Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Jiggitty Jig!

 Grace is home, praise be to God! Thank you for your support and prayers. Still looking for some immune markers to increase, along with her platelet count,  but she has responded great to the treatment and was cleared to return home. Results came back negative for the meningococcus meningitis which is awesome because that would've been the more serious of the two or three possible diagnoses, possibly with some longer-term effects on some of her organs.

Will finish out her oral meds through Sunday, and we will try to keep her away from large crowds and sick people until some of those markers do you return to normal levels. Following up with the pediatrician next week and with the infectious disease doctor in about a month unless we need to follow up sooner for some reason. Great to be home again!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Tuesday afternoon update

Grace is doing great again today! Had a pretty busy morning doing some stuff around the hospital with me and then also with Michelle's mom who came by for a little bit. She was going full steam ahead and is getting in a nice nap right now. :-)

If blood work is the same or improved in the morning, she will probably come home tomorrow.

They are especially going to look at white blood cells, platelets, etc., that have been on the low side.

A big thank you to family, friends and church for the prayers, meals, childcare help, and overall support! Thank you for walking this journey with us over the past week since Levi was born and then the hospitalization.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Monday afternoon update - probably going home Wednesday

Inconclusive bloodwork returned today, but that was neither a negative thing nor an unexpected thing.

The doctors have indicated that we may never actually know exactly what the infection was caused by. The important thing is that Grace is recovering.

Most likely returning home Wednesday afternoon.

Grace is doing awesome today praise the Lord!

Lots of energy and good appetite for pasta, salad, and steamed baby carrots for lunch. :-)

She's getting in a nap right now.

White blood cell count and other key markers have improved today.

Platelet count is still lower than they would like and has not changed over the last few labs.

They would really like to see the platelet count trending upward before releasing Grace, but that will not necessarily keep them from releasing her.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sunday night update - things are looking up!

Thank you for your faithful prayers! We are experiencing the fruit of them.

The end of 3 full days at Scottish Rite, probably released Tuesday evening.

Blessings:
Fever totally gone.
Much improved appetite and energy level today.
Much more like herself today. For once, Michelle and I were pleased with Grace's orneriness. :-)
Still no definitive blood work results. The blood culture is being continuously scanned by a machine that aims to identify specific bacteria.

The test for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was sent out to a lab in Utah on Friday (maybe it helps to have a lab closer to the Rocky Mountains, heh heh). It takes 4-5 days to get the results, so that puts it at Monday or Tuesday. Grace could go home right away if this is the diagnosis, because she could finish up her 5-day round of antibiotics orally at home. In the meantime, they continue to treat her for that and also the Meningococcal meningitis (the more serious of the 2 possible infections). The later infection HAS to be treated via IV, which is one of the reasons they are keeping Grace admitted.

Been meeting daily with the attending pediatrician here, along with infectious disease doctor and met a couple of time with 2 different hand surgeons who checked out her infected right hand which has had a mark that could be a bite, along with some swelling and the main concentration of the tiny little red dots that are all over her body (hence the possibility of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever).

Adeline turned 4 today and we had a little birthday party at the hospital, thematically centered around the Frozen movie. We recently moved and our awesome new neighbors Brad and Brooke hired a young lady who plays Elsa for little girl birthday parties. She came to our house this afternoon to surprise Adeline and it was a huge hit!

Adeline is a trooper through all the care and attention Grace has needed over the years related to her developmental delays and various ongoing therapies, and now this happening over her 4th birthday. She is a special little girl that I am extremely proud of.

We have had great peace in the midst of this scary storm. A peace that surpasses all understanding, which is a testament to the power of God, and the prayers of God's people.

Love from Michelle and I and Grace, to all of you.