Blood Transfusion

It was another long day at the hospital today. I got there only to learn that Jaxson's hemoglobin dropped to 7.4 and he would need a blood transfusion. There wasn't enough time to have them check and see if I was a match, plus they were only giving him 45mL, so they referred to the blood bank to get what they needed. Before they could do that, though, they had to draw more blood for labs and get an IV started. Jaxson's previous IV came out last night because he peed when they were changing him and it got all over his IV, the dressing and his ID band. Which really sucked since they had to get him another IV today.

If you read the blog from two days ago, then you know how hard of a time they had getting Jaxson's IV in and blood drawn the other day. It took 10 sticks, three hours and the IV team to get it done. Unfortunately, today was no different. Except that I stayed in the room this time. Ten more sticks from four people and another 3 hours later they finally had enough blood for the cultures but no dice on the IV. Doctor said not to stick him again and they would just do the transfusion into the PICC line. They prefer not to do it hip that way, but at least they stopped sticking my baby. And he did so well through all of that. He didn't cry at all for the first person, who stuck him twice. And I think he only started crying for the next two because he was tired of being touched and held down.

Once they got all that done, Jaxson was quite content to lay on my chest and chill out for awhile. And no wonder, besides all of those people messing with him to try and get his blood, they had to use a catheter and get a urine sample and receive his antibiotics during that time. Then it was time for them to start his blood, which they administered over a two hour period. I could have held him during that time, but he was on a pretty short "leash" with the blood and I figured it was better to let him rest. He got a little fussy toward the end, so I did pick him up then, but I think he was pretty happy to lay in his bed and be left alone.

Once the transfusion was done, you could see how much better he felt already. He was already looking and acting better that morning with the aid of the antibiotics, but he was still pale and not quite himself. He was definitely almost back to his normal skin color when I left, and he was awake and alert and responsive to my and my moms voices. It made me feel a whole lot better about leaving to pick up Jeffrey.

Right before we left, the nurse practitioner came in and let me know that the bacteria in Jaxson's urine was the same as what was in his blood, so the two infections were definitely related. They also said he was already on the right antibiotics and they were going to continue to monitor his reactions to them. They'll check his hemoglobin again around 1am an they'll do more blood cultures tomorrow to see how his infections are doing. I'm hopeful that those test will come back negative tomorrow. Once they do, Jaxson will have to be on antibiotics for an additional 10 days. Which means he'll have the PICC for at least that long.

But, as long as he's reacting well to everything, they were going to start allowing him to eat again tonight. So at least we can get that back on track. And they put his oxygen back down to 0.1 to try and get him off of it as well. So things are moving in the right direction again and I'm crossing my fingers that he really picks up on his eating after this. He was working really hard on his pacifier today, pretty much all day while people messed with him because I was holding it in his mouth. I think he would have rated well today if he were allowed.

My body is so tied. When I got up this morning, I had every intention of leaving the hospital at 1pm to come home and spend time with Jeffrey while Jayson was at work. But Jaxson had other ideas and I didn't end up leaving until almost 6pm. Thankfully my dad was able to watch Jeffrey today which allowed me to be with Jaxson during all of this stuff today. I finally got back home around 8, only to go straight to my room an pump. Oh yes, I did that every 3 hours today too. I'm beat. I miss Jeffrey terribly and I know he misses me. I miss Jayson. I miss my dog.

I also came to the realization today that Jaxson is not going to be home before I have to go back to work. I don't even know how that's going to work. I know I can call as often as I want, but it's not the same when I can't see him myself. And if I think I'm tired now, how am I going to feel when I have to work an 8 hour day, come home and take care of Jeffrey and still try to find time to see Jaxson. And it feels like I'm never going to see my husband again.

And now I'm just whining. Jaxson is in the best place possible for him and he's getting the care and attention he needs. Jeffrey will bounce back from this just like everything else that's been thrown at him. Jayson and I will have plenty of time together in the future, so sacrificing a ittle right now isn't the end of the world. And sleep is overrated anyway, so I'll just keep drinking my coffee. I'm very lucky and blessed to have an excellent family and support system. Not everyone in this situation can say the same, so I try not to complain.

On that note, I think it's time for me to take a quick nap before I pump one last time. Jeffrey has already fallen asleep with his hand on my leg and Jayson went to check on Jaxson so I can rest a little easier tonight. Thank you to everyone who has been praying! We'll take as many of those as we can get! And for those of you asking how you can help, the biggest thing besides prayers we could use is food. Having any sort of meal that doesn't consist of fast food doesn't happen often because of all of our running. So if you are looking for a way to help out, cook us dinner one night. Something that will keep if there ar leftovers, or can be frozen if people all show up at once. I think that would be a huge help for all of us. But please don't feel obligated, I only mention it for the people who have asked how they can help. And we thank you in advance for any type of support you've given, even if it's just to drop a line and let us know you're thinking about us. That means more than you know!