Our Quiverfull - Some GOOD news

Sep. 9, 2007

Some GOOD news

You all have NO idea how glad I am to be able to share some GOOD news tonight. We saw the Infectious Disease doctor earlier and she told us that the strain of staph in Noah's blood is very sensitive to antibiotics - in other words, it is not resistant to them. What does this mean for Noah? It means that certain antibiotics are shown to kill this strain of staph, so IV antibiotic therapy should clear up the infection. He is already feeling better today and had a very happy time earlier today.

I know last night's blog entry was scary, and things got even worse as the night went on. Noah was just so very sick. The infection around his line got worse and in the middle of the night he got hypothermic even though he was sleeping in bed snuggled up to me. This can indicate septic shock, so we had an eventful and nearly sleepless night. As morning approached his temp hit normal levels and we both slept for a while. It was wonderful to see him wake up looking better than when he had gone to sleep, and it was amazing to see him visibly improving as the day went on. This day could have ended much differently.

Noah is still a sick baby and we once we get past this crisis, we still have to deal with the original set of problems, but this is our top priority right now. There is still one big hurdle for Noah in terms of this infection. His Broviac is very nearly gone. There is a cuff under the skin that holds the catheter in place, and because the tissue is so infected and inflamed, the cuff has come out. There are two stitches left holding the catheter in place, but they are slowly tearing through the skin. You could literally say that this Broviac is hanging by a thread! One of Noah's antibiotics can only be given in a central line, not in an IV, and his TPN (nutrition) can only be given in a central line. If Noah loses the Broviac completely, he will lose his food and one of his two antibiotics. The plan is to get him a new PICC line as soon as possible, then pull the Broviac. Once the tissue on his chest is healed and we have a good grip on his infection, he will get a new Broviac. They might do that here or they could do it in Philly. (Looks like we are heading there, but don't have any dates/details.) The ID doctor wants Noah to get a radiographic PICC line which is done in radiology under sedation. The doctor can use ultrasound to locate a deeper, larger vein than could be found by sight and feel. There are three specialists that need to be there for this procedure and because it is Sunday we don't know if they will all be working tomorrow, and we can't get him on the schedule. We are proceding as if he will get this tomorrow but were told that Tuesday was a more realistic goal. It is IMPERATIVE that he get this PICC before we lose the Broviac. We have seen everyone's prayers at work with this infection, and now we need them for his line.

Noah is a very needy little patient right now, but he is getting incredible care. I told one of his nurses that she needs to request a job transfer to Philly because he can't go without his girl friends. I am sure there are great nurses in Philly, but the care he is getting here will be pretty hard to beat.

Gonna go snuggle my sweet baby Noah. I know he would thank you for your prayers if he could, and I believe that some day he will.

Love,
Kate and Baby Noah

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Comments

Sep. 9, 2007 - Praise God!

Posted by lahbluebonnet

Praising God for the good news and continuing in prayer for all the other elements to come together!
Blessings,
Laurie from TLT