My turn to Blog. Although Shana is still with me, Devree and I have been doing the routine so that I can learn my new job.
One of my assignments for today is to do the Blog. However, today was a little difficult because of all the excitement. Devree has a 103 degree fever and we have been going through the process of getting admitted to the hospital. I thought I would share my experience with all of you. Devree and Shana have been through all of this, but I thought I would share my perspective.
*** Everything is new! ***
Ruth (Nurse) met us and got Devree a room and took her vitals and blood. Then Franja (Nurse) came to help Ruth get the IV going and get all the materials to start anti-biotics. In the middle of all the preparations Dr. Richard (Really a Physician’s Assistant) came in to ask questions to make sure that there wasn’t anything extra going on in addition to her fever. Then Lee, Devree’s Nurse Practitioner came in to check on her, and then Dr. Heartford (The Attending Physician) came in to actually do all the in depth testing.
In the middle of all the flurry of activity, Devree had an attack of vomiting. I call it an attack because… Well, you and I… We hate to throw-up, but we do it and we are just done. It is way different for poor Devree. She hasn’t been eating anything so she threw-up about ½ cup of stomach juices. Then her poor body continues to try to bring up contents of her empty stomach. The attack is over when she runs out of energy. Then she has a listless expression on her face, and she is wishing to sleep until she can wake up and feel better.
On the positive side, I think we have found the magic combination of anti-nausea drugs. We call it our anti-nausea cocktail. The side effect is that it knocks Devree out cold for about 2 hours. When she wakes up, there is no nausea and Devree can read her book or watch a movie.
Anti-nausea Cocktail Recipe:
Ondansetron(Zofrin)
Ativan
Benadryl
Note: Devree loves the side effect of sleeping for 2 hours.
Signing off for now.
Love,
Todd/Shana & Devree
5 comments:
Dear Uncle Todd, Aunt Shana and Devree,
We are sad that Devree has a high fever. The "V" word is awful, too. We hope that she can sleep it off. We love you so much.
Love, Craig, Koe and Kylee
Sorry to hear that it's been a bad day! I did want to leave a note that we got our t-shirts in the mail and we appreciate it and we're looking forward to wearing them. Chris is going to take care of the "Thank you" email so watch for that with a special attatchment to look forward to in the next week or so.
Koe,
Devree’s fever has dropped down to 102° degrees. The anti-nausea cocktail worked like a charm. Right now our precious patient is sleeping without any feelings of nausea. Every 2 or 3 hours she will wake to go to the bathroom, but that isn’t hard on her at all.
They have taken a culture. That means they are waiting for the bacteria causing the fever to grow in the culture. Then they will be able to identify the exact bug causing the problem, and they can target that bacteria. Since we don’t have that information now, they are giving Devree anti-biotics that kill all bacteria.
Love,
Todd
***
Cindy,
I’m glad you got the T-shirts. There were a few bumps in the road that made the shirts difficult to get. The biggest one was the designer leaving the company. Then the High School paid for the shirts from the wrong account and that caused a problem that had to be straightened out. Shana and I are so sorry that it took as long as it did. Can you take some pictures of your family in their “Team Devree” T-shirts? I think it would be great to do a blog about all the “Team Devree” supporters.
Love,
Todd
I need a cocktail after reading this post! Poor Devree. I can't wait until she has her life back and doesn't have to deal with such horrible things. I'm glad they've figured out a combination that releaves her and lets her rest and lets time go by. I hope it can move by for you guys too.
Thanks for keeping us up to date. We send our love.
Paula,
I’m with you. I can’t wait until Devree has her life back too! I didn’t fully realize what the “V” word was like until I was actually here. Now I understand why Devree doesn’t want to risk it.
The anti-nausea cocktail is working though. Devree just told me she would like a corndog.
Love,
Todd / Shana & Devree
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