Update on the Girl.

I thought this would be easier to do than lots of phone calls, though we really appreciate all the calls and messages.

Today was a busy, roller-coaster day, and we're pretty pooped.

As most of you will know from either emails, phone calls, or the ubiquitous facebook, Baby M has fallen quite ill.

She was running a high fever and becoming very dehydrated due to near constant vomiting, and we had to take her to the ER on Monday night.  She was admitted to the hospital early am Tuesday, June 20, and moved to the PICU later in the day after suffering a massive seizure.  She had to sedated and intubated.

They originally hoped the seizure was just due to the fever, but after several tests she was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis.  

She was sedated all of Tuesday night, and they hoped to extubate her in the morning.  However, in typical M fashion, she had other plans.  Try as they might she didn't want to wake up.  So they decided to resume sedation; THEN she decided she wanted to wake up.  She was pulling on her restraints (there to keep her from pulling her tube out), and arching her back and flopping her legs about.  So they decided to try and extubate her, and stopped the meds.  After tickling her and calling her name for several minutes trying to make her mad enough to open her eyes, they pulled out the tube, but she still wouldn't snap out of her lethargic state.  We did get her to cry, and she is breathing really strongly, but still won't open her eyes, or respond to audio stimuli.  After several minutes of whimpering and squirming she had what appears to have been another small seizure, even though she is on anti-convulsants.  

They conducted a second EEG to check for similar behavior, but we were unable to replicate it, and she returned to a deep sleep.

One of the tests they performed (incl. a CT and MRI) was a spinal tap, and there is indeed an infection in her spinal fluid.  They have to let the cultures grow for 72 hours to get an accurate identification of the bacteria, meanwhile she is getting broad-sweeping antibiotics in her IV (which is now a mid-line, as the peripherals were inadequate, and they couldn't get a central line in).

SO, we're waiting to see if the antibiotics help, and for the cultures to come back, during which her fever has broken, and we keep hoping she'll wake up, and finally smile at us again.

We have taken work off, and have had visitors helping us out, letting us get in a few hours of rest here and there, THANK YOU.

We also want to thank the many, many family and friends who are praying and fasting for all of us.  It makes more difference than you will ever know.

She has also received two Priesthood blessings, one Monday morning before I left for work , and another Tuesday night.

A reminder of her normal sweet and boisterous self: