Saturday, February 21, 2015

Thursday didn't stop.  Beginning with the 5:00 AM emergency phone call from the NICU until the very end of the day, we were uncertain how Lourdes was doing.  What baffled my mind all day was that I had just left her six hours previous ready to go home.  As the day wore on, we thanked God this didn't happen at home.  I am not sure I would have recognized the how serious her issues were.

Each x-ray showed very small progress of the contrast working through her stomach.  The doctors were watching two spots in particular in her intestines.  After the major concern was ruled out in the morning, they began to focus on the two small kinks possibly ruling them scar tissue in which case they probably would surgically remove them that day to open her intestinal tract. 

About 9:00 PM, blood test confirmed Lourdes had developed a bacterial infection in her blood stream.  They were unsure of the specific type at the time, but had already begun antibiotics that morning as preventative measures.  The hunch was an intestinal bacteria which would hopefully explain her pain and green bile vomiting that early morning.  The next major concern was if the infection had spread to her spinal fluid which could cause a whole host of additional problems like meningitus and brain damage. 

I mentioned to the nurse "So this is good news?"  She said, "It is good we know what we are dealing with." 

John and I stayed with Lourdes until around 1:00 AM until I felt she was settled.  I always have to leave her having just said a rosary for the night.  We blessed her with Lourdes water.

The next morning was met with another phone call from the NICU asking our permission to perform a lumbar puncture to rule out the spinal fluid concerns.  We had to do this with Clairvaux so I knew exactly what this involved.  I hate the spinal tap more than anything.  She was so wound up that the doctors gave her moraphine to calm her down during the procedure.  Early results came back that the infection was not in her spinal fluid.  Praise God!!!  Although, the culture can still grow after many hours so we continue to hope for good news on this issue.  Also, Dr. Cusick felt confident that the kinks in her intestines aren't anything of concern at this point. 

I went home to Lincoln this morning at 1:30 AM to be with Lillie for her confirmation.  It was so good to walk in the door after being gone over a week.  I went into each bedroom and picked up the kids while they slept.  The kids were so excited to see me in my bed this morning.  Normalcy is so good.  Lillie was so precious and cried in the evening to John because she will never make her confirmation again and she only has two sacraments left.  We were dying of laughter.  I called several times to the NICU to check on Lourdes and they told me each time she was having a restful day which helped being away from her.

I arrived back in Omaha tonight.  The blood work confirmed that the bacteria was e.coli.  Where does a baby pick up e.coli?  We will be here anywhere from 14-21 more days.  Her blood is drawn each morning and until the test returns negative they don't start counting the days of antibiotics.  We are praying for that negative result soon.  She seems much calmer today.  I was able to try to nurse her again this evening.  She has been taking a bottle well so we are grateful for that. 

Thank you for your constant friendship and prayers.