Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Not what we expected...

First off, today is Gunner's birthday so Happy 4th birthday buddy! Mommy & Daddy love you so much! (I didnt want to forget that it was his birthday with all that's been going on).

The past few days have been a whirlwind. Monday afternoon Bree started getting a fever. Within an hour it went from 99.4 to 102. I called the Dr's office and they had me bring her in right away. Her fever started getting worse and they administered antibiotics (Rocephen) right away. They took blood samples and sent them to be tested for a bacterial infection.

Her fever started to go down by about 9pm that night. She wasnt feeling well and had some crazy chills. She would just cling to me while shivering. My poor baby. Several hours later the fever came down. The next day they told us that she tested positive for bacteria growing in her broviac (central iv) line. So, she's been on IV antibiotics (rocephen & vancomycin) around the clock. Since we've been down this road before, I assumed we'd be here for a few days, be given her antibiotics to do at home and be able to go home.

Well today the doc came in and told us that he wanted to remove her broviac. I'm thinking..."what? wow, already?" We were expecting that this central line would be in her for at least 3 months from now. They've told us in the past that sometimes they like to keep them in incase there are further tests to be done. But, since bacteria is growing there is a good chance that once she stops the antibiotics that the infection will come back. If it comes back this will prevent her scans from being done.

So, we are moving forward and getting the broviac out. Say good bye to bacterial infections! (We hope!) Tomorrow she will go into surgery and she'll be put to sleep and they'll do a quick one hour surgery, take it out, and they'll put in a new IV in her hand or forearm. (she will need another IV because she still needs IV antibiotics for 2 more days). So, please pray that this surgery will go well!

Ready for the good news/bad news? The good news is that when we are allowed to take her home that she will get the IV out and be IV free! Yea!!!! She's had this broviac for 6 months! Every day I've flushed this line with saline & heparin and it has been a pain, a worry and just something that stresses me out because I worry that she will pull it out. However, it has been nice in the fact that she hasn't needed to be poked anywhere because its such easy access to get blood to draw her labs, etc. However, it just seems to grow bacteria very easily and makes my baby really sick, really fast.

The bad news is that next week when she goes in for scans or tests, they will have to poke her or start a new IV in her hand or arm. I'm not liking this at all. This is something I really worry about. I'm sad that the future might be tramatizing for Bree in that she could have a lot of needles and pokes in her future. But, if all her tests come back that her cancer is in remission than the pokes might be kept to a minimum. I'd rather have her get a few pokes than have any more cancer cells in her body.

So, as of now, her MRI and bone marrow biopsy is scheduled for May 7th. Once we get the results from these tests, the docs will determine the next steps...surgery, radiation (if needed) or nothing at all (well, not nothing, she'll still need doctor visits and blood work). Right now she's adjusting to being back in the hospital. She's the star here. She waves to everyone and has been really happy. I know she misses her brothers and misses being home where she can crawl around at her leisure. We hope to bring her home on Saturday. This is turning into a really long hospital stay. But, we are well taken care of. The nurses and doctors are wonderful.

Please keep Bree in your prayers. She's almost done. I can feel it. I am so anxious for her to be done. Go away cancer, please go away, never return. I hope the next time I do a post, I have lots of good news. :)



18 comments:

Whitny said...

Oh Kari, I am so sorry she is sick. I hope too for the best. We are praying for you. Love you and Love your family. Happy birthday Gunner.

EmileeandJonny said...

Poor girl! She has been through so much. We are hoping and praying for the best results on her upcoming tests. Good luck!

brownymama said...

So sorry. I'm hoping this ends up being a blessing for you. You know she's in every prayer around here. A million times a day. Love you! You are one amazing momma!

The Scotts said...

Sweet sweet Bree. We are keeping her in our prayers, even Abby prayed for her on her own during meal time. You guys are amazing! Good luck!

Gina said...

Hi Kari. I'm a friend of Krista's. We pray for Bree often and hope that she will get better quickly. She's been through enough. My son had a little outpatient hernia fixed at PCH. He was under for like 30 minutes and I was a nervous wreck. I thought of you and your strength several times just to get me through. Hang in there. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. I can see it.

Jessica said...

I hope that you do too! I can't wait for it. I'll be thinking about you all.

Trisha said...

I hope you have lots of good news too. She really is a fighter, and she's strong..... Doy ou ever wonder what the Lord must have in store for her future??? Good luck!

Summertime Designs said...

Kari, I am so so sorry. It must be hard to watch her go through these things. But I am happy that she can get the broviac tube taken out and that you don't have to worry about flushing it out or her pulling it out anymore. I hope she doesn't have to have many more pricks. I was a bad mother and had to leave the room any time they did this to Claire. She is in our prayers constantly (each of our older kids have not forgotten to pray for her; even when we bless the food!) I hope this all ends soon. Happy Birthday to Gunner. We love you all!

The Johnson Family said...

Your sweet baby girl has been through so much...I hate to see her sick again. She is so strong! We will continue to pray for Bree and your family. Hang in there...Have a super great birthday Gunner!

Melissa Bosen said...

I'm so sorry that you have something new to cause you worry...a new IV in the arm/hand. You are probably just starting to feel confident about all the procedures and how Bree reacts to them. Knowing what to expect.
Unfortunately, I can relate to the poking. The risk of infection was the main reason I did not have a pic-line with this pregnancy. If it were to get infected, it's serious. But if the arm/hand becomes infected, it's more localized. But I know how scarey it is to be in complete charge of flushing, hepirin, the medications every time the bag is done. You always just pray that you're doing it all correctly and that no germs creep in (for myself and the baby inside of me).
I am hoping that since she was somewhat okay with the broviac in her, that maybe she'll leave this new IV alone too. What a champ she is!
I wrote the 7th on my calendar and we will continue to keep her in our thoughts and prayers. And we'll be praying for a complete success in the surgery to remove the broviac. Hang in there!!

dustin and amy said...

I'm so sorry that she has to be in the hospital for longer. We will be praying that the surgery goes well.

Wendy said...

I will keep praying for Bree. It must be very hard staying in the hospital with a baby. Hang in there!

moviedo said...

Kari&Justin: God bless your family, Maria.

Aimee's Family Journal said...

I am so happy you get to have that thing removed. I have hear some CRAZY stories about infections coming from implanted tubes and PIC lines. It is so nice that she can be all baby again! Fingers crossed!

Nuestra Familia said...

Hi Kari, I hope you are all home and feeling all better. We will keep praying for your family and angel baby girl.
Wow Gunner is 4!!! Your boys are so handsome.

Kathleen said...

We hope the surgery went well and that Bree is recovering just fine. The way you described Bree shivering and clinging to you broke my heart. Just reading about her being in more pain, and your own heart breaking from seeing your baby suffer, breaks all of our hearts. We continue to pray for Bree every day. We are all filled with faith and hope for her recovery and her bright future. Happy belated birthday to Gunner!

agravette said...

Bless your sweet hearts! I'm praying that once this tube is out, she'll have no more infections. She is such a little angel! God bless you and we're still praying that there is no more cancer!!!

Steph said...

I've been out of town until tonight, and am catching up now on what's been going on! I'm so sorry Bree got sick. I hope you're all home now and doing better. I'm glad she gets the broviac line out, but sorry that means she'll have to go through more pokes now. If it helps you feel any better, Annika never seemed to remember all the pokes she got. It was so hard to watch her go through it each time--I feel for you, because I just wanted to cry each time--but she really did get over it quickly. I think Heavenly Father blesses these babies with short memories of the hard things. In a few years, she'll never remember all she went through, thank goodness.

We'll be fasting for her tomorrow and praying that the tests show she is cancer free!