Semi-Update, PICC Back In

As you can see from the earlier post, today was a very long day. I walked into a mess at 9:15 this morning and didn't get home until almost 9pm tonight. Jaxson spiked a fever over 102 and his heart rate jumped into the 200s. They did bloodwork, a urinalysis, a chest X-ray and a lumbar puncture. It took three hours, several blown veins and the IV team to finally get an IV in the top of Jaxson's foot. Not the idea spot for it and it will likely come out soon. Because they had so much trouble with that and the likelihood that his vein blows again or the IV doesn't last is so great, they decided to put his PICC line back in. And they upped his oxygen to 0.5 again. It's one less thing for his little body to stress about while he goes through all of these other things.

If you don't know the difference, you know an IV is a short needle that goes right into your vein and is not ideal for long term use in babies because they can't control their movements. A PICC line is a long line that kind of looks like floss. It runs up the arm or through the groin and goes straight to the heart. They actually have to measure the line before they put it in and after it comes out to make sure that nothing breaks off inside the body. It's very rare that that would happen, but it is still something they have to do. The PICC is much more ideal for long term use in babies because of its strength and flexibility. I hated to sign the consent for the PICC because I want the lines out of him, not in. But it was best for him, so it's back in.

We had a few results before I left tonight, but I'll know more in the morning after I talk to the doctor. The urinalysis showed that his white cell count was in the 200s, which means he has a urinary tract infection. They think this is the culprit of his fever, but babies tend to not contain infection to one place so they still did everything else. The chest X-ray showed mild swelling in his lungs, which they are not concerned about right now. I'll ask about that in the morning. His blood count was 8.7, and it should be 10. So it's causing him to be tired and pale. They think it's low because they took blood from him, and I think they're going to check it again tomorrow. If he shows any signs of it being low or if it drops, he'll have to have a transfusion. Which is why the IV is still in his foot. A transfusion can't go in the PICC, it has to go in an IV. So my hope is that I walk in to no IV in the morning!

I'm praying that Jaxson just has a urinary tract infection and nothing else. Those are tolerable and easily treated with antibiotics. Then I think we'd just have to get urology involved to decide if anything is to be done about his extra ureter.

Throughout the day I checked in on Facebook and revived countless comments and messages from friends and family. I also had several visitors today so that I wasn't alone at the hospital. The she amount of texts, messages and comments is truly overwhelming and I can't thank everyone enough for reaching out. Even if I haven't responded to you (patience, I'll get there!), please know that I received your note and I appreciate it more than you know.

On a brighter note, after a very rough start to the week of Sara, they've discovered that she had a bleeding ulcer. She had an endoscopy tonight and they found a bleeding ulcer that exposed an artery. They clipped off the artery and are pretty sure that should fix the problem. They are hopeful that they'll be able to start her blood thinners back up tomorrow afternoon. Thank God for small favors!

And now it's time to move my other monster from my bed to his so I can get some rest myself.