Going Out Kickin' and Screamin'

That would be me. Not William. That boy is so patient and calm and resilient. The light at the end of the tunnel is just a little farther than we thought and I'm frustrated. And we're still waiting for the fat lady to show up and start singing.

Saturday, 7:00 am, the call came from the hospital. Blood cultures positive after 24 hrs. William must come back to be admitted. Darn it. But I had slept restlessly anyway because the 24 hour mark was at 3 am and I was expecting a call at 3 am with a positive culture finding. That's the realist in me.

The biggest bummer of this whole ordeal is UCSF gave William 4 tickets, 7th row, to the Giants vs. Dodgers baseball game tonight and he had invited 2 friends to go with him to celebrate finishing his treatment. As I drove to the hospital I thought, "They can pull the broviac today, give him a dose of antibiotics and send him home on oral antibiotics and since it's early, there may be a chance he'll make it out in time to make it to SF for the game. Or maybe they'll give him a dose of antibiotics and let him go to the game and come back tomorrow." Then I realized how completely ludicrous those thoughts were because nothing moves in a timely, predictable manner in a hospital. A positive culture typically means 10 day of I.V. antibiotics and even if I could convince them that I could administer them at home, he is usually kept in the hospital until the cultures are negative or he is fever-free for 24 hours. Oh well. Sometimes I need my thoughts to entertain me and keep the optimist in me alive.

After the doctor's here consulted SF, it was decided any scenario that got him to the game was not possible. I get that. His safety/health isn't worth unnecessary risks. The risk of sepsis (blood infection) is high, especially with a broviac. We were informed his broviac couldn't be removed until Monday at the earliest because the low staffing on weekends and the surgeons typically only do scheduled weekend procedures and emergencies. Evidently my emergency is not theirs. Home antibiotics aren't possible because the home health agency is closed on the weekends and wouldn't be able to complete the order for home meds until Monday. I broke the news gently to William. He got teary, but I promised him his dad would take him to another game, but the seats may not be as good!:) He's so good.

Oh, and did I mention his broviac could have been removed last week? Due to the Monday holiday last week, the time slots for oncology procedures were full from those unable to be performed on Monday. We have this bad luck thing with weekends and holidays. And just when we thought it couldn't get worse, we got stuck in the quad room. Ugh.

And just when we thought it couldn't get worse than that...I'll spare you the details on the less than kindred spirit roommate situation. Let's just say that I'm glad the Benedryl knocked out William for several hours so he missed the graphic language lesson. I even tried plugging my ears.

Now, I'm happy to report some good news. The wonderful, understanding oncologist, in her infinite wisdom, thought to mention William's case to the surgeon today so she could get him on her radar for a possible Monday procedure. The surgeon's reply went something like this. "Oh, I'm not busy this weekend. I'll do it tomorrow. " She then stopped by our room and asked, "How does 9 am sound?" Beautiful. Marvelous. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

William will have a peripheral line placed to continue I.V. antibiotics for 1-2 days. (We're hoping for one day). Then he can be sent home on oral antibiotics since his risk of infection is much lower without his broviac. So here's to hoping for a Monday night or Tuesday discharge!

William can't wait to run his hand over his chest and not feel any tubes, soak in the tub up to his neck, and jump in a swimming pool. I can't wait for bedtime to come and not have to flush his lines, do a dressing change, or change his caps. Then maybe I'll do less kicking and screaming and more singing and dancing.