**Sad and unpleasant post.  Skip to paragraph #4 if you don't want to read the awful stuff.**

We got an IV in and the broviac out last night.  I'm not sure how to describe the experience other than "nightmarish."  Noah was in the treatment room screaming for help for three hours.  His poor little veins are so weak and vein after vein kept blowing.  It wasn't anyone's fault - the nurses were great.  After several attempts (about an hour and a half) the day shift nurses decided that everyone needed a break so they let Noah go for a bit while the night shift nurses got report . . . then we had to go back in and keep trying.  It took eight long tries to get an IV which ended up being in his foot.  This isn't a very stable place and we are all praying that the line will hold - no one is sure that there is anywhere else to try.  (He had already lost some sites due to blown veins from blood cultures).

The broviac was supposed to be the easy part - since the cuff was out the surgeon assured us that the line would slide right out.  As a result, he decided to do it in the treatment room following IV placement.  Unfortunately the surgeon was terribly mistaken and it took a very long time to literally rip the line free from his chest wall.  He had a lot of local anesthetic which didn't seem to help.  After a very short time the nurses and I all insisted that he stop and get Noah some morphine.  The morphine only seemed to help a very little bit.  This absolutely should not have happened to him, but it was essential that the line come out as Noah was getting sicker so quickly.  Once we realized how horrific it was, we were commited and needed to get the line the rest of the way out.  I wish so much that somehow we could have known and insisted that it be handled differently, but everyone was sure that line removal would be easy.  I think he has had so many small traumas to the line that he just developed a lot of adhesions and scar tissue. 

The second round in the treatment room was another hour and a half +.  We took Noah for a little walk afterwards to help him settle down, then got him into bed.  His IV meds hurt his foot (burn the vein) so we've had to slow everything way down.  He woke up for about 30 minutes this morning then went back to sleep until after 1 PM today.  I just can't imagine what he is thinking/feeling about last night.  I don't know that I will ever get over it.

The good (possibly great) news is that Noah hasn't had a fever since late last night, AND his CRP(infection marker) has dropped by almost half!!!  The doctor was firm in saying that Noah isn't out of the woods and that this is no guarantee that he is infection free yet, BUT this is the very first positive news we've had in a week.  If Noah doesn't spike a temp in the next 72 hours, then he will go into surgery Tuesday for a new line.   If he does spike a temp, the 72 hour countdown will start all over.

I plan on posting more later, but here are specific prayer requests for now:

-- Noah to be fever and infection free

-- Safety for the IV

-- Comfort/relief of IV pain and pain from the many large bruises due to blown veins and of course pain in his chest where the line was removed

--Pray for Noah's little spirit (and mine) to get relief from last night's trauma.  I'm concerned about the impact of it all - the whole three hours he was looking at me and begging me to help, and I didn't (couldn't).  I don't know if there is anyway to make him understand that we weren't trying to torture him.  I'm praying that the memory will fade quickly without leaving a mark on him.

Thank you!

Blessings,

Kate