Too many trips to the ER

Thursday night we had a trip to the ER with Jenelle. While sleeping, I over-heard her choking - a common sound she makes when trying to vomit. I went to her to find her drooling and very lethargic. I then realized that earlier that evening, she had been breathing heavy and panting - all of which are signs of metabolic acidosis (where the blood is acidotic - too much CO in the blood.) I spoke to the metabolic doctor on call, and he sent us to the ER for labs, and said to prepare for possible admission. Jenelle had a fever the night before, so there was a possibility she could be sick.

At the ER, they ran many tests including a chest x-ray, blood and urine cultures. All the tests returned normal and her CO level was 27, which is absolutely perfect. The ER doctor assumed she had a virus, but said we did the right thing with the symptoms she presented. If she had been acidotic, she would have been admitted for treatment. We made it home at 3:00 a.m.

Saturday morning after Jack's soccer game, we had a message on our phone from the ER. Turns out Jenelle's blood culture returned positive for a bacterial infection. I took Jenelle back to the ER so they could re-do the blood culture to make sure the first wasn't contaminated, and for IV antibiotics just in case. Jenelle has been acting lethargic and of course an increase in seizures, so we assume the bacterial blood infection might be right. I just spoke to the lab at the ER and the bacteria was identified, but they are waiting to find out if it can be treated with oral antibiotics, or if we have to return. Good news though is that the second test is clear, which means oral antibiotics may be OK.

We are trying our best to keep her home - please keep us in your prayers that this can happen. Thanks and I'll keep you posted!