I don't really want to talk about this anymore, but I wanted to document it for Sadie. So here's the story in brief:
Sadie had a small bump on her bottom that went from "normal" looking to red, swollen, and hot in less than 24 hours. We took her to the ED on Saturday, the 8th, where the doctor drained the abscess, and put her on antibiotics. We followed up with her pediatrician on Tuesday, the 11th. He took one look at her backside, and said, "This is bad, and you need to take her back to the ED." By this time, she was running a constant fever, had thrown up twice, and was lethargic and irritable. When we got back to the ED on Tuesday afternoon, they drained the abscess again, put in a different type of drain (it was basically medical-grade blue plastic string), and announced that they would be admitting her for IV antibiotics because the particular strain of MRSA Sadie had contracted was resistant to all antibiotics except Clindamycin and the high-powered Vancomycin.
Sadie ended up on IV fluids as well as the antibiotics because she seemed to be gettting dehydrated. She wasn't eating much at all, and was only drinking a sip or two every hour or so. It was amazing to see how she perked up after the fluids got into her system. The lethargy seemed to go away, and a sassy Sadie replaced it. In fact, at one point she yelled at me, "I'm angry because I hurt!"
Sadie was in the hospital for a couple of days (confined to her room because of her diagnosis), when the team of doctors came in and noticed that the abscess had formed another pocket and would need to be drained AGAIN. So on Thursday evening, we accompanied her down to surgery and waited while the surgeon made a 3rd incision and inserted another drain like the one she already had. After the surgery, the surgeon recommended that in addition to the Clindamycin, they would also be giving Sadie Vancomycin for 48 hours. They didn't want to do it for longer than that because although Vancomycin is good at killing nasty germs, it is also good at causing kidney damage.
Saturday morning, Sadie was pronounced well enough to go home on oral Clindamycin, and we would follow up with the surgeon as well as her pediatrician. Both said her bottom looked much, much better, and that they felt she would be fine after this. There is a small chance that the antibiotic won't get it all, but in that case, we'll just head back to the doctor.
Here are a few pictures of Sadie's hospital room.
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| This is our favorite nurse, Jazz. |
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| Lucy and Aiyanna with a sassy Sadie |
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| Amy came to play because Sadie couldn't leave her room. |
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Sadie's Benadryl "coma".
She had to have Benadryl because she had a "Red Man's" reaction to the Vanco. |
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| Asleep, finally. |
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She had to wear a "No-No" to keep her from playing with her IV.
After awhile, she wanted to wear it all. the. time. |
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| The Cage |
I, for one thing, am VERY grateful for access to good medical care. This is something that I don't take for granted. I am also grateful that this ordeal is almost over. It definitely could have been worse--I can't imagine the emotional challenges that come when your child is diagnosed with cancer. It would be a logistical nightmare to try to be with the sick child at the hospital AND try to keep things running smoothly for the rest of the family at home. That said, the nurses said they were impressed that Sadie was never alone for long. She always had someone there to sit with her, sleep there at night, and be available when the doctors came by. The nurses said that some children (even younger ones, like Sadie) didn't have anyone come some days. I also appreciate all of the prayers, positive thoughts, and good wishes that were kept in many hearts for Sadie and for our family. I know that she was in God's hands, and it is His will that she is healing.
