The latest...
So as you all saw yesterday through my pictures we indeed didn't get to come home. No surprise there right? I packed up all of our stuff, got Matty's car seat all set up and in the stroller, and got everything ready to go. We went downstairs to do some crafts for Ceej and the nurse came to find us and tell us the case manager wanted to talk to us about the plan for in home health when we went home. Sweet, everything still on track. Morning rounds went well, his back was looking amazing, he was happy as a clam. Let's do this!
And then, he and I were laying on his play mat hanging out and instead of the case manager Dr. Bowman's APN comes in to tell us the gram stain cultures were growing. The look on her face said it all - yesterday was the Cubs someday but it certainly wasn't going to be ours. The cultures were growing staph aureus. Good thing - we now know what we are fighting. Bad thing - we aren't going home until we figure out at plan. So what does all this mean?
Matty's neurosurgeon has turned the case over to the infectious diseases team once again now that we have an identification for what we are fighting. They are the experts and Dr. Bowman and her team will work with the team and take their recommendation on the best antibiotic and length of treatment. Ok, so why couldn't they make that determination yesterday and send us on our way? With these gram stain infections - they need to let the cultures grow to determine all of the sensitivities as they call them. Initially remember the cultures showed clear. The test was to take a sterile sample of the pus that drained from his back and do a bacterial culture. They use the sample and smear it on agar - a special substance in petri dishes (crazy but I used to grow bacteria as my first job in college as I was a science major wanting to do biomedical engineering but that's a story for a different day.). Then if bacteria are present they will start to grow - which is what showed for us yesterday at the 24 hour mark. They then use chemical tests to see the sensitivities of the bacterial and determine is MRSA or MSSA is present. This process takes anywhere from 2-5 days. Then, the infectious diseases team can use that information to determine the best antibiotic to attack the infection as well as the strength, length, etc. No matter what the cultures show the antibiotic he's been on since he's been here - Bactrim - will treat MRSA if that's indeed what it ends up being.
No matter what the cultures show they are likely going to switch up the antibiotic because Bactrim is a 90 minute infusion twice a day. A little complicated for me with 3 at home. So we likely will have more frequent but shorter infusions and preliminary they are thinking a 10 day course from when it was drained - which was Wednesday. So the current plan is he will have the picc through at least 11/15. He will be on antibiotics through the picc line for likely 10-14 days, stop them for 24 hours, and see his neurosurgeon at that time so she can assess how he's doing and hopefully ok the picc line to come out.
So for now we wait for the cultures to finalize and for the ID team to make their recommendation - but with the Cubs parade and rally and the fact that we don't have in home health set up yet (we don't know the antibiotic, dose, etc.) - I would judge to say we are here for one more night but we will see - stranger things have happened right? Thank you so so much for all your love and prayers over the past 2.5 weeks, offers to bring food, help with the 2 at home...all of it. It's more appreciated that you will ever know.
XOXO
K
And then, he and I were laying on his play mat hanging out and instead of the case manager Dr. Bowman's APN comes in to tell us the gram stain cultures were growing. The look on her face said it all - yesterday was the Cubs someday but it certainly wasn't going to be ours. The cultures were growing staph aureus. Good thing - we now know what we are fighting. Bad thing - we aren't going home until we figure out at plan. So what does all this mean?
Matty's neurosurgeon has turned the case over to the infectious diseases team once again now that we have an identification for what we are fighting. They are the experts and Dr. Bowman and her team will work with the team and take their recommendation on the best antibiotic and length of treatment. Ok, so why couldn't they make that determination yesterday and send us on our way? With these gram stain infections - they need to let the cultures grow to determine all of the sensitivities as they call them. Initially remember the cultures showed clear. The test was to take a sterile sample of the pus that drained from his back and do a bacterial culture. They use the sample and smear it on agar - a special substance in petri dishes (crazy but I used to grow bacteria as my first job in college as I was a science major wanting to do biomedical engineering but that's a story for a different day.). Then if bacteria are present they will start to grow - which is what showed for us yesterday at the 24 hour mark. They then use chemical tests to see the sensitivities of the bacterial and determine is MRSA or MSSA is present. This process takes anywhere from 2-5 days. Then, the infectious diseases team can use that information to determine the best antibiotic to attack the infection as well as the strength, length, etc. No matter what the cultures show the antibiotic he's been on since he's been here - Bactrim - will treat MRSA if that's indeed what it ends up being.
No matter what the cultures show they are likely going to switch up the antibiotic because Bactrim is a 90 minute infusion twice a day. A little complicated for me with 3 at home. So we likely will have more frequent but shorter infusions and preliminary they are thinking a 10 day course from when it was drained - which was Wednesday. So the current plan is he will have the picc through at least 11/15. He will be on antibiotics through the picc line for likely 10-14 days, stop them for 24 hours, and see his neurosurgeon at that time so she can assess how he's doing and hopefully ok the picc line to come out.
So for now we wait for the cultures to finalize and for the ID team to make their recommendation - but with the Cubs parade and rally and the fact that we don't have in home health set up yet (we don't know the antibiotic, dose, etc.) - I would judge to say we are here for one more night but we will see - stranger things have happened right? Thank you so so much for all your love and prayers over the past 2.5 weeks, offers to bring food, help with the 2 at home...all of it. It's more appreciated that you will ever know.
XOXO
K
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