Update - We're Home...But.....

Here's the latest:

Yesterday (Friday) during the day:

• Little Bittles looked really good. They did not do blood work because they had done a ton of tests the previous day and the doctor did not feel it was necessary or that it would change anything to do more blood work. I'm sure this made Little Bittles happy as she absolutely hated getting blood work done. (I don't blame her, either!).
  
• Things were pretty much the same. She remained in isolation as the previous day's result was that her neutrophils were only at 1 %.
  
• She remained on IV antibiotics and fluid. Her dose of antibiotics was decreased slightly and her IV fluid was decreased.
• She was eating really well (as much as she normally would) and was very active and happy during the day
• One of my good friends was our R.N., so that was very nice for all of us
• I started to feel sick, so I wore a mask as a precaution. Not sure if I was actually sick or just tired (most likely).
  

Friday During the Evening:

• I put her to bed and tried my best to catch a few winks in the hospital bed (Next to impossible for a light sleeper like me.)
• At about 9:30 p.m. she woke up crying and seemed like something was bothering her. I thought she was maybe overtired, so I tried settling her down, which didn't really work.
  
• Hubby got back to the hospital (he had gone home for a little bit), and I noticed that a few red spots were showing up on Little Bittle's legs. At first, I though it was perhaps just due to some irritation, but then within minutes, the rash has spread. We knew something was wrong and quickly called the nurse. By the time the nurse got there, Little Bittle's lips were swelling up. I right away suspected that she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. By this point, I was trying very hard not to panic. For a brief minute I had to turn away as panic seriously started setting in. It was really hard for me to hold myself together once her lips started swelling up. The nurse called the pediatrician who arrived within 10 minutes.
• The pediatrician quickly determined that she was definitely having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. He stopped the antibiotic and gave her Benadryl.
• This was a big setback because there are only certain antibiotics that are proven safe in children. Also, the antibiotic she had been on was a very good one and the most effective for her circumstances.
  
• Now, she could not be on the best antibiotic, which meant that if she catches anything now or gets an infection, it is a LOT more serious.
• The doctor decided to do more blood work the next morning and then decide what to do from there. So, she went off of all antibiotics for the night.
• Hubby and I both tried staying at the hospital for night, but after we had trouble falling asleep, we decided that hubby would go home and I would stay because I am a very light sleeper and would wake up easier if something was happening with Little Bittle's.
• The night went okay. I slept extremely poorly (as in, not at all) and was constantly getting up to check on her. The benadryl had made her irritable and drowsy, which wasn't a good combination.
  

This morning (Saturday)

• Blood work was done this morning to check her blood count. The neutrophils had come up to 5 - 6 %. This is still very low, but at least they had gone up and now down since the last test.
  
• The pediatrician came to see her and examined her. He decided that we could go home if we would remain in strict isolation. (Normally, she would have been sent home on oral antibiotics, but because of her allergy, she cannot take the usual antibiotics.)
• He decided to not give her any oral antibiotic for now because she seems like she is not fighting any infection anymore.
• We were told to watch her very carefully for signs of infection (fever, etc.) and to bring her in right away if she started to get sick again.
• She will have more blood work done on Wednesday and will see the pediatrician again on Wednesday if all goes well.

This Evening

• We are happy to be at home. I am officially now the Germ Police and am trying my best to disinfect and clean everything down. She is currently only allowed to play in the living room until I get everything else disinfected. (Hubby held her for about an hour while I got the living room disinfected first!) We are being EXTREMELY careful and trying our very best to prevent her from getting any type of infection. Little Bittle's is happy to be home.

We are praising the Lord for answering our prayers that her neutrophils are up and there are currently no signs of infection. Please keep praying that she stays free of infection and that her neutrophils increase drastically. Because of her allergy to the antibiotic, it is that much more important that she does not get an infection. For this reason we are allowing NO VISITORS. We are not evening allowing family at this point. Thank you for understanding.

We know that there are so many people praying for us. Thank you so much and please don't stop praying. We are not "out of the woods" yet. Please pray for me and hubby that we would get some rest and stay healthy, too. If we get sick, then we won't be able to take care of her as it puts her at risk.

If you are reading this post from Facebook and want to comment, you can comment on either facebook or on here, but I won't be publishing your comments if you leave them on the blog, just because I want to remain somewhat anonymous to those I don't know in the internet world.

Thanks again for praying, and please don't stop!!!