Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I Have No Idea.

Many of you have asked what is going on with Brooklyn, and I've been relatively vague because for a while I had no idea. And in some ways I still don't. So I'll tell you what I do know. Gotta keep my readers happy.


Brooklyn has battled several bacterial infections since the beginning of last fall. Along with these, she's also had many seizures and developmental issues. Around the beginning of January, the infections intensified, and instead of going away and then coming back, they were just staying there. She had an ear infection for about 8 weeks straight even while on various antibiotics and she already had tubes in her ears. She also kept a stuffy/runny nose constantly.


Two weeks ago, she went in and had her adenoid removed (to help the sinuses drain) because it was enlarged, and they also removed her old ear tubes and replaced them. And when they did that, they found a lot of infectious tissue that they had to cauterize out. That was not very pleasant to recover from.


After surgery, she was supposed to clear up pretty quickly, but she didn't. She just acted like she felt awful all of the time. So a week ago, we went back to the doctor and they said that one of her ear tubes is already out of place (and they have never seen that happen so fast before) probably from drainage and swelling, and that she still had a sinus infection, and that her airway still had some swelling.


She was put on antibiotics and steroids, but she got worse instead of better, so on Wednesday she was admitted to the hospital. She had sinus symptoms, was complaining of pain, and one of her eyelids was droopy, and her eye was turning inward.


She was on really strong IV antibiotics for a few days and went through a bunch of tests. Most of them came back normal, thankfully, but we are still waiting on a few results that have to do with her immune system.


She had a CT scan which showed infection all of the way into the deep tissues in her head.


She improved on the IV antibiotics, and the team discussed putting in a PICC line, which is like step-up from a regular IV, but with many more risks, but decided that they did not feel comfortable with it because she already seemed to have a propensity for infections, and it would mean another surgery.


They sent her home on oral antibiotics (10 different meds, actually). However, she hasn't been tolerating them very well (stomach-wise) and today she had to quit taking one of them, so we are scrambling for an alternative plan of treatment.


So what is next? I have no idea.


I do know that I'm learning a lot about waiting, about ME not being in control, about biting my tongue, about patience, about looking for the positives... and overall I think the good Lord is trying to stretch me and grow my character. And I keep messing up but I'm learning. Slowly.


Bottom line: We'd sure appreciate your prayers.

4 comments:

Meg said...

Oh, sweet friend, I cannot even imagine. We are definitely praying for you guys!

Erin Hickok said...

Please don't ever feel like you are messing up! You are a great mom who will do anything for her child. We all make mistakes but there is no mistake in trying to help your child feel better.

Randy and Lindsay said...

Praying for you!!!!!!!!!!! All of you!!!!!

The Harden Household said...

Hang in there Lauren! You're such a great mommy, and I admire your strength and courage! Don't be too hard on yourself, this is a tough thing to go through, and I think you're handling yourself better than I could! We're praying for all of you and especially little Brooklyn!