Day 314 - We were due for a fever - UPDATED @ 2:50

     Yesterday evening upon getting home from work I discovered that Evan was running a fever of 101.6.  Cristy had already called the hospital for guidance and left the house shortly thereafter to get through rush hour traffic.  They followed the typical script of Zosyn (antibiotic), a blood draw for counts and cultures and Tylenol.  His heart rate and breathing were elevated, but luckily the Tylenol broke the fever.  Prior to it being administered Evan's temp had risen to 103.2.

Finally got to eat something.

     As luck would have it one of Evan's Nurse Practitioners was still at the hospital and she came by to give him a quick check.   When I talked to Cristy on the phone she told me that the NP wanted to keep Evan for observation overnight because his WBC count was up since his last check.  She didn't know the number at that time so I had no reason to be alarmed.  It wasn't until after he got admitted to the cancer ward that I found out his WBC count was a 36!

     If you're unfamiliar with counts a normal WBC range for children is 5 - 10; a 36 was very surprising and something this high is usually indicative of an infection.  That said, I'm no doctor and he did just come off of steroids.  From talking with his primary doctor last time steroids stimulates the bone marrow so it could be a side effect from that.  I'm anxious to see what the medical team has to say about the findings.  His last MRI showed infections subsiding and nothing to be overly concerned with.

     Last night Evan didn't seem too distraught.  When I talked to him around 11 he wanted pizza and to go walking around the hospital.  I think he actually enjoys it there because his bedtime goes out the window, he has his own TV and I know he likes talking with the nurses.  Cristy told me this morning that there were no other fevers last night and that he was basically a puddle of sweat in bed.

Evan the Red Nosed Patient.

     I'll provide another update later once we find out if he's being released today or held for additional testing.

UPDATE @ 2:50 p.m.

     I got to the hospital just a bit before 2:00 to relieve Cristy and stay with Evan tonight.  He was happy to see me, especially since I brought a stash of sweets with me.  I got him out of school with his CHoA teacher and tried to plump him up with some McDonald's.  Awaiting me in the room was the ID team.  They came down to collect a bit more information about Evan and any red flags that might have stood out leading up to last night.

Jam session.

     The good news is his CRP and WBC counts were down from last night.  The bad news is those same markers are still extremely high.  If Evan was a normal patient they'd probably handle this situation much differently, but if there's one thing we've found out about Evan over these last 10 months it's that he's anything but normal.

Trending in a positive direction, but still too risky for release.

     He's not complaining of discomfort.  His skin doesn't show any unusual lesions or sores.  His ears, nose and throat all look normal.  Breathing and respiration in general is fine.  His urine and bowel movements also look as expected.  ID is at a bit of a loss right now.  Collectively the medical team is trying to decide how best to proceed.  For the time being Evan is on the most powerful antibiotic (Vancomycin) to potentially stamp down any infections which might not appear obvious and to prevent any blood related infections.

Doing some arts and crafts to pass the time.

     Until they feel more comfortable with the source or cause I don't think we'll be getting out.  I'll try to provide timely updates as they become available.