Bronchitis

What more is there to say? Coupled with the beginnings of another sinus infection, Jackson is back on antibiotics.

Sigh....

Will This Ever End?

Jackson has a fever...

I can't really say again because he never had one before, even when he was so sick.

He wanted so badly to get back to normal. He was going away to church camp tomorrow for the very first time. Now he will be going to the doctor as soon as I can get him in...

:(((

Near Complete Resolution

What can those three words mean?

For some it's the end of lengthy contract negotiations.

For others it can be the end of a conflict.

For us it means the end of a nightmare...
Jackson had his final scan yesterday and it showed "near complete resolution" of the pharagyneal abscess and the doctor's blessing to go forth and resume all normal activities!

We are "resolved" to never have this happen again!

Tha Pharmacy

I am in awe at how many pills Jackson has to take to battle this infection. He does this twice a day.


Then I was horrified when I added these bottles to the selection we keep next to our coffee maker - highly visible so we don't forget to take them.

It seems no in in the family is exempt from our pharmacy. The glucosamine and baby aspirin belong to our 10 (or eleven) year old dog, Bailey...

Back To The Land Of The Living

Jackson came home Monday night. Tough few days - ultimately they wouldn't do the surgery because of the location of the abscess.

I've come to the conclusion that it is VERY STUPID to rotate doctors every 24 hours - we had five doctors in five days. Continuity of care? Not likely...

One of the first doctors only ordered two doses of steroids. Had this treatment been continued without interruption, we probably would have been home Sunday. As it was, the follow up scan showed the abscess had organized and GROWN - not the result we were looking for with the second scan.

Long story short - two doses of steroids and a good night's sleep and Jackson woke up Monday morning with full movement in his neck. He came home to 12 pills a day for six days - we'll know if we're completely out of the woods with the "final" CTscan next Monday.

Here is a chronicle of his hospital stay in pictures. The best is the shot of the Chicago Bears jersey. It is an original 1980's Mike Singletary jersey from our pastor - he just happened to have it hanging around in his closet for the last 20 years. BTW - did I tell you that Jackson is the BIGGEST Chicago Bears fan in the history of the Chicago Bears?!? He'll be very happy I mentioned that...

Day One...
Da Bears...
Cardinals and Eagles Playoff Game...
Going Home...

It Got Worse

We found out the "what's next".

Jackson is in the hospital.

We went to the orthopedic specialist at 2:05 yesterday and I could tell from his demeanor that he was looking at something far beyond what he expected. From his simple observation, and probably what he smelled (more on that later), he said he suspected that Jackson might have an infection in his C1 and C2 vertabrae or a peritonsillar abscess. He left the room to consult with our family doctor about next steps. Good to note here that while he was gone Jackson mentioned that he'd had a lot of trouble breathing at lunch that day.

When he returned, after overhearing several muffled phone calls, he said they were "waiting for us" at Akron Children's Hospital up the road as they needed to run a CTscan to determine what was happening. Word from the wise; when they tell you the hospital is waiting for you, it's never a good sign!

They ran the scan and did bloodwork, which he handled fabulously. Right after the USAirways plane crashed into the Hudson they came to the waiting room, "the test was positive..."

The Radiologist came to speak to me separately. "This abscess is a large mass, touching his airway. Do you understand how extremely lucky you are that you came today? This would have blocked his airway within a matter of days...and we wouldn't have been able to do anything at that point. What in the world made you come today? He doesn't show ANY symptoms of this."

My answer, "God, and an incredibly brilliant Orthopedic Specialist who hadn't had to look into a throat since he was an intern".

The cause? A strep throat infection that no one noticed because he has an incredibly high pain tolerance (Aspergers) and he doesn't get fevers (a genetic flaw inherited from his Dad). We thought we were dealing with a a muscle spasm, at the back of his neck no less, when all along it was an abscess at the front that was pushing on the muscle in the back and causing his loss of motion.

And the smell? (which I had noticed and thought it was from his meds). A strep infection has a very particular smell that comes out through the pores - now we know.

The prognosis? He's on heavy I.V. antibiotics and steroids to reduce the mass (we hope). They will do another scan on Sunday morning. If all is well he will come home on oral antibiotics. If not, we will be driving to Akron (the main hospital) for surgery to drain the puss from the mass...

John and I are doing rotating shifts. I had last night, tonight is his night...and I'm going to bed.

Could This Get Any Worse?!

Now I think I have strep throat. I have never had pain like this in my throat - EVER. Heading to the doctor in 1/2 hour.

And taking Jackson to an Orthopedic Surgeon at 2pm - but he seems better, at least mentally he's starting to come back.

What next?!...