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5/4/06

9:25 PM: Well, it's been quite a day. I got the girls off to school and day care early this morning and headed in to RTI for a full day of work and meetings. A little after 2:00, I got a call from Sophie's day care that her rash seemed worse (red, irritated skin--and spreading to new areas). I called the on-call doctor, who said it sounds like they need to see it. There was no way I was going to get home, pick her up, and drive back to get her in to the clinic that day. He suggested I take her to our local pediatrician to have her seen and then plan on bringing her in to clinic at Chapel Hill the next day. They want to rule out things like chicken pox and herpes (he said it doesn't sound like those things, but he wants to be sure). He called the pediatrician for me to explain the situation, but the office was closing for the day. He thought taking her to the ER was overkill and suggested that unless I felt otherwise when I saw her myself, I should just plan on bringing her in tomorrow. So that's what I'll do after I get Elisabeth dropped off. A nurse friend stopped by tonight and said it looked to her like hives and that maybe the zyrtec is strong enough to keep it from itching but not strong enough to take care of the hives. The areas really seem concentrated on her face and lower arms (basically, everywhere that's not normally covered up by clothing), so I'm wondering if the septra is causing some kind of sun sensitivity. What I mostly hope is that they will take one look at her tomorrow, know exactly what it is, and know exactly how to fix it. That's probably wishful thinking, but I can always dream!

When I was talking with the doctor today (who I really like--I think we communicate well), I mentioned telling Melissa (T'yanna's mom) on Tuesday that I hoped he would be on call when they call in sometime because she hadn't had the pleasure of talking with him yet. He let me know that he had actually been on call last night and spoke with her and that they ended up admitting her (they wouldn't normally share patient information like that, but he knows I'm a friend and that Melissa wouldn't mind). I called and found out that T'yanna ended up getting a fever and it turns out that her ANC was low (which probably means she shouldn't have been out visiting earlier this week--but who knows?). If they can keep her fever down and her blood cultures come back clear, she might be released before the weekend, but we'll just have to see. Even if she is released, I'm sure her counts will remain low, so the recital is probably not going to work out. But Melissa is going to find out if they can put a mask on her or something, because T'yanna really wants to go. If the doctors say it's okay, we'll try to visit T'yanna while we're up there tomorrow.

Randall is having a good, productive visit with my mom and grandmother. Their big accomplishment for the day was rearranging the living room furniture so that Nannie can see the TV better (she has a lift chair that had been facing away from the TV). He'll stay again tonight and return home sometime tomorrow.

Comments

I saw Sophie at daycare on Thursday morning while dropping off Sara Katherine and noticed her rash. It didn't seem to be bothering her. I hope it gets better soon and am excited to see her and Elisabeth at the dance recital on Sunday. Good luck at Chapel Hill and hope you get good news.

Annette Sills

A dance recital, what fun! I hope that Sophie and Elisabeth have a good time at the recital.

I also hope the mystery rash is easily diagnosed and treated.

Karin