Fever

I was going to do a post last night, but was too tired to sit down to write.  The post was going to say something about how even though Anna was down to 3 days of radiation, that meant that she had already experienced 27 days of radiation.  The short term side effects of the radiation are cummulative and do not actually peak until about 7-10 days after the last treatment, so Anna still has a few rough weeks in terms of feeling like crud.

Yesterday was a rough day with more pain and vomitting; we had no fun with the nurses.  Last night I went home to sleep and Anna was pretty upset about me leaving.  I was also feeling down about the way the day went.

This morning when I arrived at the hospital, Anna had nurses and residents in her room and she was in obvious pain.  A variety of tests were ordered.  She had her shunt tapped, an abdominal x-ray, a quick brain MRI, a chest x-ray, and an abdominal ultrasound.  She also started a fever.

There were a variety of possible causes for her symptoms, but it turns out that she has an infection related to her brain shunt.  She has been started on a course of antibiotics to deal with that infection.  She will need to have the shunt removed, have an EVD (the drain) placed, and at some point in the next few weeks have a new shunt placed.  When she has the first surgery, she will be moved back to the PICU until the next shunt is placed.

Anna did not receive her radiation this morning and will, hopefully, receive her last three treatments next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  However, Anna will be in the hospital for a few more weeks.

We know what caused the symptoms and fever, and it is being treated.  We are thankful for that.

Please continue to pray for our family.