Tess is back

Tess just arrived back to her PICU room. She's allowed to recover up here since they've got all of the same staff and equipment as they would have in a regular recovery room. It's nice to have her back!

So we've got good news:

1. The MRI confirmed that there wasn't anything weird in her hip joints. Dr. Booker opened up the abscess (which was contained to muscle tissue) and drained 5 milliliters of puss. Our nurse, Robyn, gave me a visual of what 5 ml looks like and it's almost identical to the size of my pinky finger. That's quite an amount to come out of a 13 pound baby. That was definitely what was making her sick. The muscle fiber is cleaned out and the incision was left partially open so it can drain over the next 24 hours.

5 milliliters was no joke.

2. Tess' blood cultures that started growing in the lab yesterday came back positive for a bug. This is also great news because once that bug is identified, they will know exactly which antibiotic to prescribe. We'll learn more about this as the bug continues to develop in the lab. We expect a definitive answer on that tomorrow. 

We'll be spending the night here in the PICU and hopefully move up to the regular floor tomorrow. The PICU is great because we have a dedicated nurse, but the regular floor is a bit quieter and a nicer room for Tess' parents!

Our little mummy trying to keep warm as she recovers.

Our nurse was just saying that Tess' pain should be quite a bit less now that the abscess and pressure has been removed. They'll also keep her on pain meds to keep her comfortable, of course. We're excited for her to be a little more alert to try giving her some breast milk from a bottle.