Admitted

Brendan and I left home at 10:30 p.m. last night and arrived at the PCH Emergency Department just after midnight.  The fog was a bit scary coming out of Cache Valley, but traffic was moving along at 80 miles an hour on the Interstate despite patchy fog all the way to Salt Lake.  

When we arrived, Brendan's temperature was right at 100.4 -- that line in the sand where cancer kids should not cross.  Well, Brendan put his toes over the line and here we are.

 Antibiotics were started immediately, blood work was drawn, chest X-rays taken (with Brendan shaking and shivering the whole time), a nose swab test done (to test for flu, strep, and other upper respiratory causing bacteria and viruses) and vitals were monitored.

 Brendan had a slight cough that started yesterday afternoon so they are keeping a close eye on that.   So far, nothing has shown up on the cultures they are growing out.  They are also keeping watch to see if C Diff rears it's ugly head again.  So far, no sign of that either.

 Brendan's tests were all clear, but his ANC (absolute neutrophil count--the number of bacteria fighting white blood cells) was down to 400.  Another line in the sand-- (under 500 gets admitted to the hospital for observation and monitoring.)

At 4:00 a.m. I brought our bags in from the car.  It's pretty different seeing the halls empty and not a soul in sight.

This morning there are still no answers as to what might be causing this fever.  Except maybe the occasional cough.  Brendan fevered again this morning about 10:30 a.m., so we reset the clock.  Brendan has to be fever-free for 24 hours before they will consider releasing him.  But today is Valentine's Day, so the nurses are trying to make it a fun day for the kids.