Updates on Drew and Dylan

Friday night Drew got worse.  He was in pain and had a fever the last half of the night.  The spot on his knee also grew, not in diameter, but became more swollen in the center leading Brian to suspect an abscess.  So this morning I took him to the ER.  When we made the call to take him he was writhing in pain, but by the time I got there he was peaceful .  Isn't that always the way it goes?

The waiting room was empty which was a huge blessing.  The doctor was pretty sure that Drew was misdiagnosed with Strep and the root  of all the illness was the infection near his knee.  He called a pediatric orthopedic specialist in to confirm his diagnosis of septic bursitis.  The ortho doc aspirated the abscess and got a good amount of  pus.  They also drew blood and sent both samples off to the lab.  They gave him Bactrum to add to the Augmentin.  The ortho doc told me that if things are not improving by Monday they may have to flush it with antibiotics in a minor surgery and keep him in the hospital with iv antibiotics.  This is a fairly uncommon deal and I am glad that I was justified in going to the urgent care  and the ER.  I also liked  this doctor because  he referred to me as an experienced  mom and seemed to take me seriously.  They asked me to come back up Sunday morning to check on it and observe any changes or lack there of. 

See his two boo boos.  The nurse drew a circle around his knee boo boo where the redness was so that we could tell if it got bigger or smaller easily.  I had drawn one with pen, but it was washed off by all the iodine.

After the aspiration on Saturday morning, he seemed to be in less pain during parts of that day.  He still had a fever when the pain meds wore off.  At 3am he woke up, and when I went to check on him he had blood and pus all over him and his bed.  His abscess burst, and he had been rolling around in it in his sleep, I guess.  He was in a lot of pain, but his fever was not back for the first time since Wednesday afternoon.  He was able to calm down and go back to sleep after the pain meds kicked in and I nursed him.  When he woke up, I took him back to the ER for his check up.  They said it was a good sign and that the redness had receded slightly.  I still have to follow up with the ortho doc and my regular pediatrician this week, but as long as it gets better and goes away we are in the clear.  It is still possible that it will have to be drained or flushed, but we are praying that doesn't happen.  It is so heart wrenching to see your child in pain.

My sister was able to take my nephew home today after just one extra day in the NICU.  He is nursing like a champ, I hear.  I also have heard rumors that he is a patient easy going baby which is a blessing to my sister and brother-in-law if that sticks.  I was supposed to fly out today (with Drew) to help her, but, alas, that didn't seem to work out with Drew's issues.  Hopefully, Drew will heal quickly and I will still be able to go help her.  I was so looking forward to being there for her and holding my new nephew!