05.29.2008 - Fever

From Julian's COTA journal.

We were on schedule to be discharged tomorrow until Julian came down with a fever of 101.6 this evening. They will take blood cultures from both sides of his hemodialysis catheter (the venous and arterial sides) and begin a slurry of antibiotics tonight, including vancomyacin which is used to treat MRSA, a highly drug-resistant form of Staph Aureaus.

His blood pressure was unusually low last night, and coupled with the rising temperature today there is a concern. Please pray that any infection of the blood or of the catheter will be taken care of by the antibiotics and that Julian will come out fine from this whole ordeal.

I asked the Dr. on the floor tonight whether or not it was potentially life threatening by saying "It doesn't always go well for the patient in cases of blood infections, does it?" And she shook her head and said "not always".

Dave just walked in the door from his cab ride from the airport as I'm typing this emergency prayer request, and I am going to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House tonight while Dave sleeps here (or doesn't sleep) at the hospital.

I take Cheryl to the airport tomorrow to go to Denver for a couple weeks.

Thank you for joining us in prayer on this, we are worried of course.

Stacy