Tuesday 6 December 2011

Sepsis is Scary Shit

For those of you that read this post already, I added more information when I had time to sit down and process it.  It is not a pleasant post, I'm just saying it like it is, as this is our life.

Our sweet boy is still in critical condition but is at least in a somewhat stable state.  I guess for Braeden it is just another state of critical as he's been in different forms of this state since before birth.  (For those of you that that comment that you think I am strong, it is not a state of mind at this point, I think it is more a state of denial).

The good news today is that Braeden is responding somewhat to the antibiotics they've got him on.  The not so good news is that it is a blood infection that he is fighting, he is dealing with severe sepsis. (don't read the link if you are weak of heart, it is seriously scary shit we are dealing with here)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepsis Yes, this is as scary as it sounds.  He has picked up a bacteria at some point and it has found it's way into his blood.  It is affecting all parts of his body, the organs being the most susceptible and he has severe inflammation and pain.  His blood pressure had been dramatically altered and his kidneys were shut down (which is how the body tries to preserve itself when forced into a critical state).  They have been in contact with Infectious Diseases and they are in the process of narrowing it down.  They have a good idea of what it is but it needs to continue to grow (in their petri dishes) to get the complete picture.

His poor little body looks as though he has put on an entire pound of fluid in 24 hrs, it has set him back about two weeks or so.  Which I suppose wouldn't be much in the scheme of things but when you are only 4 weeks old...

I was very relieved to see that he did attempt to crack open an eye for me today but they are too swollen to open anymore.  He is responding to stimulus today as well, granted it means he can show he is in pain but at least it is a response.  I'll take suffering through watching him grimace and cry out verses not reacting at all to being poked with a needle yesterday.  He is also finally out putting urine which is fantastic news, those kidneys are fighting back (again).

They have also had to remove all of his lines due to the infection and will continue to run new IV's (a whole lotta pokes) for the next 14 days during his course of antibiotics.  They won't be able to put any more permanent lines in until the infection comes back negative.  It is going to be a LONG 14 days for all of us.

I'm feeling so run down with the addition of this, as is Michael (which I think it is safe to assume so do my Mom, T and Ry as well).  We appreciate all of the kindness and positive thoughts that you are all still offering us, please continue with them.

No comments: