One step at a time...........

I'll begin with the great news of the day.......... the biopsy came back a big fat beautiful ZERO!!! So, rejection has nothing to do with why Mason is sick. Which is a great relief!!! Now Mason will get to start the slow weaning process of getting him completely off his steroids. Off the steroids Mason will have more of an immune system to fight off these yucky bugs that keep getting him so sick. He will still be immune suppressed on his anti rejection meds, but not nearly as much as when steroids are added to that.

What does Mason have then? He definitely has an infection in his lungs. The samples of his secretions that were tested have so far shown that he is 2+ gram positive with micro-organisms (which could be a bacteria like strep or staff) and has 4+ (which is a lot) white blood cells covering his lungs -suggesting inflammation and infection. The lab will continue to watch the samples to see if they grow anything else and also if with more time they can identify a specific micro-organism.

Right now Mason is still intubated because the docs want to see him loose a little more fluid before they extubate. Today they started iv diuretics to help pull some fluid off the lungs and also 2 antibiotics (Vancomycin & Fortaz). The diuretics have definitely seemed to help today and I hoping by tomorrow we will notice the the antibiotics are also helping. Mason spiked a high fever last night and has continued to have fevers all day, but if the antibiotics are working-by tomorrow the fevers should stop.

It is so sad to see Mason like this. He is pretty sedated so that he isn't bothered by the breathing tube and also so he won't try to pull it out. He is getting some much needed rest but occasionally he wakes up and seems quite miserable. Some rubbing of his forehead, holding his hand, and snuggling up to his favorite blanket usually help calm and soothe him. The hardest moments for me are when he looks at me and tears begin to roll down his cheeks. With the tube in he can't talk or cry, but I'm sure he wants to do both!!!

Praying that tomorrow will bring Mason one more step closer to recovering from this yucky illness. Praying that tomorrow will bring some sunshine and a smile back to Mason's face!