Posted in Noah Updates
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We had a pretty eventful night last night. The orthopedic surgeon was very concerned that Noah could indeed have a septic hip, so he ordered a STAT ultrasound at about 10:00 or so. This meant calling people in so it was very late before we went. The ultrasound is a decent, but not great test for septic hip, and in Noah's case it didn't reveal anything. The doctors are still considering a hip, knee, or femur infection to be the most likely source of the pain so Noah is scheduled for an MRI in just a little while. If it shows anything, Noah will have surgery immediately since these infections can damage joints, destroy growth plates, etc. We are now certain that the pain is NOT coming from his kidney. The flank and back pain he was experiencing is gone or minimized now, so it is clear that the pain is coming from between his left hip and his left knee. He probably did have a kidney infection but it is improving enough not to be the cause of this pain. Noah did get IV morphine last night, which has always knocked him out and relieved his pain to some degree, but last night it made him goofy and wound up. The goofier he got, the more he wiggled and moved - and the more he moved, the more he hurt. Noah has so many drug allergies that everyone is hesitant to try a new drug on him. The good news/bad news is that they have increased his vancomycin to every 6 hours instead of every 8 hours (bad news) but since he gets premedicated with IV benadryl for each dose he is getting extra rest just from the effects of the benadryl (good news). He is still in a great deal of pain and we are just praying so hard that the source will be revealed and addressed as soon as possible. Those of you who know him in person know that he loves (is obsessed with?) his little car that we push around (and around, and around, and around) the halls for hours a day. Noah hasn't felt well enough to ride in the car. Now that his fevers are coming down a bit I think he would benefit from a nice distracting ride - but he can't sit comfortably in the car. I walked him around the halls a bit this morning but he is hard to carry right now with his balance so off. He pulls up his right knee (good leg) and rests all of his weight on that knee right on top of my pregnant belly while using my shirt and/or hair to keep himself upright. My mom will be up here soon and I think with two of us we can prop him on some pillows and pull him around in a wagon. He really needs a change of pace - he wants to be in his crib and try to play a little bit, but he keeps falling over on his face or into the crib bars. I'm holding him a lot, but he is very fretful and irritable because of the pain, so it is extremely difficult to distract or amuse him at all. I will update as soon as I know anything for sure, which may be a while. Thank you all for your prayers and love. I know that God is simply carrying us through this right now in the way that only He can. (Oh, and for those who asked - I really feel surprisingly well considering all of this. I'm really just pretty achy from holding Noah so much when his posture and weight bearing are so awkward.) Love, Kate UPDATE: Just as I finished writing this transport came to take Noah for his MRI. He was in the machine for over two hours but came out of sedation fine. His oxygen sats fell very quickly right after he was put under, which has never happened to him before, but the PICU doctor was prepared with oxygen which he needed until he woke up after the MRI. We should know something soon. |
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Posted by Anonymous
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