Lots going on with Maggie today and the rest of the week. First off to the left is a picture when she came back from Childrens in her new pink hat.OK, so what I forgot to post yesterday is that Maggie received a spinal tap (aka LP) to see if the infection was spreading through her spinal fluid, it has not which is good news. As I said yesterday, they have determined that she has a fungal infection and have started her on difoucan. Today, they have decided to stop the difoucan and move on to a different antibiotic, ambizone which covers a lot more fungi, but does have a few more side effects, which they will monitor. The doctors say the side effects tend to occur more in adults rather than babies, but they will keep an eye out. How does one get a fungal infection? It seems that when you are on antibiotics not only does it kill the bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria which would normally kill the fungus. If Maggie's platelets do not rise and her blood cultures keep coming back with fungus, they may need to remove the PICC line because an invasive line like a PICC line can contribute to the infection. They will be taking ultrasounds, blood samples and performing eye exams this week to see if the infection has spread to the eyes and kidneys.
The doctors have stopped the clintomycin, but have left Maggie on the ventimycin and gentimycin to still treat her for the NEC. We hope the the XRAYs and blood cultures from today will continue to rule out NEC for now and allow Maggie to come off these antibiotics in 48 hours.
We are still waiting for the Neurologist to come by and take a look at Maggie's right arm as we don't think it's moving right and tends to hang at an awkward angle.
Maggie will also receive a blood transfusion today because her red blood count is a bit low because she has been fighting the infections. The transfusion should give her a bit more strength.
Maggie's Current Meds (as always, please excuse spelling)
ambizone - for fungal infection
ventimycin - for NEC
gentimycin - for NEC
caffeine - for memory/breathing
vitamin A - Dose 10 of 12 on Monday
This Week:
Eye Exam - possibly Wednesday
Neurologist visit - possibly today
Transfusion - today
Love the hat! Pink is a good color on her :) I hope all of the tests turn out in Maggie's favor.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty in her new hat! Ok, Maggie...time to get serious and kick these infections to the curb. Thinking of you all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hat picture she looks very cute in it!
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon, Maggie!
She is adorable in her little pink hat!
ReplyDeleteand yes phil, i'll give you props for the this week in baseball reference..
ReplyDeletefingers crossed on the tests!