The Road to Recovery

I know some are wondering what on earth has been happening so here is the low down...

Sunday:  Took Caden to Phoenix Children's Urgent Care Facility.  They determined he had a case of gastroenuritis that hit him really hard.  They were surprised that his vitals were dbetter than he physically appeared.  He was given 1200 cc's of fluid.  He looked a little better after the fluids, but still was lethargic.  They sent us home, and said that if he didn't improve he should see his regular pediatrician.

Monday:  Things looked hopeful.  Caden got through the night without vomiting!  He was still really weak, but for once he was awake (he pretty much spent last Wed - Sunday sleeping), he would talk to me, and he seemed to be improving.  We had phone contact with his Dr., and she had me give him 15ml of water every 15 min to try to keep him hydrated.  He was able to keep that all down, and even had some tortilla chips & a roll without it coming back up.  The only problem was he was still really weak, and somewhat lethargic.  We kinda chalked it up to the fact that he hadn't eaten for over 5 days, and it was going to take some time to get his strength back.

Tuesday:  Another night of no vomiting (Yay!), but he still was super weak.  He actually wanted to have some of the toast that I had made for Sydney so I gave him a piece.  He only got through half of it again before he vomited.  I spoke with his Dr., and she wanted to see him herself because since he got sick she physically hadn't seen him (he was seen by a different doctor in the practice.)  So that afternoon I dropped Thomas off at Anna's, and arranged to have Sydney dropped off there when she was done with school.  Then we headed to the pediatrician.  When we got there she said that he was still dehydrated.  She wanted to rule out appendicitis so she sent us to the ER.  At the ER they ordered a full work up of tests.  After bloodwork came back he was admitted to the hospital.  His liver & pancreas enzymes were elevated.  They felt that it was still a bad stomach bug, but now was affecting his liver and pancreas.  He got an IV to keep him hydrated, and ordered a blood draw for the morning. 

Wednesday:  The morning brought on the needle so they could draw some blood for testing.  Test results showed that his liver enzymes had come down a little, but his pancreas enzymes were  rising.  He was ordered to be on bowel rest (no food or water) for 24 hours due to viral pancreatitis.  This day was just spent hanging out getting fluids, eating ice chips & sips of water.  There hope is that with no water or food it would help his pancreas lie dormant, and let the enzyme levels come down.

Thursday:  That brings us to today.  Blood was drawn in the early morning hours, and we waited for the results.  His pancreas has stablized, but it is still inflamed...in other words...his enzymes didn't get higher, but it didn't really get lower either.  His white blood cell count is really low, but the other concern is that there was a drop in his hemoglobin.  Right now they are going to keep an eye on it.  They are planning on inserting a PICC line to get him some nutrition since he hasn't been able to keep any solids down for about 8 days now.  They will be giving him something called TPN...which basically is a liquid that will give him all the nutrition that his body will need, but still allow bowel rest (nothing by mouth).  They are pretty much assuming that all of the different anamolies in his blood work are due to some sort of viral infection. 

I have learned there is so much truth to the phrase "PRACTICING Medicine."

Looks like we are going to be here atleast 2-3 more days.  I keep ya posted!