Weekend Recap...

**This is an old entry. I was having technical difficulties with my Blogger account**

Our den has been busy.

I've had horrible heartburn for almost one year now despite being on both Famitodine and Omeprazole. So, my Gastroenterologist said it was time for me to have an upper endoscopy. Fun, fun, fun! On Thursday I ended up slipping in and out of dreamland all day long. The medication had an amnesic affect, but I *think* they said that they gave me Fentanyl and Dialudid.

Whatever it was seriously effed me up!

I remember the room being cold despite my warmed blankets, the doctor asking the nurses if they pushed the medication yet, and then....that's it. I remember waking up in recovery, slowly getting dressed, my cousin's cousin (who was working in that department that day) walking me to the car, listening to "That's What Friends Are For" as John drove me home, and then...that's it.

I slept for what felt like days and woke up to my SIL telling me that Niki felt hot.

She was fine for about a week after she finished her Clindamycin in mid-January, but came down with a cold shortly thereafter. She was just starting to develop a runny nose when I wrote about the whole RSV fiasco. I was hoping that it wouldn't turn into a full blown cold, but lo and behold her temperature was 102.1!

Needless to say I woke up pretty quick.

It was about 4 o'clock so I called Dr. Awesome's office. Nurse Richard told us to take Niki to the ER in San Francisco. I wasn't allowed to drive so I called John and told him to come home...stat. When we finally got to the ER, Niki's usual ER nurse (I'll call her Nurse Stat) was there. They did the customary blood culture and antibiotic infusion and sent us on our way.

Unfortunately, we're all getting used to these frequent ER visits. This was the 5th ER visit we've had since Halloween!




The Broviac protocol sucks, but line infections are way too scary to risk it. Dr. Awesome doesn't want to take any chances when it comes to Niki. Shoot, I don't either! Niki is okay when she has antibiotics, but she gets sick SO easily after she's off them. Her immune system isn't very strong because of her central line so Nurse Richard pretty much told us it would be better if we just kept her isolated.

LOL...if only they made hamster balls for babies. She would be totally fine being around other kids. ;-)

The following day (Friday afternoon) Niki had to have her 2nd round of antibiotics, but Dr. Awesome was out of the office. Her associates didn't have any appointments either so going to Oakland was not an option. Nurse Richard was scrambling to find a place for Niki to have her infusion, but the pediatric Infusion Center in San Francisco was fully booked and Dr. Sweetheart's nurses weren't trained to access central lines. The ER was out of the picture because Nurse Richard wasn't keen on the idea of Niki being exposed to so many "hospital bugs" with her immune system being the way it is.

So, we had no other choice than to take her to Dr. Sweetheart's office so she could have a peripheral IV inserted in her arm. PIVs aren't a typically a huge deal, but there is more risk for profuse bleeding and bruising with Niki's bleeding disorder. Nobody was happy about having to do a PIV on Niki (especially since she already has her Broviac), but there was no other option and she needed her antibiotics. So, we had to factor her up right before they started.

It took THREE NURSES to find a vein, but they found one.

I worked in Pediatrics before so I had no doubt in my mind that her nurses were the best. They didn't even have to fish around to get access. Niki was crying hysterically (thank goodness me BIL was there to help me) because we had to hold her down, but other than that she was fine.
This picture was taken after they finished stabilizing her arm.

Actually, this whole ordeal was a blessing in disguise. She's super healthy after she gets the antibiotic infusion so there is a silver lining to this ugly cloud. At least she wouldn't be sick for her birthday. :) Niki was feeling like a million bucks.

On Saturday John went snowboarding so the cubs, my SIL, and I drove to San Jose. Kevin was begging me to take him to perform for Black History Month (Parks & Rec was having an event) but I couldn't take him. My grandma was making dresses for Niki and I so we needed to have our final fitting. I LOVE my grandmother. It was nice to spend time with my San Jose family. It's always so therapeutic to eat my grandma's champorado while talking about life.

On Sunday, I went out for some much needed girl time with my friend D. We had brunch at our usual place and chatted about life and love. That girl is my therapist, I swear. ;-)

After brunch I did some shopping at Burlingame Ave and was "suckered into" buying makeup that I probably won't use on a daily basis. I'm embarrassed to say how much I spent at MAC, but the girl was so pretty that it was hard to NOT listen to her suggestions. LOL...apparently I need more color in my life. ;-)

When I told John how much I spent he told me, "What?! You better return that sh*t!"

I NEVER buy anything for myself and explained to him that makeup is expensive, but it will last a long time. He softened up a by the time I came home. He was distracted by the Super Bowl anyway. ;-)

So now, I will enter a blog hiatus until I am done making everything that I need to make for Niki's birthday party. It's going to be a long rest of the week. :-)