Another Hannah update

We ended up back in the pediatrician's office yesterday and saw one of the other doctor's in the practice. Hannah's foot had become red, inflamed, and warm again. So, we heard from yet another doctor that they had NO idea what was wrong with her foot and she wanted to send us to see a Pediatric Orthopedist...well, he can't see her until the middle of June. So, Jeff and I made the decision to take her to see the specialists at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Here is the update from our day there...

6 hours and 3 doctors later I believe we finally have some sort of an answer. They have diagnosed her with cellulitis. The original ER doc said it could possibly be cellulitis, but the pediatrician and other doctors discounted that because ‘children do not get that.’ Well, the specialists at Tufts said, YES THEY DO! So, all of this just to find out that the first ER doc had it right – frustrating!! The infectious disease specialist did say that she should have responded more quickly to the antibiotics and found that rather interesting. But, he did not put her on any more meds, he said that was not necessary at this time. We are going to watch and see what happens, he fully expects we have seen the end of this and she will make marked improvement over the next 24-48 hours – if not, they want to see her again. And it figures, the first two doctors who saw her saw her foot when it was red , inflamed, and warm…but, by the time the specialist got there (she had been off her foot all day) it was back to normal…figures! But, he did see how different her two feet looked (which had every other doctor stumped) – he just looked at it and said ‘WOW, her foot was really swollen at the beginning of this…see here, this is what is left over from the swelling stretching her foot’ – It took 6 doctors before we got an answer to that!!! I will say the staff at Tufts Medical Center were outstanding, we felt VERY well taken care of for the first time in this whole ordeal. The doctors actually listened and genuinely wanted to find out what was wrong.
Anyway, I suppose I feel closure now, she’s seen the best of the best, so now all we have to do is continue to trust that God has this all under control and trust that the worst is behind us!

Thank you all for your prayers! We truly appreciate them!!

Just a glimpse into my life...

My two year old just told my 8 year old to...
'GO WALK THE PLANK'

I find it hysterical, my 8 year old, not so much!



ps. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD and UNCLE DAVE!

Hannah update - 3

I am truly hoping this will be my last update, that Hannah will improve so much we won't need to update! That is my prayer at least.

We got the blood results this morning...her white blood cell count was normal (HUGE praise!), her overall inflammation count was normal, but her muscular inflammation count was high - the doctor said it was not high enough for her to be concerned (whatever THAT means). So, from what I can gather the infection she has is in the muscles of her foot. We still do not know what kind of infection we are dealing with, but the fact that her white blood cell count is normal is a HUGE thing, so we are taking it one day at a time right now. The option to head to Tufts is still there if things do not improve the Pediatric ID is ready to see her. So, big answers to prayer today! We are hoping and praying the antibiotics will continue to work and the redness and swelling will go away.

Oh, I forgot the best part (not!) of our doctor's visit yesterday...they drew blood, right, well, the doctor found her vein and then LOST IT! So, while the needle was still in her arm she went SEARCHING FOR THE VEIN! She tried to find it (I watched her in horror!) four or five times before she finally found it and got the blood! She now has an enormous bruise on her arm...poor thing has been through SO MUCH in her little life, but she is such a trooper. God really must have amazing plans for her, I am almost convinced she will be a doctor when she grows up!! Only God knows for sure!

Hannah- update 2

We are actually headed back to the doctor this afternoon and if we do not feel comfortable with the answers given or the action taken we will be heading to NEMC/Tufts to see the pedi infectious disease specialist there -- I've been on the phone an adult infectious disease specialist throughout the day...we'll see what happens...thanks for the prayers!!!

Update: The pediatrician FINALLY agreed that we needed some blood work done. We did rule out a bone infection however, so that is good news! We will get blood results tomorrow morning and take it from there...I think knowing that I am ready to walk out the door and have her seen by someone else really lit a fire under the pediatrician, so we are finally getting somewhere. We are still very persistent that if we don't like what she is doing we WILL be taking her to Boston.

Hannah-Update

Well, she has the doctors baffled! Her pediatrician said it IS an infection, what kind - she has no idea. She is very concerned about the redness and swelling and wants to see her back on Wednesday. If we have had more episodes of swelling we will have to go see someone else - who, she does not know! They have up'd her dosage of antibiotics -- poor thing!

The 'something' on the x-ray was actually scar tissue from her fracture -- they saw 'soft tissue' something and it just happend to be in the same spot as her fracture...so, that's a HUGE relief!
So, we are still playing the watching and waiting game...not sure what we will do with her tomorrow -- Jeff really needs to go to work and she should really be off her foot, so we may have to come up with some pretty interesting arrangements :)

Thanks for praying for us!

OH, As far as the Lyme -- I did ask if it was Lyme related, which the ped said 'no' but forgot to ask about the blood draws and such, will do that on Wednesday.

Hannah

Hello everyone! Please be praying for Hannah…I took Hannah to the ER on Friday night (thank the Lord my parents were here because Jeff was away!)…she has what they are calling some sort of strange infection in/on her right foot. She is on massive amounts of antibiotics (4 times a day!) in order to get rid of the infection and reduce the swelling in her foot and toes. They did an x-ray to make sure there was nothing there and on Friday they didn’t see anything, but they called back yesterday and said the radiologist looked at the x-rays again and saw a possible foreign body near her toes. So, we are not sure what that all means. She has to see her regular doctor tomorrow to have her check the foot and figure out what to do about the new x-ray results. We are not sure what is going on or what will happen next. They said if it actually is a foreign body she will need surgery to remove it. Right now, the only thing we are to do is keep her off her foot and be watching for a fever…if she spikes a fever she has to be taken to the ER immediately for IV antibiotics. So far, so good with the fever.The ER doc believes this could possibly be Lyme related and was VERY upset Hannah has not been getting regular blood draws to keep track of her Lyme numbers. She said she should have been on antibiotics for 6 MONTHS (she was on them for 2 weeks) and should be getting blood drawn once a month!!!I am really not please with our ped because of that -- in my opinion she should have known that and been on top of it.Anyway, I will keep you posted and let you know what happens tomorrow.

Well, I've finally done it...

I have finally joined the world of the blogger. I figured this was probably the easiest and fastest way to keep you all updated about our lives.

So, here it is...let me know what you think!