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!
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.
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.
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.
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