August 15th 2011: Sticky Sticky Yeast(Still)

So, tomorrow will mark a week since we have been in the hospital, we actually have not been here this long since Janessa was in the NICU! Right now we are at a stand point with the yeast still lingering in Janessa's central line, luckily for us her actual blood stream is clear of yeast, and her echo-cardiogram looked great, but it seems like this yeast just doesn't want to budge from her central line, it is such a sticky bug, and so hard to get rid of that I think the only solution will be to pull the line, and place a new one in. I honestly would hate to see this line go, as most TPN users would agree one only has so much access space for lines, and losing lines is something we don't look forward to, but the yeast just won't budge even with the anti fungal locks.

From my understanding from infectious disease is that if the locks remain in the line for 8 hours a day without TPN, fluids, medicines, etc running through there is a 70% success rate they will work, but for Janessa for some unknown reason hers are only being places for 6 which drops it to a 50% rate(tons of miscommunication here), almost like flipping a coin, unfortunately I think we landed on the wrong side of the coin, and will have to go through with surgery!

Janessa herself is doing wonderful, but you can tell she misses home, and doesn't want to be here anymore. The good news with her, she ate a decent sized meal today and never vomited, became distended(big hard tummy), or grouchy, it seems like she moved the majority of it through her bowels, hopefully it'll remain this way!!

August 13th 2011: Yeast

So we all know what yeast is, it's a fungus, it's found in foods, helps foods rise like bread, but it also contaminates the body, and for kids with central lines like Janessa it can make them very very sick! Well on the day we were suppose to be discharged which was Thursday, Janessa's line culture grew yeast :( her first ever line infection, which would explain why her temperature was 104'F. Yeast is very hard to treat, and has the tendency to grow back, so as soon at that information was found out, vanco a drug used to treat bacterial line infections was stopped and caspo an antifungal replaced it, Janessa also is on antifungal locks which sit in her line for 8 hours to help clear any fungus in her line. From my understanding it's a 50/50 sometimes it clears it sometimes it doesn't, and if it doesn't then the line has to be taken out and a new one must be put in, we are hoping it clears it up, but we won't for sure until Monday, if her cultures are negative Monday then we can go home :).

Another bad thing we found out is that Janessa also is growing the yeast in her bloodstream and not just in her line, that can make kids very sick as well, luckily she is already on an antifungal, and it is keeping it from progressing. So as of now we are just waiting in the hospital hopefully everything will clear up by Monday, if not we may be here an extra week waiting for a new line placement, and negative cultures!! I am glad she is so happy through out all of this, everyone keep her in your thoughts and prayers that she will overcome this infection soon!

Below is Janessa she is a bit puffy from all the fluid.