Replies

"No News is Good News" is kind of the feeling here
Since I wrote this update, she got her blood drawn and then we were able to go to the thrift store she wanted to go to for a bit as well.
But, here is an update I wrote yesterday on FB in case anyone is interested. I'm not going to ping everyone, unless I have time in a moment to go through my list, and FReepmails... :)

A Fungus Among Us -- UPDATE ON AMANDA 2/16 - 2:00 PM

Amanda will be getting blood tests drawn at our local lab here today, to check on how much of her medication is being absorbed. Please pray that her bloodwork is good so she doesn't have to go back into the hospital for IV medication for a few days... We'd love for her to be able to stay home now if possible, of course. Good thing is, if she does need to go back in we can go to the closer hospital vs. St. Joseph's (20 min. vs. an hour away).

Amanda is doing pretty well. Her pain is well managed with Tylenol III (w/codeine), the inflammation is going down and no low-grade fever due to the Ibuprofen she is on, and she seems to be tolerating her pill form anti-fungal well, too. No bad side effects, except a little flushing/sweating when the Tylenol or the Anti-Fungal hits her bloodstream, but that doesn't last too long at all (15-20 mins?).

Amanda is kind of enjoying the fact that she's getting spoiled with her favorite juices, and foods! LOL The rest of my girls' are so awesome helping me with taking care of her. Mandy even took her meds on time this morning with her sister's help before I woke up! Manda of course feels a little guilty needing so much help, but I explained that everyone needs help at least once in their lives, and that's what families are for so not to feel bad! :)

Her wheelchair arrived this morning - we are getting it switched to one that will let her elevate her leg so she can spend time at the library and the mall with her sisters. We got a follow-up call from the hospital and they are working to get the wheelchair order changed to one with elevated leg pads. (Should be no problem at all...).

They are still pushing paperwork for her liquid anti-fungal, but her infectious disease doctor and his office should be working with our Insurance today to get that all worked out. Not too worried about that, just wish it was faster because she really does need the liquid...

So far so good! My husband's new boss is an AWESOME guy - very cool about everything going on, which given the economy and that it's a new job it's a good thing. A person kind of worries no matter what with missing work and all. His boss assured him yesterday that his missing work is the least of our worries, so that helps!

Thanks again everyone for your continued prayers for Amanda and our family! We feel well taken care of, that's for sure! :) Thank God for all the little blessings we've received along the way - and I firmly believe everyone's good wishes, prayers and love have a lot to do with that.

God bless all of you & your loved ones,
LR

UPDATE - 2/16 8:30 AM - LIVER LEVELS RISING (NOT GOOD)

Here is an update I just wrote on FB in my notes. I figure the easiest thing to do is just copy & paste.

Hi everyone,

I just got a phone call from Amanda's Infectious Disease Doctor's office. Her bloodwork came back and her liver enzymes are a little high. Nothing to worry about at this point, but if they get worse they will have to figure out new medications, or put her in with IV meds or something. She will have more tests run first thing in the morning on Friday, so they will have the results that afternoon before the weekend starts...

Please pray that her liver calms down, and is able to tolerate these medicines -- she is on the one that works the best with this infection, so we really want her to be able to stay on them, not at the expense of her liver though, of course!

The options we are looking at depending upon her liver panel tomorrow are putting her in the hospital for a few days for IV meds, or changing the medication. She wasn't too clear about it, but that was my impression. We aren't at a stage to worry about Jaundice, but she said to keep an eye out for it, just in case...

Other than worrying about her liver now, everything else is working out well...

We should be able to check on the liquid anti-fungal as soon as Kevin is off work. The pharmacy couldn't check if they had accepted the claim and other paperwork because it automatically denied the "refill" due to her still having one day left of the pills! But, they ordered it for her earlier this week, anyway, so they have it, even if the claim won't go through correctly yet... (Ugh, insurance - don't get me wrong though, with the costs associated with treating Amanda, I'm very grateful to have good insurance! We will only be responsible for our $1000.00 deductible which she probably met during her ER visit a while ago... And definitely met it in full with the first MRI! Thank God!)

Kevin, Tina and I all have colds right now - stuffy noses, sneezing, etc... We think we got it from Kevin's work where there are half a dozen guys out sick right now. Kevin came down with it first over the last weekend and seems to be getting better already. I just hope I didn't pick up my cold in the hospital - lots of sick kids all around us. I think I'm feeling worse (slept almost all day and night yesterday) simply because I'm so emotionally drained right now... I'm just glad my girls are older and can actually help now when "Mom" gets sick! :)

I really can't thank everyone enough for their prayers, good wishes and support. I know I keep saying that, but it's so true. Everyone's wonderful posts of encouragement, and advice have helped us out a lot. Just knowing that there are people who've "got your back" so to speak is a real blessing when going through scary & difficult times like this. I'm grateful for the friends I have in my life who are like that. :)

I'll write another update once we know the results of tomorrow's blood tests RE: her liver functioning. Please pray that the problem goes away, or at least stays where it is and doesn't get any worse. Please also pray for her doctors, so they catch any other potential problems really early if they are to occur!

God bless you & yours,
LR
[I will go through and fix my copy of my update list in a moment and then will ping everyone to this note. Thanks again for everyone's prayers. I greatly appreciate it!]