What have we been up to?

We have been getting back into our normal routine.  Archie is doing good.  He is settling into life with an antibiotic buddy.  He has only snagged the IV line once on a door handle but otherwise he has done well be conscious about where it is.  Most of the time his antibiotic travels in his shorts pocket.  We are settling into a life where we are trying to get home by 8 pm so he can shower and then swap out the antibiotic.  I am back to work full-time this week which I am happy about, I am tired of using vacation and sick time.  But I definitely would not miss being at the hospital or his doctors' appointments.  Archie has been removed from his blood pressure medicine since he has been released.  The doctors are thinking that maybe the shunt/infection was making his blood pressure be elevated.  He is working some but with the limitation of how much he can lift his job responsibilities has been limited to mostly computer work. Thank goodness Matt and Chris are able to do all the lifting and labor aspect of jobs.  This weekend Archie got a haircut to even up his hair since they buzzed the area where they cut in to remove the shunt.

Tuesday and my Birthday

Tuesday morning I went to work for half of a day while Archie went to a training in the morning. That afternoon we went to the infectious disease office to get the dressing changed, blood drawn and 7 days worth of antibiotics.  Thank goodness they changed the dressing because the tape was peeling off and barely on his arm.   He got home and proceeded to take a 2 hour nap.   That night I babysat and got to spend the evening with Patrick and Aubree while the Craigs went to a training.  It was a good night and Archie hungout at the house.  I rushed home afterwards to take care of Archie's lines.
Wednesday was my birthday!  I had a wonderful day, I started it opening presents from Archie. Below is a picture of my new purse and perfume.

My co-worker, Ros made sausage ball for breakfast.  Then for lunch we went to the Porch for a delicious lunch and then for dessert Lindsey made a peach crisp.  It was a great birthday celebration at work.

 

Archie made a visit to a client's house this morning.  He met his friend Joshua for lunch and then took a nap this afternoon.   He is working half or partial days for now.  He is limited with his lifting since he has the PICC line and is only able to lift  a gallon of milk with his right arm.  So his work options are not as busy and mostly limited to computer work.  This evening Archie met me at Perry for dinner.   It was amazing and very tasty.  I would definitely recommend it.  What a fabulous birthday! 

Weekend and Monday

Archie is feeling good.  He is not having any issues or pain to deal with.  This weekend we worked around the house (yes, Archie should not be but he doesn't always listen to me).  We went to the Boyte's house for Kevin's birthday celebration but had to bail out early because we had to head home for an antibiotic swtich. Sunday we did some more work around the house, Archie was working on the water hose attached to the house and after many trips to Lowes it was fixed.  I mowed, trimmed trees and painted the window.  Sunday night we went to dinner at the Oceannaire with my family to celebrate birthday week for the Gruninger girls (my sisters and I all celebrate our within a week).
Monday morning we got up and ate breakfast and then headed to Baylor to see Archie's neurosurgeon to get the stitches removed and break up with the neurosurgeon again.  He told us he hopes to not see us again but if there are issues in the future to call him.  We grabbed some lunch and then we headed to work.  Tomorrow we go to the infectious disease doctor in the afternoon to get a week of antibiotics, get some blood pulled, clean the PICC line area and see the doctor.  Below is a picture of Archie's head tonight after the stitches were removed:

It's Friday

Today we got up early because we had an A/C company coming to replace our current A/C.  Our current unit was the small "builder" unit that was put in when the house was built and just isn't big enough to keep our house cool in the summer.  Since Archie was going to home all day long he took advantage of the situation.  So Archie stayed at the house with the guys while they replaced the unit.  This afternoon I went to work for another half day.  My sister Jessica come over with my nephew Colter to keep Archie company after Colter woke up from a nap this afternoon.  It was a pretty low key, hot day for Archie.  Monday morning Archie is going to get his stitches removed from his head at an appointment with his neurosurgeon.  I think he is going to work part time next week before he jumps back into work full-time.  With the PICC line in his right arm he is limited in how much he lifts, he cannot lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk so he will be doing more computer work than manual labor.

Thursday

This morning we woke up early and I made breakfast.  After breakfast we to Lowes for a few odds and ends and then headed to Addison to visit a distributor that was having a grand opening sale.  I saw my dad's college buddy who is a rep so we were able to chat while Archie was shopping.  We headed home to meet an A/C guy to look at our house because it is nice and toasty in our house.  My sister Emily came over around 11 am so we could get lunch before I went to work.  We ate lunch and then I left Archie and Emily for the afternoon.  They ran some errands, hungout at the house and even went for a walk in the heat. He took a little rest while I was on the way home.  I came home for dinner and that is all there is on the schedule tonight besides my first unsupervised antibiotic swap.  Of course Archie will be watching my every move so I guess I should have said my mom won't be supervising me tonight.  It was a pretty busy day for Archie so he is pretty tired but overall a good day.

Below is a picture of Archie's antibiotic and the pouch that he travels with 24 hours a day. It is just like a baby bottle essentially.  There is a balloon of drug that deflates throughout the day.  The one in the picture is a brand new bottle.  My mom is trying to get him to name the antibiotic and pouch  since it will be with us for several more weeks. If you have any suggestions let me know... just kidding!

Wednesday

Wednesday morning started with Archie sleeping in while I got up at 8 am to work in the yard. Our yard hadn't been touched for almost two weeks so it was time for a little love. I mowed, weeded the flowerbeds and I used the weedeater. I was proud of myself because I had not ever used the weedeater, last fall I attempted it was a failure. Archie came out around 9 am and went to Lowes for us to get some brown bags for recycling graas clippings. Thank you to Joshua who came to edge and weedeater the yard (my job was pretty amateur)so he cleaned it up for us. I went to work in the afternoon for half a day. Matt and Chris came over and went to lunch with Archie. My mom hung out with Archie later that afternoon and evening. My sister was worried about my mental stability and she arranged for me to go to book club for an hour. It was nice to see my friends and have a glass of wine. I got home in time to do the IV and I think I am now able to do it unsupervised. Archie had a good day and is not in any pain. He just gets tired easily.

Tuesday

This morning Archie slept in until 10 am.  I on the other hand got up at 7 am and did some laundry while he slept.  He got up at 10 am and then we went to see his dad.  Afterwards we went to Chilis for lunch since I have yet to go grocery shopping and all of the previous groceries were not good.  After lunch we went home and Archie napped for a couple of hours, he was tired after our outings so he is feeling a little weak.  We got a door installed this afternoon to replace a rotting door on our porch that was ordered 3 months ago but that is a whole other story.  Joshua came over this afternoon and hung out with Archie, they watched Tosh.O (which I do not appreciate) and some other shows.  My parents brought over dinner and then hung out with us so that my mom can supervise the switching of the IVs.  Tonight went much smoother and I felt much better about it.  Tomorrow I start working half days since I am not eligible for FMLA again because I used my 12 weeks within the past 12 months.  So my work is being really flexible with me while we get Archie back into the swing of things, I am so grateful.

Free At Last!

Archie got a CT scan this morning before I arrived.  Then we spent the rest of the morning waiting and hoping for the doctors to get in ASAP.  We saw the internal medicine doctor mid morning and she said she was not sending Archie home with any medicine and discontinuing the blood pressure medicine that he had been on.  We went on a walk and Archie napped for a little while.  I went to get lunch and then Archie snoozed for a little while longer.  We went for a walk outside after signing a consent for since Archie has been stuck in the hospital for a week.  Then the infectious disease doctor came for a visit and said that we could go home after the neurosurgeon released us.  I had a list of questions to ask him about the whole antibiotic situation.  We found out that after the neurosurgeon released us that we would have to go over to the clinic to have a class to figure out how to care and take care of the IV antibiotics and if the neurosurgeon didn't show up before 4 pm that we would be stuck in the hospital for another night and it was 1:45 pm.  So we were a little worried that we would be hanging out in the hospital for another night, GRRRR.  Thankfully, the neurosurgeon showed up 30 minutes later and said we could go home.  We just have to go visit him on Monday to remove the stitches then we should be done with him as long as there is not another infection.  There is a chance of infection because the catheter was left in his head because it was attached to part of the blood vessel.  In the CT scan it did show some swelling where the catheter.  We are hoping that the antibiotics could clear up the issue.  If for some reason an infection shows up later on in life the neurosurgeon will have to go in and surgically remove the catheter but we will be optimistic and hope that will not happen.  The reason infections attach to the shunt and anything prostetic is because it is something foreign placed in the body, it is plastic and there is not anything there to fight the infection like blood vessels or anything like that.

We were then cleared to go over for our class over in the infectious disease clinic.  I called my mom, who is a nurse to come join us for the class so that we had a backup and knowledgeable person at the training as well.  She headed down from her house to join us while we waited for transportation to come get us.  After 30 minutes I received a phone call that my mom would be trained on the IV antibiotics so we don't have to worry about transportation.  I asked if we could just walk over since it wasn't that far away and the lady said if the nurse said it was okay.  The nurse just had us sign out and off we went.  Of course when we showed up at the clinic they didn't know Archie was getting released today but thought it would be a couple more days, they were not thrilled Archie was allowed to walk over and they didn't know if they would be able to get the antibiotics prepared in time.  So it was a hot mess!  So we were taught about how to care for the IV antibiotics.  Archie is going to have to go to the clinic weekly to get the PICC line cleaned, get a week's worth of antibiotics, get blood drawn and see the doctor.  After the training we waited in the waiting room to see if they could prepare the drugs and after a little while they said it would be alright and taken care of.  My mom waited for the drugs and we headed back to the room because Archie was due another round of antibiotics that would need to be administered before we headed home.  The antibiotics we received have to sit at room temperature for 4-6 hours before they are administered so we had one more round in the hospital while we were getting discharge papers and instructions.  So Archie was released at 5 pm just in time for rush hour traffic that affected us because the hospital is in Dallas and our house was in Frisco.  We grabbed dinner and headed home.  Mom came with us to supervise the first batch of antibiotics and it was a little humorous.  I know it will get better with time but the antibiotics are attached and pumping for the next 24 hours.   Our nightly activities will be pretty low key for the next 4-6 weeks since we need to be home to attach the antibiotics each night around 9 pm, maybe some early dinners.  I thankful for all the doctors and staff who helped take care of Archie the past week, thankful he is home and glad that I get to sleep in my bed tonight.  Thank you for the prayers and support you have given us the past week and the past year!   

Sleeping the Day Away

Today was another sleepy day for Archie.  My sister and I dropped off doughnuts for breakfast before 7:30 am mass and he fell asleep and didn't realize they were there until 8:30 am.  We then headed to the hospital to play some Skipbo but Archie only played one game before he wanted to take a nap.  He snoozed until Jennifer and Mark showed up for a visit.  Then his mom and stepdad appeared a few minutes later.  We visited for a little while before everyone dispersed in different directions.  His mom and stepdad went to get lunch and after Archie ate some lunch he went back to sleep and continued to sleep all afternoon.  His infectious disease doctor didn't have much to say today.  His neurosurgeon said he would get a CT scan tomorrow and then if that looked good he would head home.  Archie has a headache that comes and goes throughout the day, we told the neurosurgeon and he is not concerned.  My family came for a short visit and Archie got to see the nephews for a few minutes and went for a walk.  Hopefully tomorrow at this time we are at home in our own bed.
Thank you Emily, Jennifer, Mark and Christopher for coming to visit Archie today.

Shunt No More

This morning Archie ate some breakfast and then took a nap. He said he slept pretty well last night but was tired. The Infectious Disease doctor had already been in to see Archie before I got there, early bird. The neurosurgeon came in later that morning and removed the external shunt from Archie's head. Archie described it as he was pulling a weed from the yard, he braced against his head and pulled the tube out(sorry if that was too much information). After that he was cleared to move to the floor and if everything goes according to plan he will be out on Monday. Archie got a PICC line put in which is an IV that runs up his arm to his heart this afternoon. He will have that for the next four to six weeks while they give him IV antibiotics. Archie is calling it his robot arm. That is going to be adventure for us to learn how to take care of IV antibiotics, that it for sure! He had a headache this afternoon but they got it under control with medicstion. Tonight my friend Melissa came up and she had to go dinner with us in the hospital room.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Wow, what a difference a day makes. I walked into the room and it was a completely different situation. Archie had a mild headache and no neaseua. He has slept through the night as well. He was alert, talkative and feeling good. He has simple staph and was put on a new antibiotic last night. The infection was the same strand all over the shunt that was pulled. Archie will probably be put on IV antibiotics for four weeks, he might be sent home with an IV and he will be able to hook up the antibiotics. He did not have any fluid drain from his external shunt last night which might mean he does not need another shunt put in. Basically his head is processing the fluid correctly now. The neurosurgeon will monitor the external shunt for a couple more days and then he might send him home without a shunt. If that happens he will go for periodic CT scans and get blood pulled to make sure everything is working properly. So things changed completely in 24 hours and it was a welcomed relief.

Thank you to Trey, Matt, Chris, Trent, Jimmy S, and Shawn for coming to visit Archie today.

Staph is Back

Today was kind of a blah day. Archie was not feeling good this morning, he had a huge headache that was making him nauseous. He basically slept all morning long or laid there with his eyes closed. The Infectious Disease doctor came and told us his shunt and his lumbar puncture from Tuesday morning were both showing Staph. We should know tomorrow what strand of staph he has. I ended up leaving for a little while to run to work to cleaning out my pending items while he slept. When I got back, his Critical Care Doctor came to visit. Archie was excited because this is the doctor that had a great bedside manner and explained stuff to us so that we knew what was going on. He said the "dream team is back together again" (neurosugeron, infectious disease and critical care doctor). Then the neurosurgeon came to visit and was concerned due to the headache and nausea. He ordered a CT scan immediately to check his head. The CT scan looked good thankfully because otherwise the neurosurgeon talked about replacing the external shunt with a different shunt which we lovingly referred to as the "unicorn horn". He will get another CT scan tomorrow to check it. The rest of the day Archie slept the day away which he definitely needed abc use he has not slept much the past several night. I just hope all the sleep today doesn't cause him to stay awake all night long. I actually spent some time playing skipbo with my parent in the waiting room while Archie slept. I am praying that tomorrow he feels better because I don't like it when he feels blah.

Shunt Removal Surgery

Surgery was scheduled for this morning to remove the shunt. The doctor did find some elevated white blood cell counts in his head by the shunt. The surgery took a little over a hour. Afterwards the doctor told me he had to leave a catheter in his head because if he removed there would be bleeding by his brain which is not a good. But otherwise everything went according to plan. The neurosurgeon said he thinks the infection was in Archie's abdomen not his head. After Archie was put back into ICU I left to go get some more clothes because two days worth of clothes won't cut it. Plus Archie previously has slept the day or surgery and doesn't eat anything. Well, not today! He was up all dAy long with a couple of short naps plus he was eating normal food. He did say that the pain in his abdomen is a whole lot. Which is fabulous news! He had a headache but I think that is to be expected if they do surgery on your head. thank you for the prayers!

Thanks to Chad, Aaron and my sisters for coming to visit Archie.

Surgery

There was an infection in his head and his body so Archie is currently in surgery. They are pulling his shunt out and will put an external shunt in temporarily. He will be put in the ICU again and be given antiobiotics to clear up the infection. After the infection is cleared up they will put a new shunt in. Just like they did last year.

Back to Baylor Again

Since Archie was released from the hospital three weeks ago he has had tenderness on his head and abdomen pain. He finished his 14 days of antibiotics on Wednesday or Thursday and since then the pain and swelling have gotten worse. On Sunday I urged Archie to call his neurosurgeon to see what he thought and the conversation was not very productive. Monday the pain in his stomach got worse so I had him call the Infectious Disease doctor who said he thinks we should go back to Baylor since the symptoms were better while on antibiotics but got worse wafterwards. So we packed up and headed to the Baylor ER last night after dinner. After we were assigned a room we proceeded to hangout all night in the ER. Archie had blood tests, X-rays and CT scans throughout the wait. I headed out around 5 am to try to get a couple of hours of sleep. Right after I left Archie had a lumbar puncture so they could test his spinal fluid. I showed up back at the hospital a few hours later and he was still hanging out in the ER. He was eventually moved to a regular room and we waited to see his team of doctors. He got a new doctor, the internal medicine doctor, we saw her mid morning. We waited all day long to see his Infectious Disease doctor and his neurosurgeon. I had literally told my mom that I didn't think the neurosugeron was going to show up since it was 7 pm when he walked it. Archie got a little chuckle out of that. Archie has an infection of some kind because his white blood cells are elevated. The neurosurgeon pulled some fluid from his head to test. If it is infected they will have to pull the shunt and put a new one in which will mean some weeks in the hospital but we have to wait for the results.