Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Kaitlyn's health...again


Okay so a few days ago Kaitlyn broke out in yet ANOTHER bacterial skin infection (number four, to be exact, but who's really counting anymore?) We met with the immunologist yesterday to go over her bloodwork, and her immune system is healthy as can be! She's developed amazing responses to the vaccines so it would appear that it's not an immunological disorder. I expressed my frustration with the whole mess and he was totally understanding, but did say he thinks very highly of our pediatrician (who he knows) and said he'd send his kids to him if they were young. He also said that he knows that "Joe" (funny to hear your doctor referred to by their first name) will know the right thing to do. That made me feel a LITTLE better.

After our appointment with him we headed to our pediatrician "Joe's" office where he took a culture (hooray)--we'll hear back in a few days. He recommended a special soap to put in her bathtub and we talked about antibiotics, etc. The danger with these skin infections is ultimately if it gets inside her body--into her GI tract, etc. (people have recently been in the news for dying from a MRSA infection.) He seemed to know a lot about antibiotics and said that methicillin-resistant staph often basically have to be blasted with combinations of antibiotics to get rid of it. He put Kaitlyn on some strong stuff and for a longer duration, so we'll see. Meanwhile she's happy as a clam and seemingly unphased by the whole thing (until you go to change her diaper or give her a bath, then she cries and wants to itch, poor thing.) I hate that she has to be on antibiotics in the first place, but MRSA is a huge deal and it's not something to mess around with.


Lately I've found myself completely exhausted, emotionally drained, and weary of this whole thing. I sometimes find that I'm angry with myself for not being able to make it go away; it's like, I'm her mother and I'm supposed to protect her! But she is so happy and full of energy these days, and that makes me feel hopeful and encouraged. I was just telling Kevin today that she is so just "one of the kids" now, playing in the toy basket, cruising all over the house. It's hilarious! She can also pull herself up to standing, though remains unable to get into a sitting position--quite interesting. She's loving solid foods these days, but still loves to nurse too, so I'm not too sad.


I'll be sure to post an update when the results come back. Thanks to all who've been praying for my sweet baby girl--this has been (and continues to be) a long road, and I know God will use it for good in the end. I confess that entrusting my children to Him is really difficult for me, but He is faithful and loves my kids more than I can imagine.


10 comments:

Rachel said...

I'm so glad that her bloodwork came back with positive results!

5KidMom said...

Oh, sweet Mama, you're doing a great job. When the regular Dr., and even the specialist, don't know quite what to do; what can you do but love on your little one and pray? MSRA is scary stuff, but God has provided so far, and He will continue to do so. Keep your chin up, Mama!!

Paige said...

Katie Jane we are praying for you!!!

Domestic Goddess said...

You know, something just hit me. You mentioned she still loves to nurse? When my little guy was 3 months he had his first ear infection. It was awful and they eventually broke down and gave him an antibiotic because it would not go away, no matter what we tried. He then developed thrush and we continued to battle it for months on end. We just couldnt get rid of it. He went from infection to thrush to infection to thrush, nothing seemed to work. That's when my OB said, "Um. Has anyone tested YOU?" And I stood there dumbfounded. I was nursing him and it never crossed my mind. So, they put me on an antibiotic for a few weeks and then followed it up with a mega dose of Diflucan. Guess what? IT KNOCKED IT OUT OF BOTH OF US! It never occurred to me that he was getting it from me, but that quickly it was over. Just a thought.
Your children are beautiful! You are clearly a great mom, look how happy they are! You are blessed, indeed.

Jeannett said...

YiPPEE!!! So happy that it is beginning to resolve itself! I think the worst part is not seeing or knowing of an end in sight...isnt it so much nicer at least seeing a light at the end of the tunnel now?! Good to hear that your "Joe" is respected by his colleagues...you'd be surprised how often Dr.'s have opinons of each other...I wish there was a review site like amazon.com has for doctors!!!

Anonymous said...

Hang in there. You're doing great and we're still praying.

Kate said...

praise god! i'm so glad her immune sysetem is okay! i'll be praying that the antibiotics will do their thing and that she'll be all better real soon!

Michelle said...

That's such good news that her immune system is doing great. Praying that these antibiotics work with little side effects for you little sweetie:).

Anonymous said...

Well I am really glad there are no immune problems!
I don't mean to throw a kink in things, but do your research and ask questions about the combinations of medications. If they have to hit the strong stuff, side effects can become bigger and the combinations have the potential to amplify bad effects. Not trying to freak you out or convince you not to do it, but just be watchful. Like you said MSRA is nasty stuff, so it needs to be dealt with. That is how Gregory lost his hearing, from meds at birth. But for us, it was Deaf kid or Dead kid, so we just played the cards we were dealt.

Kristen Borland said...

yes, it is so hard to entrust to God the things dearest to us! i'm so thankful to hear that she doesn't have immune system problems. that's a huge blessing. but poor girl. i hope "Joe" does in deed know what he's doing.

 

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