Par for the Course

11/2/11:  3:11 P M

I think I spoke too soon.  Davis and I did spend most of Tuesday resting. I called to the clinic at around 3 PM to get clearance from returning to the ER in the case that Davis developed another fever in the evening.  At 3 PM, I was told that Davis could stay home and even go to school with low grade fever. I was to bring him to the ER if he spiked a fever of 103 or greater. Sarah Bush was growing cultures which yielded no infections, and Davis had some massive antibiotics pumped into him the last two nights.

A little after 5:30 PM, the clinic called me back to check on Davis.  I told the nurse that Davis was fine. He was still running a low grade temp and had some chills, but overall, he seemed ok. The nurse put me on hold while consulting the doctors. She then informed me that it was necessary for me to bring him back to Sarah Bush for more cultures and antibiotics. There was a concern because the antibiotics should have broken the fever. Although Davis's ANC is still well above the healthy norms and he is feeling relatively well, he was transferred to Children's a little after midnight. This is a precautionary measure to make sure that the fever isn't an indicator of something more serious.

Once again, the cause of the fever is unknown. Since the fever continues to be low-grade and disappears during the day, there is a good chance that it is some type of viral infection. This would also explain why the fever hasn't subsided with the antibiotics. But you never know, so that is why we are here. As of now, the plan is for Davis to avoid a fever for 24 hours, and then we will be able to be discharged.

Since Davis was not neutrapenic (ANC below 500), we were able to be transported by the Charleston Fire Department. This was wonderful, because otherwise, we have to hang out in the ER until an ambulatory unit from St. Louis arrives.  Not only did we not have to wait for transport, we knew the EMTs transporting us. They were awesome. It may sound weird, but it was such a comfort to have some familiar faces on the 9W floor for however brief an amount of time. It was like a little bit of home was witnessing the part of our lives that most don't see, but only hear about. Thank you, Ben and Kirby.

Unfortunately, Davis has fallen into his normal hospital behavior, and fortunately, we have Elise. She is a pretty, little 20-something nurse who isn't phased by Davis's poor attitude and weeping moments. I love her; Davis loathes her. Well, that may be a little dramatic. Let's just say, she wins every argument and completely eliminates Davis's excuses and say-so. For the twenty minutes that Davis was awake this morning, he cried and fought through his medications. He told me that he wasn't going to eat or take his meds until he got out of this place. My son is very intelligent and rational, but it is clearly not demonstrated during hospital stays. Well, Elise got him to take his meds before he was sedated with IV Benadryl. The IV Benadryl helps with his nausea and helps him to relax and pass the time in the form of sleep. He hasn't eaten anything, and drinking is minimal. He has been sleeping  for the last four hours.

Please pray that the cause of this fever is found and/or that is goes away and stays away. Sometimes it feels like we take two steps forward only to take three back. While we are inconvenienced to be in St. Louis again. I am glad to be here so he can be properly cared for. Plus, three nights in the ER was starting to wear on both of us.

Thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts that you have said on Davis's behalf. We know that this sickness - whatever it is - is minimal because of your support and because God answers prayers and has His hand on Davis. 

Looking forward to coming home soon. We will keep you posted.