8.29.10: Ups & Downs

[DADA POSTING]

First, I would like to just say that I agree with the previous poster, and that I do, in fact, rock. I loved the slide show Jill made for Father's Day, and hope you do, too.

Today started off with a diagnosis as to why we had a fever: a yeast infection in one of Evy's lumens (on the central line). It could be that she was susceptible from her previous antibiotics or because she was neutropenic, but it's not completely uncommon but can be nasty if untreated. I figure we would pick up a tube of Monistat 7 on our way home and be good to go. But, no, we need to start a new course of anti-fungals, and see what the cultures grow and what this strain is resistant or sensitive to. Then we'll need to be fever free for 48 hours and have our counts come up.

Luckily, this morning our counts were headed upwards, which is right on schedule for when we had chemo. The day was pretty good, and mama and Stella got to spend some time here so we could all paint, go outside, be adorable, etc. After they left, Evy and I decided to mix up our normal walking/wagon lap routine, and take a wheel chair for a spin. It was pretty fun, and there was a little girl waiting for her parents to get back from the PICU who was riding a big wheel and racing us. After she left, Evy kept looking around and asking "friend?" By the end, my arms were killing me. I totally need to get one of those pimped out electric versions. Evy was then cruising in the wagon with a bandanna over her head (not like a hat, but completely covering her head like a veil), wanting our nurse Lisa to "find" her. She was also saying "Lisa" over and over, which of course made us smile. Then, we ran into the other 2-year-old on the floor, Brooke. At first, the girls were a bit shy with one another, not really wanting to interact. But then we went into Brooke's room to play with some toys, and they opened up a little bit. Brooke's dad took out his guitar and played some songs for the girls, although they just wanted him to keep playing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" over and over so that they could jump around and do the "No more monkeys..." line. Then they ran screaming up and down the hall a few times until they were both basically falling over with exhaustion.

We headed back to our room, and I noticed Evy was shivering. Uh-oh. The nurse came in and confirmed that she has a fever. This resets the 48 hour no fever clock, and came almost exactly 48 hours after our last fever. But we would've been here for another day or two anyway, and it's not completely surprising seeing as though we just starting treating the yeast infection this morning. Hopefully the anti-fungal we're on will clear things up and our line will be OK.

So that's where we are tonight. Fortunately, the Child Life people were able to grab me one of their computers, since our laptop is not playing nicely. Hence this nice long blog post, not composed on my iPod. I'm gonna go drown my sorrow in some Froot Loops. G'night!