Day 12

Staph Infection

Last night, after I was snuggled in bed with Maddox and watching TV with Julie, Gene called.  The bacteria in the culture showed a staph infection.  Since the blood was drawn from the port, they needed to draw blood from a peripheral sight for another sample to find out if the infection was port-specific or in the blood. 

Poor Kennedy - mom promised no more pokeys.  Surprisingly, she was a sport about it but told me over the phone that if she got a pokey, so did mom.  I told her I would donate blood at the next opportunity.

Lying in bed did me no good because of course I began googling “Staph Infections Neutropenia”.  What came up was scary stuff like MRSA, needing the port removed and replaced….and more.   Since the type of staph infection wouldn’t be fully conclusive until 48  hours after the peripheral draw, the unknown had me shaking. I unwrapped Maddox's arms from my body, got dressed and went to the hospital.

When I got there around 11:30pm, Kennedy was chipper and wanted to play.  Mom and K colored our Fancy Nancy coloring book while Gene passed out next to us.  The nurses started heavy-duty antibiotics including Vancomycin.

Kennedy woke us up at 5am, happy as can be and STARVING.  Per dad, her appetite didn’t let up all day.  Dad also said she received another bag of platelets today.

I went to work in the morning while dad and Kennedy played (and ate) the day away.  Aunt Julie came by with noodles and broccoli and Kennedy was thrilled.  She ate a ton of cereal, noodles, broccoli, edamame, chicken nuggets….and the list goes on and on. 

By the time I arrived at 6pm, Kennedy’s belly was HUGE.  For some reason, she couldn’t get a full sensation and just kept eating.  The semi-hard distended belly worried the doctors so an X-ray was ordered of her abdomen.  I am still waiting for those results.

After skyping with Maddox (who made us all laugh), Dad left to go home for the night and hang out with his favorite little man.  Apparently Kennedy kept Gene busy with art projects, a trip to the playroom and never-ending food demands.  Poor dad looked exhausted – his new 4-year-old boss is a slave driver.

Kennedy and mom spent the rest of the evening playing with playdoh and other great gifts from colleagues at work (THANK YOU!!!).  After her exhausting day with dad, Kennedy crashed at 9:30 after I rejected her demand for more noodles. 

As of 11pm, both blood draws from last night are not showing any staph growth but we still have 24 hours to go – YAY antibiotics!!!  Crossing our fingers K will get to home by Wednesday.