Friday, July 13, 2012

Ivana and Tarja's Road to Recovery

Since my last post, we have been at pediatric unit of the Coventry Hospital in Lubbock, Texas.  If you read my last post, I mentioned that Princess Ivana was sick.  I took her to the doctor Monday morning and was told that she possibly had a staph infection that originated from a little sore on her chin.  The doctor gave her a big shot of penicillin, and said that she would be ready by the next morning, and made an appointment to see her again the very next day to be sure of her progress.

By the next morning, she was considerably worse.  Two doctors from the clinic checked her over really well, and called a pediatrician in Odessa to see if he could see her right away, but due to short staffing, we were told that we should head to the emergency room at Medical Center in Odessa.  I went and got the King from work and we were off to Odessa. 

The ER doctor in Odessa was a jerk, and acted like he didn't really want to deal with us.  After running a few tests, he came in to say that he couldn't really figure out what was going on, and that he had summoned an ambulance to carry she and I to Lubbock.  Even in just the couple of hours of time that had lapsed between our visit to the clinic, and the doctor's decision to send us to Lubbock from the ER, her condition had shockingly worsened. 

The ambulance came to get the baby and me.  The King went home to organize the other three Princesses, and discovered that Tarja had developed the same condition.  He loaded her up in the truck and brought her to Lubbock with him.  As soon as he got here, he stayed in the hospital room with the baby, while I took Tarja to the ER of the hospital. 

After many tests, and teams of doctors looking into the situation, including an infectious disease specialist, it was determined that both children are infected with staph.  We don't have a clue as to how they got it, or how it became this serious.  Ivana has been on IV antibiotics for two, going on three days.  Tarja is getting the same medication in oral form, and has not been admitted to the hospital.  She is in the room with us, however, and doctors and nurses have been checking on her, even though she was only a patient in the ER. 

At the time of this writing, both girls are making fast progress.  Special thank yous and hugs to all of our family and friends who have been helping, and who have taken the time to pray for us.  It really does mean a great deal to me, and even though we can't have visitors, and are so far away from home, I don't feel like I've been in this alone.  There is a possibility that we could go home today. 

My mommy review of the hospital is a good one.  I have never been in a hospital or hospital unit that was specifically set up for children.  This one is all about the babies and kids.  The staff is very sensitive and friendly, not just to the little patients, but to us, as well.  They frequently pop in to ask if we need anything.   The only thing that we are lacking is a place to sleep, but all of our other needs have been met, and the girls are getting well a lot more quickly than I expected. 

At this point, I have no way of knowing when we will go home or what our orders will be when we get there, but I'm really hoping that we are nearing the end of this.  I look forward to reuniting with the rest of our family, and to being able to sleep in my own bed.  Tarja has been crying for the other Princesses.  She is lost without them.  After all, they are the Four Princesses. 

Love,
Laurel


1 comment:

  1. So glad they are healing. No doubt a stressful time for all of you. Hopefully you can rest soon. ((((((((((BIG HUGS)))))))))))

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