Abby's hospitalization was fast and furious. I couldn't blog during the hospitalization because my app on my phone doesn't like the new IOS update, so if you missed the Facebook updates I'll try to catch you up.
Her incision started getting pretty red, so I took her to our pediatrician last Tuesday. He put her on an antibiotic, but was pretty sure it was a superficial infection. Neither of us were worried. After PT that evening, Abby got a fever that just kept climbing even after Tylenol. I called CHOP and the resident called our surgeon. He confirmed that we should come in to be admitted so that he could go in and clean out the wound. So we threw some things in a bag, dropped Caleb off at my parents' house, and left for CHOP at 10 p.m. We got to the ER around 1 a.m., and by that point Abby could no longer walk because her legs were constantly asleep and she was in so much pain. Her fever got up to 103.4 with another dose of Tylenol. They finally got it under control and admitted her to the orthopedic floor at 6 a.m. At 6:30 a.m., the nurse came in to ask us to give Abby a bath so she would be ready for surgery. They took her at 7 a.m. down to the pre-op area, and she was in surgery at 8 a.m. She was out by 10:30 a.m. and the rest of the day was talking to doctors, getting IV antibiotics, and trying to keep her calm and happy.
Infectious disease ran the cultures for MRSA, regular staph, and other infections. We got the results on Friday that it was regular staph (thank goodness!!), and then they were able to switch her to an oral antibiotic. They believe that this infection started during or immediately after surgery and has been growing for quite some time. It was down to the rods and most likely started there and worked its way up to the surface. We were discharged Saturday afternoon with a hefty oral antibiotic for the next 3 months.
Abby's immune system is shot right now and she is very susceptible to germs. We want her to be able to go to school, so her awesome one-on-one is being careful about having Abby wash her hands often. Her birthday is on Saturday and we were going to have her party at our house, but we moved it to avoid having any extra germs here. We are asking anyone within close proximity to Abby to have had the flu shot, and she definitely can't be around people who are or have recently been sick. Only those who have been vaccinated for the flu will be able to come to our house, so that we can keep this our "safe zone." Abby has, of course, been vaccinated, but she relies on herd immunity to protect her because she is still so susceptible.
This was scary...really scary. The infection escalated quickly and could have been much, much worse if everyone hadn't moved so quickly. I have to say that CHOP is amazing. So is our pediatrician, who called during the hospitalization to check on her and talk to me about her bloodwork and later faxed over the culture results he got so that they could compare. We are so thankful for everyone who had a hand in this! God gave everyone the clarity to act quickly, and he was certainly watching out for Abby. She's back in school and no worse for the wear, but I got a few more gray hairs from this last hospitalization! Poor Caleb missed out on having me chaperone his field trip, and Abby missed her trip to the pumpkin patch as well. Both of them were disappointed, as were we.
Thank you for your prayers and love. I'm hoping that we will be home and settled for a while (until her next surgery in December, at least!) Never a dull moment around here...
Her incision started getting pretty red, so I took her to our pediatrician last Tuesday. He put her on an antibiotic, but was pretty sure it was a superficial infection. Neither of us were worried. After PT that evening, Abby got a fever that just kept climbing even after Tylenol. I called CHOP and the resident called our surgeon. He confirmed that we should come in to be admitted so that he could go in and clean out the wound. So we threw some things in a bag, dropped Caleb off at my parents' house, and left for CHOP at 10 p.m. We got to the ER around 1 a.m., and by that point Abby could no longer walk because her legs were constantly asleep and she was in so much pain. Her fever got up to 103.4 with another dose of Tylenol. They finally got it under control and admitted her to the orthopedic floor at 6 a.m. At 6:30 a.m., the nurse came in to ask us to give Abby a bath so she would be ready for surgery. They took her at 7 a.m. down to the pre-op area, and she was in surgery at 8 a.m. She was out by 10:30 a.m. and the rest of the day was talking to doctors, getting IV antibiotics, and trying to keep her calm and happy.
Infectious disease ran the cultures for MRSA, regular staph, and other infections. We got the results on Friday that it was regular staph (thank goodness!!), and then they were able to switch her to an oral antibiotic. They believe that this infection started during or immediately after surgery and has been growing for quite some time. It was down to the rods and most likely started there and worked its way up to the surface. We were discharged Saturday afternoon with a hefty oral antibiotic for the next 3 months.
Abby's immune system is shot right now and she is very susceptible to germs. We want her to be able to go to school, so her awesome one-on-one is being careful about having Abby wash her hands often. Her birthday is on Saturday and we were going to have her party at our house, but we moved it to avoid having any extra germs here. We are asking anyone within close proximity to Abby to have had the flu shot, and she definitely can't be around people who are or have recently been sick. Only those who have been vaccinated for the flu will be able to come to our house, so that we can keep this our "safe zone." Abby has, of course, been vaccinated, but she relies on herd immunity to protect her because she is still so susceptible.
This was scary...really scary. The infection escalated quickly and could have been much, much worse if everyone hadn't moved so quickly. I have to say that CHOP is amazing. So is our pediatrician, who called during the hospitalization to check on her and talk to me about her bloodwork and later faxed over the culture results he got so that they could compare. We are so thankful for everyone who had a hand in this! God gave everyone the clarity to act quickly, and he was certainly watching out for Abby. She's back in school and no worse for the wear, but I got a few more gray hairs from this last hospitalization! Poor Caleb missed out on having me chaperone his field trip, and Abby missed her trip to the pumpkin patch as well. Both of them were disappointed, as were we.
Thank you for your prayers and love. I'm hoping that we will be home and settled for a while (until her next surgery in December, at least!) Never a dull moment around here...
Comments
Oh my gosh, Friend!! That was a frightening experience!! Does your mind, heart and soul ever go to the always unsettling "what if's", "should have's", "could have's", "would have's" thoughts, feelings, emotions? I do.... ;)
Abby is a hard to kill survivor!! Praise the Lord!! ;-D
"Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive", Raelyn