Turn for the Worse

Urgent Prayer Request.

Things have taken a turn for the worst. Our daughter's blood work results from this morning show that her neutrophils are back down to only 1-2 percent and her platelets are abnormally high. We have no idea what is going on, but we are terrified. The pediatrician is talking to a blood specialist this afternoon.

God Answers Prayer

These past couple of weeks have been emotionally tiring for our whole family. During the times of panic, fear, and worry, we have prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more. God is a God of comfort in times of distress. He has answered our prayers and shown us Himself through His written word, which has provided us so much comfort during the times we were very worried about our little girl.

Here's a very neat thing: The significance of our daughter's name has do with God answering prayer.

Here are just a few ways God has comforted us when we were feeling very worried during these past couple weeks of distress:

• One night I was at the hospital with Little Bittles, and my husband was at home. He was praying very much and God directed him to read Psalm 34, which answered all of his concerns. It fit exactly what my husband had been praying.
• During one day at the hospital, God brought to my mind how in the Old Testament, He directly intervened in many of the battles so that Israel would win against all odds. Through this, God reminded me that He cares for his people and that He is sovereign and can fight the infection on Bittle's behalf even when she can't fight it on her own.
  
• On Friday night after the major scare and complication with the drug allergy to the antibiotics, I was feeling extremely panicked. I was praying and then I looked out the window and saw a shadow of a cross on the sidewalk, which was distinctly formed.
• Once we got home, I was feeling very worried still, and I was praying in my bed. I had the baby monitor on and Little Bittle's lullabies were playing through the monitor. God directed me to read Psalm 33. In that Psalm, I read the verse that says that "He fashioned their hearts." Just as I read that part, the lullaby through the monitor was playing a song that had that exact verse in it. I had never even known that that line was even from the Bible until now. The Psalm reminded me again of God's sovereignty and I was reminded that God cares for us.
  

When I look back on how God has answered our prayers for comfort when we've cried out to Him, I am SO thankful. I am thankful we serve a God who cares for us. I am thankful we serve a God who cares so much that He has given us His Words to comfort us. I am thankful for our God who is sovereign. I am thankful for our God who answers prayer.

*I am linking this post to Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers*
To read more about our crazy past 2 weeks with our daughter, please read my earlier posts.

Day 3 At Home

Just thought I'd write a quick update as to how things are going with our recent situation. Today was our 3rd Day at home from the hospital. Little Bittles seems to be doing well. No sign of infection as of yet. PRAISE THE LORD! Not being on antibiotics right now (due to her allergy) and being so neutropenic makes it that much more nerve-wracking.

I have not been feeling well for the past few days, either. This morning I was feeling worse and starting to cough a bit, so I decided I better see a doctor (to make sure it's not bacterial). Normally I wouldn't have gone to the doctor yet, but with our daughter's situation, I thought I'd get checked out just in case. Turns out I'm fine (thankfully!). I probably just have some sort of virus (or it's just due to being stessed out and tired). Just to be on the safe side, I'm being a more cautious and wearing a mask when I'm in close contact with Bittles. Strangely enough, this evening my cough has seemed to have disappeared!

We just need to get to Wednesday and then she'll have blood work done again to check her neutrophils and she will see the pediatrician again. We are really praying her neutrophil count will come up to normal. Please pray her neutrophil count will come up. Her cousin's 1st birthday is coming up and we would love to be able to be there!!

Today, I'm feeling optimistic that everything is going to be okay. God is sovereign. He holds her in His hand. There have been some very neat answers to prayer we have seen over the past few days. I want to write about them soon. For now, it's time for me to get to bed.

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!!!

Update

This morning our little girl's neutrophils are at 1 %. Still not great, but a lot better than zero, which is what they were at yesterday. The doctor is hopeful that she will get better and is fairly confident that this is a result of a very sinister virus. They are trying to find out what specific virus she has that has caused this. Her rash has improved quite a bit, and she seems in better spirits and is eating a bit better, too. She seems like she is in less pain as well. I was home for the night, but when I got to the hospital this morning, I could tell she looked and acted quite a bit better than yesterday. Thanks again for praying.

URGENT Prayer Request

Our little girl's test results are back, and the situation is extremely serious. She has pneumonia and her blood count is at zero. She is being hospitalized in strict isolation. Any illness whatsoever could be life threatening for her. Please pray that she would be able to fight off this infection and her blood count would come up. Pray that she does not catch anything else, too. Thanks for praying.

Update on Our Little Girl

*Just a quick update on our sick little girl.*

We took her to the pediatrician this evening. He thoroughly checked her out, and he said that he truthfully is not sure at this point what is wrong with her. There are a few different possibilities, some being very serious. He is an excellent doctor and has figured out very difficult cases in the past. He has ordered blood tests, urine tests, and xrays for first thing tomorrow morning. He has warned us that he suspects it could potentially be a pretty serious illness. He will be getting back to us tomorrow as soon as the results are in. The complication is that the one serious illness he mentioned it could possibly be has no conclusive lab work or testing to confirm it. A big part of the diagnosis is eliminating all other possibilities.
I have to be honest. I know that the Lord is completely in control and knows exactly what the problem is. However, I am feeling extremely worried and am beyond exhausted. Please keep praying.