Day #17

I'm back at home in Bentonville, AR. I got home yesterday afternoon. My mom, brother, David, David's mom, & Josiah are in St. Louis with Jennifer.

Jennifer's kidneys still aren't working. As mentioned previously, she has fluid buildup because of this, including in her lungs. They were supposed to put the dialysis catheter in today, but I have not heard yet if this was actually done today. If they did get this done today, they should begin the dialysis tomorrow.

The dr's think Jennifer may have an infection caused by C. difficile bacteria. This infection is most common in people taking antibiotics. There are hundreds of bacteria in the stomach & intestines. Many are good bacteria & help suppress the growth of harmful organisms. But when an antibiotic is taken, it often destroys good bacteria. Without enough healthy bacteria, dangerous bacteria such as C. difficile can grow out of control. C. difficile infection is very contagious. They have cleaned Jennifer's room with bleach. Josiah is no longer allowed in the room to see her because his immune system may not be strong enough to fight it. All visitors must wash their hands before & after going into Jen's room. Currently, we don't know for sure if Jen indeed has this. The dr's are running tests to find out. The treatment for this is antibiotics -- I know that sounds strange since that's what caused this, but there are antibiotics that fight this also. Once we know the tests results (it could be a couple of days), I will post that.

They have been giving Jennifer something called Heparin, a blood thinner to prevent blood clots. She is at a very high risk for blood clots. But giving a patient Heparin over an extended period of time isn't good. They will implant an IVC (inferior vena cava) filter into Jen's groin area tomorrow. This essentially is a filter that will filter out any blood clots. It's put on the main artery that flows to the heart. All the smaller veins/arteries in the lower part of the body flow into this 1 artery in her groin. Putting this filter there will help catch any blood clots that are formed & keep them from making their way to Jen's heart/lungs.

Please remember I'm not a dr, nor do I play one on tv...so my explanations of these things may not be perfect. They are my understanding of everything after talking to my brother (a paramedic), his wife (a nurse), or my cousin (also a nurse). Thank you, guys, for helping me understand this stuff!

Kacyn continues to do well. He's drinking a full ounce out of his bottles now!

Jennifer's had some great nurses & dr's. I can't thank them enough for taking such good care of her! Kacyn also has had some great nurses & dr's. From the very beginning, the nurses in NICU had been taking pictures of Kacyn & taking them up to Jennifer since she couldn't see Kacyn. They took several pictures a day & brought them to her. They even had a webcam set up by Kacyn's bed & put a laptop in Jen's room so she could see him in his crib at all times! They tied a ribbon around the 1st bottle he drank & put a note on it that had his name, the date, & "1st bottle" on it & had it delivered to her room. Unfortunately, Jennifer hasn't seen this yet, but it's in her room so she'll see it when she wakes up. The nurses in Jen's ICU rotate out. There are nurses who aren't hers anymore, but they still come by to check on her & give mom a hug. Mom really needs all the hugs she can get!

Josiah is back in St. Louis. He had a great time with his cousins here in AR! And his cousins enjoyed seeing him too! His cousins range in age from 7-12 years old. I already told you about his trick-or-treating adventures. I have Halloween pictures I will post sometime in the next few days. He also went to my nephew's pee-wee football game while he was here. He enjoyed that as well! Anytime the crowd would cheer, he would cheer & clap. It didn't matter which team it was for!

Prayers are still needed. Please pray for Jen's kidneys to begin working, the continued healing of her bones, lungs, heart, & the possible infection. Also please pray that no blood clots are formed in her body. Please pray for strength for David & for his & Kacyn's continued improvement & for Kacyn's little brain to be free of excess spinal fluid, blood, & tissue damage. Both our parents & David's parents need prayers for comfort & strength to help them cope. Please pray for the same for me, my brother, & David's sister. Can't forget about little Jo-Jo (as Jen calls him) - Please pray for angels to watch over little Josiah & keep him safe.

Thank you again for everything!
Love,
Lynn