Well unfortunantly Charlie has been hospitalized for salmonella. On Monday of this week I noticed he was very lethargic and took his temp. It was 100.2. I know "they" don't get concerned about a fever until it hits 100.4 but I called and we went into the pediatrician. By the time we got there his temp was 103.7. They took blood and urine but the doctor was happy that Charlie was well profused, pink and angry when messed with. She thought it was probably a virus and we made a follow up appointment for the next day. By the next day Charlie's fever was gone and his tummy issues were getting a little better. I thought for sure he was on the mend as did the pediatrician. Imagine my surprise when I get a call on Wednesday morning telling me the blood culture came back with gram negative rods and we could either go into the pediatrician to get another culture or come to the hospital where it would be processed faster. I chose the hospital because gram negative bacteria is nothing to play with. Babies with gram negative infections can go from absolutely fine and looking great to dead in a matter of hours. Because it's that serious we have been admitted and are currently holding court on the 7th floor of TCH. It's a big change for me because we are in a private room, not in a pod like we were in the NICU. I hate it. I'm only leaving Charlie to get food and bring it back to the room so I feel a bit like a prisoner in solitary confinement. The nurses and doctors here have been wonderful and are patiently and thoroughly answering all my questions that I pepper them with every time they come in our room. One of our biggest questions has been, how in the hell did Charlie get this? Nobody can give us an answer and the doctors have said we will probably never know. The good news is that Charlie's body was doing a pretty bang up job of fighting this off pre antibiotics and he didn't get ill to the point where intensive care was required. As I was writing this one of his doctors walked in and we have a new plan. The bad news is that he has to do 10 days of IV antibiotics. This is according to my good friends in Infectious Disease. This was an "unofficial consult" so we don't have to do what they say but, I trust that group and I'm glad we got their opinion, unofficially. The good news is that Charlie will be getting a Picc line and will be able to do the 10 day treatment at home. We will closely monitor him and if there is any hint that he's heading down hill we will come back here. So, that's our Charlie update. Henry has been home with David and I know Henry is in heaven having his daddy all to himself. I'll leave you with some pictures and an apology for any punctuation or editing errors. That's just what happens when I write blogs.
(A)
gahhhh! I am so happy that he is on the mend so quickly. I worked in the Microbiology lab of the hospital AND in the NICU and I never understood how these babies get these things as well. Especially when he is not eating eggs or anything. Love and prayers to you all!
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