now, i know it's been a while, but once you read this post, you'll understand why it's been so long since i updated.

ok, so last time i posted here, asher was getting his g-tube. and that went really well. it was very quick, not quite as traumatic for asher as tube changes usually are, and we were all happy. since then, the tube's been working great, and i'm loving this whole non-gj life.

there's even a bonus i hadn't anticipated! asher gets hungry now! he actually eats at every meal, and actual measurable amounts, no less! and he's loving it! i think he's starting to feel more like an average, normal kid, instead of a SN kid, and that's wonderful! well, except for one minor little problem... ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS EAT!!!!!!! wow, never thought i'd complain about that! lol

and if you're wondering, his favourite foods are chocolate chip cookies, pepperoni pizza, and cheese. specifically, "orange cheese." if it's not orange, he's not interested. lol

as for everything else, well...

as i said in an earlier post, asher's tube site was infected. i took him to emerg on the sunday night a couple weeks ago, and they swabbed it, and the sample grew staph. nice, eh? ugh, that's what happens when you're in the hospital as often as asher is. :( so we were given a script for clyndamycin (aka, Dalacin). but...

and you know there's always a "but" with asher...

the infection didn't clear up. so after five days on clynda, we trekked back to emerg. where they swabbed the site, and they prescribed cipro, but told us to continue the clynda for its full course, because of the staph. but she added, if it got any worse, asher would have to be admitted for IV antibiotics.

so we gave the cipro a whirl. but after a few days of that, the infection just looked worse. and i mean, it was the worst-looking tube infection i've ever seen, and my boy's had some doozies. (remember when he had to be admitted for this very thing? yeah, that was bad. this was worse.) so again, back we went to emerg, with bags packed, ready to be admitted. by now there was an absess-looking-thing on the site, and it was all things nasty infection. blech! all i'd have to do was look at it, and he'd cry. and this after a week and a half of big antibiotics. we saw the doc, who swabbed the site again. apparently, the previous swab hadn't grown anything, but the doc this time was certain it looked like MRSA (drug-resistant staph... not good). so he discontinued the cipro and prescribed... get this... keflex. that's right. the med that has NEVER worked for asher's tube infections. that's what he gave us. and i said to him, "that never works. he's been on it before, many times, and the infections always get worse. it's not going to work." he says, "no, staph responds to keflex. so we're gonna try that." forget that asher has a weak immune system and half a heart and really can't tolerate these kinds of stubborn infections. nope. doesn't matter. we were sent home with a script for keflex.

i was not impressed.

so, the next morning, i called my favourite paediatrician. her advice (and i'm quoting here): "take him right back to emerg right now and demand to see dr s."

well, you know me, i always do as i'm told. ;) so we went back to emerg one last time. where dr k consulted with dr s (infectious disease specialist), who figures that since the last two swabs grew nothing, that the problem is likely no longer bacterial, but rather fungal, and the antibiotics are making it worse.

well, let me just say this: dr s is my favourite person ever now! the med she prescribed worked beautifully - after the first dose, his site was noticeably better, and by the third (and last), it was back to healthy.

you'll notice i wrote "was back to healthy." that's right, past tense. ugh. i changed asher's dressing today, and it was nasty. oozy and red and painful. needless to say, he was not a happy camper. so i took him to dr b today, and she looked at the site, and we left with a prescription for clynda again. so we'll see how this works. cross your crossables. :)

so there you go. several trips to emerg, a couple nasty infections, and charlie is muttering in his sleep right now. lol has nothing to do with asher, but it's cute. lol