Change of Plans

Instead of being back in the hospital less than 24 hours after our discharge, we returned to the ER less than 12 hours after discharge. Lillian awoke vomiting at 1am on Wednesday and as I was changing her sheets I found some drops of blood. After further investigation, we found that a scab on her shunt had fallen off leaving the tube exposed. Now I'm no brain surgeon but I guessed that an exposed tube in her head was a bad thing. So after waking up the pediatric oncologist on call, we headed for the ER on her recommendation. Sparing you the details, she had a CT scan, head x-rays and a poke in the head before being admitted at 6am to the last available bed in the hospital. Thankfully that bed was on the pediatric oncology floor! Lillian had been awake since 1am so she quickly fell asleep despite frequent visits from the nurses and doctors.

Since being admitted, she has had the shunt surgically revised and the open wound closed. The hope is two fold - 1) that the cultures show no infection and 2) that the wound heals to avoid any further infections. We really need this to work as the alternative procedures are much riskier. Thank God she had just completed chemo and her counts were still good enough to endure the surgery and recovery.

She also had the stem cell transplant today. Similar to the last transplant, she vomited for the entire half hour procedure. The knowledge that she only has one more transplant to endure sustained me through the ordeal.

With the transplant and surgery complete, we're now in the waiting game. We need the cultures to come back negative for infection and for her magnesium dosage to get worked out. (Her magnesium level continues to drop despite daily iv doses.) Likely we'll be heading home in a couple of days. Thankfully she is feeling better every minute.

Please pray that there is no infection and that the appropriate magnesium dosage is determined. Praise God that there was a bed available and that we caught the exposed tube quickly.