Fingers crossed Daisy is continuing to do well, not of course without her little ups and downs, which once upon a time seemed such a major thing and are now just another thing...... Her recent cardiology appointment showed that her heart is enlarged and the mild cardiomyopathy she has always had has become a bit worse, probably as a result of the infections and medications. We are now looking at starting heart meds, this was inevitable at some point in Daisy's life so it will be just another thing to add to the melting pot. Before starting these however she will see a renal specialist to discuss her high blood pressure. Yes - you read it correctly, when you are a child and your bp is high you are referred to a kidney specialist....it's because of the kidney's role in managing some of the chemicals which play a part in how the heart functions - especially things like sodium and potassium levels in the blood stream.
We hope to fit this in during next week's Great Ormond Street stay. We are now officially in countdown for this stay, which regular readers of this blog will know that I am not looking forward too. While it will be great to get some more biopsies taken and also see whether the drug regime has helped with the massive gut inflammation and scarring, I just hate being on Rainforest Ward with Daisy. Our previous stays have been so depressing, not just because they have always involved bad news and emergencies, but also the staff seem to be so demotivated and the ward morale is just awful. I did phone Great Ormond Street today to check that they now had 3 clear MRSA swabs from Daisy's gastrostomy site - 3 clear swabs means she can leave her cubicle and take advantage of the play facilities available at GOS, and as we all know, 3 clear swabs from another hospital do not count. The good news is that all 3 of her last GOS swabs are now clear!!!! The bad news is that the last swab grew pseudomonas - another hard to eradicate bug. Isn't it great how they made sure Daisy's local hospital were informed of this (not!). She will be reswabbed at the local hospital tomorrow to see if she is still colonised with this bug. Being colonised is fine, in a person with a normal immune response, but in Daisy's case, as with the MRSA, if these bugs get into her blood stream it could be fatal. Life once again is like a game of Russian Roulette.....
I am still pushing to get sign off to be able to reset and manage Daisy's hospital TPN pump - this would mean that we could leave the hospital for a couple of hours without a nurse. I could take her to school for a few hours, or down to our hospice or even home.....The problem is this has never been done before so all sorts of risk assessments and disclaimers have to be worked out, I'm going to keep pushing for this as Daisy needs to be in school occasionally, she needs the social interaction and she especially needs the access to the specialist facilities her school offers (it is a specialist school for children with vision impairments).
Last Friday the ward did a fundraiser for Comic Relief Red Nose Day, Daisy and I had the best day. The nurses made her a cute T shirt and she dressed up in Mini Mouse ears, a ballet tutu and wings. We love watching the Comic Relief on TV and again I was struck by how fortunate Daisy is in the lottery of life. Had she been born in the third world there is no way she would be alive today, I know I knock the NHS sometimes but I am so grateful for the fantastic free treatment we get. Our hospital is only 12 minutes drive away and then we have access to many world class facilities in specialist hospitals in London..... anyway, watching Comic Relief made me realise, sometimes I get down about things but the bigger picture is that Daisy has truly enriched our lives, and changed them. I found this quote the other day that sums up how Daisy has taught us to cherish the little things and live for the moment;
One day at a time- this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering
(Ida Scott Taylor)
Yesterday we had a beautiful thirty minutes when Daisy was allowed off her TPN and was just attached to her enteral pump - we walked a circuit around the hospital as a family. This was the best thing ever, enjoying an early spring evening with my husband and all four children - a beautiful moment to keep us going through the tough times.
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Glad its going better for you although the one step at a time was noted. Spk soon x
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