We always knew that when Kai gets sick it will require a trip to the hospital and a bit of a stay... we had no idea how intensive that stay would be, though!
We have been visiting family in Ohio for the last month. Various bumps in the road have disrupted our plans here and there; I fell ill with bronchitis, Kai started teething again and is cutting 4 molars all at once... Last Sunday, Kai appeared to be having a little tummy trouble but she was, otherwise, in good spirits so I decided that it was probably gas or a side effect of teething. The next morning she was inconsolable and, as the day wore on, her temperature sky rocketed to 103. The symptoms of organ rejection are the same as any cold or virus: fever, diarrhea, irritability... all of which she had. I was panicked.
Being away from home, I wasn't sure what action to take as any trip to the ER could prove more detrimental to her with her immune suppression because there are so many sick people there that she could catch something from.
After a call to her Doctors in Washington, DC, we took her to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. They have a Pediatric Liver Transplant Program there and would be able to treat her effectively.
After nearly a week in the hospital, several IV lines, a PICC line to her heart, an x-ray, ultrasound, contemplation of a CAT scan, multiple blood tests each day and one blood transfusion later, it was determined that she must have had some kind of tummy bug.
One might think all that to be an overreaction to such a thing but, every time Kai gets sick, this is what we have to go through. Her doctors have to make sure she is not in rejection and/or doesn't have some kind of infection in the transplanted liver or surrounding tissue. They also have to help her fight off any other infections or viruses she might have as her immune system is suppressed and she has trouble fighting off illness on her own.
We are home, now, and Kai is doing very well.
As extreme as it seems, this is "normal" for us. This is just life with Kai.
We have been visiting family in Ohio for the last month. Various bumps in the road have disrupted our plans here and there; I fell ill with bronchitis, Kai started teething again and is cutting 4 molars all at once... Last Sunday, Kai appeared to be having a little tummy trouble but she was, otherwise, in good spirits so I decided that it was probably gas or a side effect of teething. The next morning she was inconsolable and, as the day wore on, her temperature sky rocketed to 103. The symptoms of organ rejection are the same as any cold or virus: fever, diarrhea, irritability... all of which she had. I was panicked.
Being away from home, I wasn't sure what action to take as any trip to the ER could prove more detrimental to her with her immune suppression because there are so many sick people there that she could catch something from.
After a call to her Doctors in Washington, DC, we took her to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. They have a Pediatric Liver Transplant Program there and would be able to treat her effectively.
After nearly a week in the hospital, several IV lines, a PICC line to her heart, an x-ray, ultrasound, contemplation of a CAT scan, multiple blood tests each day and one blood transfusion later, it was determined that she must have had some kind of tummy bug.
One might think all that to be an overreaction to such a thing but, every time Kai gets sick, this is what we have to go through. Her doctors have to make sure she is not in rejection and/or doesn't have some kind of infection in the transplanted liver or surrounding tissue. They also have to help her fight off any other infections or viruses she might have as her immune system is suppressed and she has trouble fighting off illness on her own.
We are home, now, and Kai is doing very well.
As extreme as it seems, this is "normal" for us. This is just life with Kai.
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