When Will Things Get Better??

When will things get better? That seems to be the question of the day. Every day. Haley is still recovering from viral meningitis/encephalitis. She feels rotten and has pain in her head, neck and back. Several days ago, she noticed that the incision in her back was swollen. It has increased in size and has become more painful in the past several days. She cannot lie on her back or her stomach because of the pain. She wants someone to stick a needle in it and drain it, but that would be dangerous if there is spinal fluid behind it (which is very likely.)

She is also experiencing fevers everyday. They go up to almost 103 at night. The doctors think this is from the meningitis. And...her kidney function is still not normal (probably from the meds she got in the hospital for her meningitis.)

Today we went to our family doctor to have a blood test to see if her kidney function is better. The results aren't back yet, so we don't know. Our doctor called Dr. Henderson, who thinks that there is a leak somewhere in the shunt. He wants to postpone her tethered cord surgery for at least a week due to the fevers. He said that he will do a blood patch when he does the surgery to hopefully plug the leak.

Of course, Haley is disappointed. She is sick of feeling sick and being in pain. She can't stand this huge bulge in her back and says it feels like it might explode. We are really at the end of our collective ropes. I told our family doctor that I would be happy to drive her up to Maryland to let Dr. Henderson see her in the clinic so he can see it for himself and get a good idea about what is going on. We will know tomorrow if Dr. H thinks that's a good idea. (I think my car can find its way up there without me driving it!)

For those who are brave of heart, here is a picture of her incision. It is on her lower back and it is really sore.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (if you're under 35, ask your parents what that means), we covet your prayers. We are all feeling disheartened, especially Haley. Thanks, as always.