Decisions, decisions

So...seems I need to stop making predictions about things because I haven't been right about anything yet this week!

It's not a tummy bug, and Adam is not going home any time soon. In the complete sense of being discharged that is; the current plan is that he goes in for the night so that he can have antibiotics via his IV line at 8pm, 2am and 8am, and then comes back in during the day for another dose at 2pm. In between he can go to school, and we can go about our afternoon as normal. Except for the new threat hanging over us which is that this bug may not clear out with only one week of antibiotics.

The doctors are now concerned that the bug is still growing, despite more than 4 days of IV antibiotics, and we might need to switch to a different one for a further week. This same antibiotic can also be given orally, but it's efficacy against an infection in the blood, and more specifically in Adam's port, might not be the same as giving it directly into the blood.

Our doctor has left the decision to us: Seven further nights in hospital and seven further days of IV antibiotics in the hopes of completely eradicating this bug--which may or may not happen no matter what, in which case the port comes out and another has to be put in, OR we switch to oral antibiotics this Friday, go home, and hope for the best. If the bug comes back we still have to change the port, and then we will wonder if we made the right or wrong decision. AND, if the bug comes back after that much antibiotics, will it then be resistant, in which case I don't know what they are going to be able to do??!

So we have decided to see what the blood cultures are on Friday and go from there...if negative, i.e. the bug is gone, we will opt to take him home and go the oral route, ensuring that he is able to sleep well at nights (something he and we can't do at the hospital) and hope for the best. If it is not gone, we will stay the extra week and keep praying that this next one will do the trick. This is a notoriously "sticky" bug and Adam is now properly neutropenic so every move counts.

Will keep you all updated on his progress and our decisions.

On a lighter note, last night a friend of ours was across the way at the hospital which made for a pleasant evening of chatting. During our chat, Adam left his Tumble, came into her room and started opening her drawers--he took out her bra and tried it on, then put on her Ugg boots and headed down to the lift in them, slapping along the corridor in his too-short pajama bottoms and too-big boots, hilarious!! The boy really does know how to make us smile!

From the inside

Darnit, I had really hoped to be writing this post from home, but we're still in the hospital.

Adam is doing really well, and has even been off oxygen--in air--since 5:30pm last night. I'm writing this at 10am now, so that's a lot of hours in air with acceptable, even good, saturations. There's only one small detail: he's been awake.

That may seem like a small matter, but the fact is that we can't go home until Adam can demonstrate his saturations stay above 88% in air when he's asleep. Even the most healthy person drops their sats when they sleep. We naturally breathe slower and shallower at times and our oxygen levels dip down, for a bit. Then, when our brain registers that they are low we all take a deeper breath, turn over or even surface and the sats go back to normal. For Adam to go home he has to show that he's able to do that himself too.

Last night we had high hopes, the highest unfortunately, but once Adam went to sleep his sats dropped to the low 70's and stayed there long enough they had to turn the oxygen on again. It went that way all night. So for now at least going home is not an option. We are hopeful that this is just the last leg of healing and soon Adam will show the doctors what they want to see, but there is no timing on it, and as with before, wishing won't make it happen any sooner.

But, hey, we'll wish anyway won't we? :)

Expect the unexpected

I started a post earlier today that I had to pause, and now it seems I have a different one to write anyway.

Adam has had to go into the hospital tonight for what sounds like a chest infection, though we will only know that for sure once the test results come back. In true Adam style he's had a cough for weeks and was probably having fevers all Christmas weekend, but we didn't know it because he wasn't warm and was still acting normal. By normal I mean eating everything in sight, plenty of energy and the cheeky Adam mood to go with it. I only checked his temp tonight just to see what it was, and when it was well over the limit we had to take him in (the limit is 38 and it was 39.4--normal is 37!)

He is wheezing and breathing harder than normal, but otherwise still in good form. When I left Dad was feeding him a second dinner and they were watching Mr Tumble, so by Adam accounts it is the perfect evening! I only hope for their (Dad's!) sake they can sleep some too.

Otherwise we've had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed some quiet time with family and our friend Miss Leah, and also some time with friends. The weather has been great so the kids got to go out and play in the backyard lots too. Adam is meant to start his next block of chemo on Thursday, and that means going in every day for treatments for a week, so the timing of being in is not as bad as it might have been--we have every reason to be grateful and will keep a positive outlook. Thanks, as ever, for your prayers and support...I will be sure to keep you posted.

Hospital again

Adam is back in hospital tonight for a suspected infection. I noticed he felt warm this afternoon, and when I checked it his temperature was high enough to have to call the medical ward. They asked for him to come in for blood cultures, so I packed a bag for he and Daddy and off they went. It was a shame since we had just come home from the hospital to have Adam's blood drawn ahead of tomorrow's lumbar puncture. I suspect now that the LP won't be done until they know what is going on.

I still haven't heard from them, which means I don't have any update. I suspect they are having as good a sleep as possible in the hospital, with Adam hooked up to fluids again after a dose of IV antibiotics. I'll keep posting news here as I have it...for now we rest and wait.

My prayer tonight is for a sense of calm and peace, for rest for Adam and Brian, for clear results from the blood cultures so that the docs can treat Adam quickly and effectively, and for strength for Adam's little body, already going through so much.

It may well be a full week, but I'll try to update again soon.