Puzzling

Caleb has been a bit of a puzzle today: 

Puzzle piece #1: His lungs sound diminished, yet his chest x rays look reasonable.

Puzzle piece #2: His white blood cell count has gone up instead of down. Hmmm.

Puzzle piece #3: His heart rate isn't back to base line yet.

Puzzle piece #4: He developed a hive-y looking rash on his chest and cheeks.

However, the spinal fluid from his shut is clear, his urine cultures are clear, and his viral panel is negative!  

 In spite of a few puzzles, Caleb looks improved today and I bet the puzzles will resolve in another day or two.

A Primary Children's Adventure

Caleb and I are having a little adventure at Primary Children's hospital this week.  We were admitted late Sunday night and are planning to be there for the next several days.
For the past week or so Caleb just hadn't been himself and was more agitated than usual.  I decided on Friday that we'd get through the weekend, and then I'd take him to the pediatrician on Monday.  Late Sunday evening his heart rate and respiratory rate spiked, and I started to get that anxious feeling that we needed to get him in right away.   Our last hospital stay showed us how quickly things can get critical for Caleb and I felt certain that Caleb had an infection.  So after a long night in the ER we were admitted because his blood cultures showed he was definitely battling some infection and his breathing was quite labored.  Last night he had a CT scan and shunt series, chest x rays, blood work, urine sent to culture, and trach secretions sent to culture.  At this point we think he has a possible pneumonia and a trach infection that can both be taken care of with IV antibiotics.   The neuro surgeons tapped his shunt today because a CT scan showed a slight increase in the fluid on his brain.  We are also watching for a bladder infection.  We'll likely find out more test results tomorrow, but in the meantime these are the things that made me smile today:

*Frozen yogurt in the cafeteria!  YUM
* Snuggling with Caleb in his hospital bed
* The attending doctor's name is  B. Kalm  (How funny is that!!)
* We were admitted strait to the floor- not the ICU!    HOORAY!
* A sweet husband who was willing to pick me up and bring the boys for a visit.
* A note on the white board from Matthew that says "Don't forget to Squish his cheeks"

I am so thankful those anxious feelings that would not leave my heart until we were in the car headed to the hospital.  I know that Heavenly Father is aware of Caleb's needs and that He helps us to have specific feelings when we need direction.   How thankful I am for His loving guidance and tender care.

Caleb's heart

I've been visiting with a cardiologist for the past several weeks about Caleb's heart.

We used a Holter Monitor for 24 hours at home so the doctor could get a good idea what is happening in a 24 hour period.  The results showed  is heart rate is very low- as low as 41 when he's sleeping- but there doesn't seem to be anything causing it.  The echocardiogram showed Caleb has an atrial septal defect which means there is a small hole in the right atrium.  At this point we've decided to watch it because it doesn't seem to be doing any harm.  We are going to do an ultra sound down Caleb's throat so the doctor can get some better images just to make sure we shouldn't intervene sooner. 

Over the past few weeks Caleb has had a bladder infection, then an ear infection, and the good news is his heart rate has been elevated during that time.  It seems like his heart is rising to the occasion when it needs to!

Bless his little heart.

Motherhood

"Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you would have. It's about understanding that he is exactly the person he is supposed to be. And that, if you're lucky, he just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be," 

Joan Ryan, "The Water Giver".

Luau Caleb

Caleb recently came with us to a Luau at my Brother's house. He didn't get up and hula, but you know he wanted to :)

Swinging till the Sun Goes Down

Caleb loves his "Make a Wish" Swing. Last night he let me swing him until the sun went down. It makes me laugh that he'll let me push him higher than Mitchell will!

Sunday Hugs

 

A Roosevelt Road Trip

We don't usually take Caleb far from home, but we recently packed up and drove for a couple of hours to Roosevelt to see my brother Jordan and his family!  It was so fun to take a little day trip together and to spend time with people we love a whole bunch!

A Little Caleb Clip

Cardiology Appointment

Caleb had a Cardiology appointment yesterday.  We discussed his low heart rate issues and the cardiologist had us do an echocardiogram (an ultra sound of the heart) to see if there were any evident complications.  The ECHO showed that his heart actually looks better than it did in 2008 when he had his last echo.  He did point out that there is some flow into the right atrium that is unexplained and he wanted to get a second opinion before we discussed it.  In the meantime, he also sent us home with a Holter monitor.  The monitor is hooked up to Caleb for 24 hours so the cardiologists can get a better idea what his heart is doing during a full day.  Hopefully with more information we'll know if there is anything we can do to help his heart rate improve.  

Rosy Cheeks

For the past several weeks, Caleb's heart rate has been really low, so we're loving it when he wakes up with his sweet rosy cheeks!