We're back...

Hey friends. If you've been following along on Facebook, you know that Ethan has been running a low-grade fever since Thursday afternoon. He was seen by Dr. J in clinic on Friday and everything looked a-ok -- chest x-ray, labs, incisions all checked out just fine!

However, Ethan's fever spiked to 102 degrees yesterday afternoon and we brought him to the emergency department around 8:00 last night with bags packed.  They started an IV, drew labs and blood cultures, analyzed his urine and ordered an abdominal x-ray. We were brought to a room around 11:00 and we'll be here until at least Tuesday morning.

On rounds this morning, we learned that his CBC levels are elevated compared to Friday's levels, which is a bit unsettling, but that his abdominal x-ray and urine analysis looked okay. The plan is to let him rest today, get an abdominal ultrasound, and draw more labs tomorrow. The team is watching the cultures for any growth and he is on two different (and very strong) IV antibiotics, which he'll be on for at least 48 hours.

If tomorrow's labs look okay, and nothing has shown up on the cultures, we'll be able to go home Tuesday. If the labs are unchanged, or trending in the wrong direction, we'll be here for a week.

The concern is that there could be a possible infection on Ethan's pacemaker hardware, hence all the abdominal testing.  As the attending said this morning, we may be squashing a fly with a sledgehammer, but it's a considerably better plan than having to open him back up to clean out an infection that was allowed to run rampant.

Please pray for us. Ethan is actually excited about sleeping in the hospital again, but I can't say Jeramie and I are as thrilled. We covet your prayers and continue to be so encouraged by them!