hi AZDreamer,
i can completely empathise with you. my son also had a BTM and trying to get him to drink was a nightmare. not only drink, but take medicines too. saying your daughter had a transplant in september and is back to school already is remarkable! you have to cling onto these important milestones
my son shane was much the same. he had his BMT in november 2004 and returned to school in may 2005 - just for 3 mornings a week up until the summer holidays in june. he returned full time for the next term. but what a problem it was getting him to drink. like you, i searched for ideas. whatever drink he wanted he had - in abundance. if he changed his mind and went off one particular drink, i would replace it with another. and so it went on. on his checkups the doc often threatened with bringing him back in and putting him on a drip. he had his central line in until his 6 month checkup in june. i'm sure he thought they were just threats until they actually did it! he was devastated to be back in just because he couldn't drink enough. but it did hit home. rather drastic i must admit and obviously dangerous for him too.
when we returned home, i was completely at a loss. ruth mentioned about placing a jug out with the amount to drink in - my idea was along similiar lines. i explained that i had exhausted every option of drink and now we were back to basics - water, and that was all he was getting. forget the fancy drinks! i produced a 1.5L bottle of water, put it in front of him and told him he had to drink that every day. coupled with his morning cereal (including the milk) and his orange juice, he would hit his 2L mark. he actually agreed it was easier as he could keep a better track of it and from that day we never had problems with him drinking his 2L a day. he drank so little when at school that i disregarded it.
another suggestion - get the doctor to talk to your daughter about how important it is to drink and explain in simple terms why she must drink. i know she is only 8 and shane was 10 then, but still, she will understand. we did that with shane, especially with regards to taking his meds. the doctor came in and sat with him with several sheets of paper. shane had to write the name of each drug at the top of each sheet and with the help of the doctor, he wrote down the reasons why he had to take them. and more importantly, what would happen if he didn't take them. it was the same with the drinking too. that, coupled with the return to hospital, helped us lots.
this may not apply to you, but it certainly did us - the emotional issues following a BMT. in a nutshell, shane was used to having me 24/7 and not sharing me with his brothers or anyone else. when he was in hospital, i took on the role of giving his meds and pushing him to drink. he hardly ever washed or brushed his teeth - that was another nightmare. so to come back home and have to fit back into your routine was something quite difficult for him. by holding back on taking his meds and not drinking, he was assured of my constant attention - even if negative. i think i helped turn that around by praising him plenty for every right move, every step of the way. i involved his brothers and all family members too (i'm a single parent).
i wish you the best and understand how difficult it is.
gina x x x