David's Infection Ends

Thanks to those of you who prayed so fervently for David and for your kind words.  I always take the time to read such comments to David so that he knows how loved he is and how many people are praying for him.

This latest infection was pretty intense.  David had high fevers for 5 days total making it seem as if the fevers were never going to go away to him and to us.  It was stressful for me to stay on top of the Tylenol/ibuprofen cycle to maintain a full-strength level of an anti-pyrectic in David's body at all time because even with that, David's fevers soared to above 103, particularly in the evenings. David would wake up in the middle of the night burning up with a fever waking me up 1-2 times nightly making it so hard for me to function not to mention allow my body to fight the cold I had been fighting since last Monday.

My heart nearly broke when David asked me by the 4th night if he was going to die.  I reassured him that God was in control and that his fevers were being controlled and that he would not die from his fevers at this point.  David then asked why God wasn't answering his prayers since each day he was praying and asking God to take away his fevers. I then reminded him that sometimes God answers, "Wait."  He seemed content with our discussion.  When he woke up on the 6th day completely fever free and having had slept through the entire night, he was quick to tell me that now God answered his prayers, "Yes!"  David's lung function has improved and he has been able to be weaned from his twice a day nebulizer treatments as well.  After missing school Friday and Monday, David had a lot of make-up work to do.  He has had such a good spirit about working so faithfully on his class work and is almost completely finished.  Thankfully, his teacher gave him a few days to complete it.

This afternoon, David will be getting his 6th antibody blood transfusion, the last of the twice/week transfusions.  Next week, he starts getting the transfusions once a week from here on out unless his body starts to kick into gear and starts producing a sufficient amount of antibodies on its own. 

After next week, his body should be at a therapeutic antibody level and capable of fighting off infection, so time will tell whether these transfusions are working or not.  Shortly after that, he will be weaned off his prophylactic antibiotic to see if the transfusions are sufficient.

David loves to dress up and was excited to get this Captain America costume for his birthday as well as the helmet and shield.  This picture was taken 4 days before his body came down with the infection

Thanks for your continued prayers for our precious little boy!

Quick David Update

The doctor thinks David has a viral infection, but given David's high fevers and history of bacterial infections that are difficult to treat, he doesn't want to take any chances, so he's doubled the dose of antibiotics that David has been taking prophylactically just in case. Also, David's lung function is decreased, so to prevent things from getting worse if the infection moves to his airways, he wants him to have nebulizer treatments twice a day until his infection clears up. Today, I had a hard time controlling David's fevers and they got really high, but I was thankful his fever started to drop as I got him tucked into bed for the night.

Thanks for your continued prayers.  We are hoping David has a better night tonight.  Last night was rough with two intense night terrors and then a raging fever because the ibuprofen and Tylenol had worn off.  I am physically exhausted and have been fighting a cold since Monday that has now moved to my lungs.  Tim and Joshua continue to be healthy, but Tim is getting just as worn down as I am.

David has a new infection

This afternoon, David came down with a high fever once again.  He has not had an active infection since the beginning of August making it the longest stretch without infection this year.  However, it is discouraging that he should get an infection considering that he is still on his prophylactic antibiotic and has had 3 antibody blood transfusions.  However, I must be patient since David's doctor did say it would take the full 3 weeks of having transfusions twice a week to build up his antibody level which is why he wanted David to continue on the prophylactic antibiotic for 1 month after the transfusions started.

The good news is that David already has a follow-up appointment scheduled for tomorrow with his immune specialist, so I don't need to worry about getting a last-minute appointment for him.  David just had his 4th transfusion tonight and did well with the transfusion despite burning up with a fever.

Please be in prayer that David will get better quickly and for wisdom for his doctor in treating the infection properly.  Thanks so much for bringing our little boy before God's throne of grace!

David doting on his cousin Grace when she was about 24 hours old