First Fever

Thatcher had his first fever since transplant and was admitted to Vanderbilt Children's over the 4th of July weekend. Thatcher was admitted Saturday morning and discharged Tuesday evening. He's better now and we're glad to be home, again. It was apparently a virus, but nothing with Thatcher is simple. All fevers, especially this close to transplant, have to be fully investigated to see if it is rejection.

Our holiday weekend began Friday with labs as usual that revealed Thatcher's white blood cell count (WBC) was high. Thatcher was acting fine, no fever, but I had a sneaking suspicion we were going to be admitted to the hospital. In the past, prior to transplant when Thatcher was a breeding ground for bacteria, a high white count meant we knew to pack our bags for at least a 48 hour stay. However, post transplant they did not feel the need to admit him over a high WBC. Dr. Gillis called Friday and said if it was a bug, it would let us know before Tuesday...it did.

The sides of the hospital bed look like prison bars when they're all the way up

Thatcher acted fussy and tired Friday night but still no fever but woke up Saturday morning early with a low grade fever. Knowing his white count was high, we had been instructed to head into the ER if he showed a fever. I packed our bags, said good-bye to Amelia and BJ, and took Thatcher into the ER as we called the on-call doctor. By the time we got to the ER, Thatcher's temp was 103 rectally. (We cannot give Tylenol until we are instructed to do so). Long story short, Thatcher's last fever was Sunday evening and none of his cultures grew anything meaning it was not bacterial and likely viral. Most importantly, his liver numbers have remained good.

Needless to say, Thatcher has impeccable timing...somthing about the holidays! Thatcher's first Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's, Easter, and now 4th of July have been in the hospital. He doesn't have a clue of course, neither does Amelia. This is such a blessing, but honestly, BJ and I take it pretty hard. We were pretty disappointed about being admitted over the holiday. Besides worrying about Thatcher being ok, the service is not the best over a holiday and it feels like the world is moving past you. I feel completely childish and selfish for feeling this way. Poor Thatcher was stuck 10 times from Friday to Tuesday!

Happy 4th of July

He is catching back up on eating and back to his old self, thank God. I hope and pray this will get better the further from transplant we get, but we are only 3 months out and must remain patient. No doubt, I blame myself partially, but I plan to learn from this and continue to be diligent in Thatcher's care and pray for his full recovery.

Our view of the downtown fireworks