Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Infectious Disease Doctor

It's taken me a while to get on here and give this update, but here it goes.

The main result from today is he left Brittney on the same meds she's been taking - Rifampin & Doxycylcine - but he upped the dosage & extended the length of time she is on it. He also told her no more cosmetic jewelry earrings - only posts/studs & they must be sterling silver or gold. She has to soak them in alcohol every night & then coat them w/the antibiotic cream before replacing in her hear. She stays w/the antibiotic cream application of 3x per day in her ears. Showers only & must use Dials soap.

So the good news is that it is a "nuisance" infection. Yes, it's still MRSA & dangerous, but it's NOT in her lungs, bloodstream or gut. We have to continue to aggressively treat it, but it IS treatable right now & not deadly. Bad news is since it is in the outer "tissue" of her ear, there is limited bloodflow in that area of her body. Breakdown - take longer to heal. ARGH! (Think nuisance. Think nuisance.)

Other good news is he gave her a clean pass for school and back to normal cheerleading activities. As you can imagine w/MRSA (dangerous, highly contagious staph infection) - there is a bit of pariah status that goes with it. However, the ID doc said that since she is being aggressively treated, SHE is not the danger. It's everyone else who can be dangerous to her. She is a MRSA carrier - will always be. Likely what happened, according to the doc, is someone else at school who is having an outbreak gave it to HER! You can imagine what a load that took off of her mentally! It's hard enough being a 16 year old these days. Add in having a contagious "disease", watch out!!

So - we are back to playing the waiting game. She'll be on the meds for another 14 days. Let's start counting...

News of all sorts

Well, first the GOOD NEWS!!! Miss Kaley slept in her bed ALL NIGHT LAST NIGHT - from about 9:15 to 9:00 this morning! YAHOO!!!! We finished the bedtime ritual (bath, book, tuck in, deciding which sound from the noise maching) around 8:30. Pumpkin & I both expected lots of tears, sobs, etc., but boy were we surprised - there was NONE! She maybe called for us or came out of her room 6 or 7 times until she just curled up & went to sleep about 45 minutes later. NOT BAD at all for her first night!! She came to get me around 9:15 this morning. She had changed into clothes and was grinning EAR to EAR! She couldn't wait to call her Daddy and let him know that she slept in her bed all night long! She kept saying how she was a big girl and wasn't scared anymore! YAY KALEY!!!!!!!

Next news isn't good or bad - just another step in our journey with Brittney's MRSA. The new antibiotics (round 4) aren't working at all. Her right ear is getting worse. SO - today we have an appointment with the infectious disease doctor. We went to see them during the last episode, and it wasn't effective. We're hoping for a much different outcome this time. Her appointment is at 1:30. I'll put something on Twitter from my phone.

Final news is not mine to share, but she knows who I'm talking about. S - I am sooooo excited for you! What an answer to A LOT of prayers! YAHOO!

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Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas Day!

SO FUN!!! We had a wonderful day. Now we are packing and getting ready to go to Alabama, so no time to write. BUT I wanted to post some video!

Here is the "First Look!"

Here is Tripp finding the REAL basketball goal.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Fast Line Riders!



Scott, Donnetta, Brittney, Tripp & Kaley

We are constantly a WORK IN PROGRESS!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Christmas Program

Short little blog...

Today was Kaley's Christmas program at school. TOO CUTE! They have been practicing the songs for a couple of weeks now. All of the smaller kids were in the front. They were dancing and laughing and pointing/calling out to their moms. Kaley did LOTS of nose picking - yes, you read correctly - nose picking!!! Poor baby, she was having issues! There was also tongue sticking out occasions, fighting with Tyler (he's the cute red head beside Kaley), pulling up her tights and removing clothes. Of course, singing would not be singing without some Hannah Montana attitude occasionally thrown in! Also, every now & then she disappears when she decides to sit down. Basically it was a typical Christmas program for 2 & 3 year olds. It was PRECIOUS!

Here are a couple video clips. I have laughed out loud numerous times when watching! The little blonde with the black dress is our neighbor, Bailey.

Classic nose picking!



Here Kaley and her buddy Tyler are having a little disagreement. :) Kaley thought "Tyler was rocking baby Jesus too hard."






Kaley was having some problems with her tights here! More nose picking! I love it when towards the end she squeals & Tyler gives her a look and just she holds out her hands like "Oh well!"



Talk to you soon!



Sunday, December 14, 2008

Here we go

OK, we're OFF on this blog thing! :) Our days are very busy, with weekends usually being crazy. This weekend was no exception. A great thing about this weekend was Brittney only had to cheer Friday rather than the typical Friday & Saturday games. Yesterday was Kaley's 4th birthday party. 4 - ALREADY! I constantly am astounded at how quickly the time goes. When you are young, you think you never will be on your own and out from under your parents' thumbs and then you blink and you are married with kids and lives that are hectic and busy but so rewarding! Now, I look at Kaley and think how quickly it is going to go by since the last time I blinked, Brittney was just a baby! Anyway, Kaley's party at Sweet & Sassy was perfect! She had SO much fun and had all of her best girls there. They were all precious in their princess attire and tiaras. She was in her element for sure - front and center on stage singing and dancing to Hannah Montana! She got into the car after the party and said, "This was the best party EVER!" So cute!

We were able to come home with a little time to unload gifts, open some and then out to Tripp's basketball game. Put it this way - after his game, he said, "It's going to be a long season." :) BUT they have a great coach. It's amazing how much most of the kids have improved since the last season. There's a lot more competition. I was so proud of Tripp yesterday. He is maturing every day. He was called for a foul he obviously didn't agree with, but rather than getting angry, he kinda made a smirky-grin and just kept on playing. WOW!

Today was a Sweet & Sassy extension from yesterday. Somehow yesterday Brittney, Kaley & I FINALLY talked Scott into letting Kaley get her ears pierced. We badgered him until he broke! Her earrings are adorable, but there were lots of tears. Scott was not happy w/me & Brittney. Once it was all over I asked him if he was ok. His response was, "I hope y'all are happy now!" Obviously he doesn't understand girlhood! No, it didn't feel good to have it done, but so worth it later!


Off to enjoy the remaining bit of our weekend!