to do 4 blood transfusions and nothing was helping. Her red and white blood cells were way low and not improving. But they finally transferred her to Stony Brook Hospital where they finally removed her spleen (5 lbs and 13 inches!) and gall bladder, and now as of yesterday she is home and doing much better. So much to go through for a little girl.

But things have not improved for my cousins. Her mother Cindy is now in ICU with the same problem. And as of this morning so is my other cousin Dagmar. We are all most worried about Cindy's son Michael, who is only 4 years old and could also have this virus. This is just a nightmare that keeps getting worse. I wish there was something I could do. I just hope everyone gets through this ok.