Tess takes a break from her blog

Ok, gang. Tess is resting so now so she gave me permission to post on her behalf.

I can't remember what I've told to each of you individually, so here's a brief rundown:

Thursday, 7:30 am: Tess' spica cast was put on (see some of her past posts). She was very upset with it (rather inconsolable at certain points on Thursday night).

Friday morning: Dr. Booker (our orthopedic doc) made some modifications to her cast to make her more comfortable (see past posts).

Friday, 4:00 pm: We were discharged from the hospital and got home at about 6:00 after stopping to fill Tess' prescription for baby valium.

Friday night: I was on Tess duty while Denise tried to get caught up on some much-needed sleep. Tess was waking up about every 20 minutes and then dozing back off. She didn't eat anything from 8:00 pm on Friday until 4:00 am on Saturday (very rare for a baby who normally loves meal time!).

Saturday morning: Tess was extremely lethargic and not interested in taking medicine or eating. She'd get very upset when being moved.

Saturday afternoon: Denise suggested we take her temperature during a routine diaper change. It was over 104 degrees. That warranted a phone call to Dr. Booker. He met us at the ER at about 3:00 pm and the first thing he said was, "The cast is coming off. I don't think it's causing the problems, but it's one thing we can alleviate from wondering about." He cut off the cast and Tess' skin underneath looked just fine. We will be meeting with him sometime soon to discuss Tess' hips (probably this coming week).

Saturday evening: We were admitted into the hospital for what appears to be at least a 2-night stay. At some points we had 10 or 12 people in Tess' room trying to figure out what her little body is fighting. Medication has brought her temp down thankfully, but her pulse had been hovering around 200 for a long time. She's been through a battery of tests (blood, spinal fluid, urine, more blood work, etc) and so far it's stumping the doctors.

I went home to let out Keillor at about 11:00 pm. Meanwhile Tess and Denise were relocated to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). I arrived back at about midnight just before they wheeled Tess down to the CT scanning room. One of the doctors noticed that her left groin area has expanded since she's been here so they wanted to get that checked out (so results yet). The focus seems to be on her hip/leg areas since she really gets upset when anyone touches those areas.

Within the last hour, she's been alert and watching us as we visit with her. She's also a big fan of watching the monitor that displays her vital stats. The Motrin has brought her fever down and she's on a powerful antibiotic.

She just dozed back off a few minutes ago. Here in the PICU we have a dedicated nurse that monitors Tess. She sits right outside the clear glass door of Tess' room. Both Denise and I are going to try to get a little sleep while Tess is doing the same.

I'll try update here as we learn more.  

Thank you for your prayers!
-Andy

Resting when we first arrived at the ER.

Hanging out in the PICU. Sorry for the quality - the lights were turned down and I didn't want to use the flash.