March 16

Jennifer has been throwing up. Could be any number of bugs going around, could be an illness she had in Uganda just before coming to the United States, or a reaction to medications sh was taking post-surgery.

Abitimo and Ana took her to see her pediatrician, Dr. Alexis Lieberman, at Einstein Medical Center, which is donating routine health care and emergency for Jennifer.

One thing is clear: The vomiting has left Jennifer dehydrated. Dr. Lieberman hooked her up to an IV and put her in the emergency room to be observed for a few hours. A blood test shows nothing wrong and so Jennifer and the Odongkaras go home. That night and the next day, Jennifer is ecstatic at feeling better and, understandably, not being in a hospital.

March 14

Jennifer went to Maryland to have Dr. Dufresne examine her and begin taking out stitches. He was very pleased with what he was able to do and how Jennifer is healing from last week’s surgery. Dufresne said he would decide about further treatment after giving Jennifer a month to heal and gain strength.

He also will be talking with the hand specialist, Dr. C. Michael Reing, who looked at Jennifer when she was in the hospital. Together, they will decide what they can do. The treatment could be in Philadelphia, which has excellent hand specialists.

March 10

After two days in the hospital, Jennifer was sore but seemed to be bouncing back from the surgery. The compression bandage around her head made her face look like a framed portrait. Unlike the first surgery, the bandage was taken off before she is released from the hospital.

Another thing happened before she left. Dr. C. Michael Reing, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, came in at Dufresne’s request to examine the stump that is Jennifer’s left hand. The fire seemed to fuse the fingers together, plus it looks as though part of the palm has been amputated.

Reing had good news: He thinks her hand can be helped. Anything the docs can do will no doubt please Jennifer immensely. She seems more embarrassed by her hand injury than by the wounds on her face.

Thanks to construction and lots of traffic during the evening rush hour, it was a slow drive back to Philadelphia. We all, but Jennifer most of all, were tired by the time we got home.

March 8

For details on the surgery, read the column linked from this page.

March 7

Surprisingly, considering we left Philadelphia at about 5 p.m., it was an easy drive to Fairfax, Va. in advance of Jennifer’s second operation. We decided to leave tonight, even though the surgery is tomorrow at 1 p.m., to make the morning more relaxed.