Update on little addie. She went to her normal consult at the HIV clinic today and to repeat her blood tests to see if the infection is better and think about if she should start TB treatments or if we're taking it off the table. When she arrived the doctor did a few tests and saw that she was pretty seriously anemic (low oxygen carrying cells) and the infection wasn't better. In fact over the weekend she had been worsening despite the antibiotics. So we were told that she needed to be admitted to the hospital to stay for lots of tests and start treatment when we figured out what is wrong with her. The clinic wanted her to be admitted to a pretty horrible community hospital. We disagreed and decided we would go to the big city hospital (not that they are anywhere near a place I would even think about entrusting my life even if I was litterally actively dying) that is affiliated with the university in town. Off I went with little Addie to the hospital, praying that we got an amazing doctor with lots of wisdom that would help us, and be kind to the fact that are transfer letter we were bringing was written to another hospital. God answered prayers, and we were quickly shown in to see a doctor I saw a few months ago who is great. In fact, he's the only doctor that has actually listened to my assessment, the whole story, and my suggestions for her care. They are used to the parents/family and nurses not knowing a dang thing and normally just ignore you, mumble a bunch, not even assess the kid and just write out an assessment anyway, prescribe antibiotics and send you on your merry way (or not so merry). Or if they do perform tests, they fixate to one tiny thing and believe it is the only thing wrong with the child because there's no possible way that the case is complicated or that we should treat for multiple disease processes at the same time. He recognized me immediately and got right into figuring out her problem. I was relieved. We completed all the tests he wanted (praise God they drew blood on the first stick as she had been already stuck once before today), the xray (where you litterally dangle the kid from the arms in front of an xray machine), saw the doctor the 2nd time, got her admission papers, had an IV placed and more labs drawn, and was shown to her unit all in under 2 hrs. That's actually amazing here! So they are starting her on IV ampicillan and gentamycin as they are standard hospital protocol for anyone that sneezes, coughs, has a fever, a runny nose, blinks, or breaths on admission. They are going to continue giving her medication for the still not gone yet thrush (fungal infection) in her mouth, and run more tests to verify that she does in fact have TB (her tb test was negative today but that's pretty normal with a tiny baby and even for just a person with HIV). But he agreed with me and wants to do an aspirate of her 2 ginormous lymph nodes to verify that's where it is and possibly rule out meningitis (caused by the Tuberculosis infection). I left her with a tia she's never met before today who has never stayed in the hospital with a kid before. The hospitals here are very different. You have to bring everything for yourself and the tia that is staying with her....diapers, wipes, baby soap, bibs, clothes, blankets, towels, formula, bottles, water to prepare the bottles, food if she was eating, ect....then anything the tia will need (including food) while she stays with her. Addie is being admitted to their version of the ICU where the tia will be required to stay awake 24-7 (I'm not kidding) to watch addie (don't even get me started on what the nurses do.....ummm.....I'm still sorting this one out myself). The tia has already been here since monday AM and will now be required to stay awake 24-7 until Saturday morning (assuming addie stays that long) when she will be relieved and another tia will exchange places with her. We will bring them both supplies on a daily basis.
Please continue to pray for the doctors who are providing her care and making the medical decisions (I'm pretty sure it will be the same doctor as he admitted her, but I'm not exactly sure). Pray that they will find out all her sources of infection and have wisdom in how to treat her. Pray she will respond quickly to the medications and will start thriving. Please pray for the tia providing all her care while she is in hospital. Pray that Addie is comforted and quickly starts feeling better. That whatever is affecting her will be removed from her tiny body. Pray for her family (she has 3 siblings) and her father who just watched his wife die of the same illness less than 6 wks ago. Pray for comfort and peace and assurance. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. God has placed Addie in our hands to care for and we have to daily hand her back over to God, trusting His provisions, His plans, His ways, and His timings in keeping these kids! I will give you updates as I know them. Thanks in advance. Prayers really do work and although I hate leaving a child in the hospital here I also know that we need answers and fast and to start treatment and this is probably the only way! So I'm trusting.
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