HOORAY!!
Today is a day for celebrating!!

Today at my appiontment with Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease guru--he knows that to be my name for him now...haha), my SED rate was at an all-time low!! Let's review how the incredibly mighty hand of God has worked through the past few weeks:

WEEK 1--SED rate 69

WEEK 2-- SED rate 55

WEEK 3-- SED rate 10 (thought the lab screwed up)

WEEK 4-- SED rate 14 (lab may not have screwed up)

WEEK 5-- SED rate 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (God is the ultimate Healer!!!)

So after such good blood test results three weeks running and my symptoms and overall feeling better, Dr. Rensimer decided that in two more weeks, I can have my PICC line removed and be done with this whole ordeal!! Praise God!!! It's been three months of some crazy health issues (and rare ones!) but through it all, my God has been more than faithful. I prayed confidently for today's appointment that His hand would be shown in the results and to have a number as low as 4 is truly remarkable!

He said that by finishing up two more weeks, we could hopefully steer far away from any risk of relapse. He explained that six weeks of aggressive clinical treatment (what he's been doing) is, in his opinion, a good "text book treatment" for an acute case of this particular mastoiditis infection...although nothing about mastoiditis is "text book". He thinks with the aggressive treatment from Dr. Morgan earlier on and then these 6-7 weeks with his treatment, we may have cured this complex little monster! He said there is always a risk of relapse, depending on how damaged the bone is and based on how my particular case presented, but if something relapses, it will take a couple weeks for me to notice any symptoms. The good part about this is that I can have my precious little baby boy without having to worry about any impending surgery or messin' with a PICC line! I get to focus on my Malachi! Also, if some symptoms were to return (he doesn't forsee that happening based on how well my body has responded to the medicine) it would be after Malachi is here so the doctors could do whatever imaging of the area they would need without any complication or risk to the baby. Yay God!!

I have actually never been so happy to hear that I have to have my PICC for two more weeks. This is the first time in three months that I've actually been given a timeline for all of this mess to be over with!! Again I say...our God is mighty to save (and heal)!!

I will have to miss only four more days of work for all of this! Yay!! We are continuing to pray for God to shield my little monkey from any effects from the infection and the medicine. We will get to see his little 2-D face on the 12th!! I have my work baby shower on the 11th and am so ready to get to hold my little boy (but he can cook a little while longer)! Our God is incredible and longs to work miracles in our lives. I will keep you posted on the happenings of this crazy Milillo clan until then!

Unworthy,

Molly

Our God is MIGHTY TO SAVE!

Today was a day of great news! First, at my appointment with Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease genius), he was quite impressed with how my blood has been looking. The lab took four more weekly viles to test, so on Wednesday (depending on the results) we could possibly get the PICC line out!!!! I am definitely praying for God's mighty power to heal beyond medical reasoning to be seen through the blood results on Wednesday. I will certainly let you know what happens.

After Dr. Rensimer, it was time for my 34-week pre-natal visit with Dr. Levin. She said she was impressed with how good I looked (compared to the sickly, pale person she has been seeing in her office). Malachi's heart was beating the strongest I've heard it beat! We get to see our little monkey in two more (LONG) weeks to check on his position and weight. His daddy went out of town Saturday but gets back tomorrow night!! Yay!! I really think Malachi knows Steve is gone...it's weird, I know, but trust me. He seems different when he's not "showing off" for his daddy.

More great news...Burlington Coat Factory had to special order the RainForest Pack 'N Play for me from Arizona and it came in today!! You don't understand, but the RainForest Pack 'N Play is IMPOSSIBLE to find!! So my mom and I went to pick it up today and when they were ringing me up, it turns out that all the RainForest items were 15% off!! I LOVE SECRET SALES!!

God is incredible and I can't wait to see what He is going to do on Wednesday!

Truly unworthy,
Molly, Steve, and the little Malachi monkey

Expecting miracles...

I have really been slapped in the face recently by the incredible power and surprise of the God we serve.

As you know, my SED rate started at 69, went down to 55, and then the next week was "supposedly" at 10. Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease dude) called it "not medically plausible" for my number to accurately be 10. The lab must have screwed up, right? Well...maybe not. I got my results back this week and the number was 14!! He said that he wants to see a low number like this one more week in a row and then he will believe it. For it to jump from 55 down to a totally normal range in one week is phenomenal!!

The slap in the face comes with my pessimism. I have honestly been praying for this whole situation, but like an idiot, it didn't occur to me to be so bold as to petition God to HEAL me. So, earlier this week, I got to work praying some bold prayers of HEALING (not just "dealing with" or "getting through") this whole situation and wouldn't you know it...God came through! I was completely humbled because I wasn't expecting a miracle at all.

Part of me seems to think that miracles are reserved for "really special people" or "really terminal patients". I almost felt guilty praying for healing because such a bold prayer can be viewed as "arrogant" in my own mind. Who am I to judge any prayer--let alone my own! Ha! God doesn't call Himself the Great Healer for no apparent reason...He uses that name so when we need Him to be that in our lives, He will. I know in the past month, I have had to call out to many different names of God: Comforter, Provider, Stength, Grace, Forgiveness, and Courage to name a few. Every single time my mouth gets the privelege of uttering a name of God, He is faithful to become that in my life. It's not like I'm telling God what to do, it's rather a demonstration of faith in God for Him to be who He says He will be.

I see Dr. Rensimer again Monday and I believe he wants to try to schedule an x-ray next week (don't worry, they will shield Malachi). I will keep you posted. I am a little concerned something is going awry because I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and today it is worse and has made my whole head/ears/throat areas feel just crummy. I don't have fever and I have no idea how I could get sick on top of the antibiotics I've been taking for almost a month now, but who knows...Let me continue my vitamins and OJ!!

Oh, also...Malachi's 34 week prenatal appointment is Monday afternoon! Yay!! Daddy won't be in town (he leaves tomorrow morning through Tuesday evening) but maybe Malachi's Grandma would like to accompany us.... :)

Unworthy,

Molly

I woke up in a puddle...

Well, after waking up in a puddle of puss yesterday morning, I was glad that I was seeing Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease genius) today. I usually don't look forward to Mondays because it's my pin cushion day...they change my PICC tubes and poke the other arm for blood. However, I was VERY anxious to see him today because I was a little bummed out this weekend.

Let me explain...

I felt like we were on the right track: my ear hadn't drained anything for awhile. my energy was back, and I was finally used to the tubes hanging out of my body. Well, last Thursday the lab that runs my blood screwed up the results for calculating my SED rate. Dr. Rensimer came in with a puzzled look on his face and when I asked for what the new number was, he said, "10" so I cheered and got excited. (It was 69 in week 1, 55 in week 2). I thought "What a miracle!" Unfortunately, he then explained that it was not medically plausible for "10" to be accurate and that the lab screwed up the test. So, he took more blood today and projects the number to (hopefully) be down into the 40's this week.

The other reason I was so anxious to go see him was because of the drainage. I woke up this weekend literally in a puddle of puss from my ear. (Time to wash the sheets!) Lovely, huh? Nice yellow puss on my pillow to greet me in the morning. Yummy. So with that, I knew something was up. Also, the place on my arm where my PICC line goes in has been EXTREMELY sore since Friday. It has been burning no matter what I do or how I do or don't move it. It just didn't feel right. So.......today's appointment.

Dr. Rensimer, God bless him and his genius brain, gave me the good news that my PICC line wasn't infected; it was the skin around it that was inflamed. I'm not being sarcastic, that actually is good news!! I was thinking the worst case scenario of them having to replace the whole PICC and various other not fun options. But, he got the nurses to clean it really well with a ton of BURNING alcohol and some iodine. They put a different dressing on it to let it "breathe" so with this one, I can't shower anymore...it's only (lukewarm) baths for me (lukewarm b/c of Malachi).

Here's my gnarly skin infection...yummy!

He wasn't too excited that puss is draining from my ear again. I, of course, was thinking, "Did I do something wrong? Did I make it worse somehow? What did I do or not do?" After airing my frustrations with the situation, he reassured me that it is nothing I'm doing or not doing. The puss is not from my ear at all...get this...it's puss that is draining from my mastoid bone! EWW!

It is good that it's draining as opposed to just sitting and festering in there, but as long as it's draining that means there's still definitely an infection there. He really wants to do an MRI to look at the bone and decide about surgery b/c he thinks that the medicine just can't penetrate the deep pockets of infection in the bone. The MRI would show how damaged the bone is, if surgery is needed, how badly surgery is needed, and whether they would remove the bone or just puncture it and drain it. Of course the urgency of the MRI is put on hold for my sweet little man inside of me...he's still quite squishy in the middle so he's not quite ready to come out of the oven.

I do get to play CSI, though. He gave me a specimen collection kit and taught me how to do it at home. I have to wait until I can feel the puss draining and then poke it with a sterile swab and refrigerate it. Cool, huh? (Cool to me...I have to find humor in it or else I would be sad!) :)

Move over, Gil Grissom, I am the new CSI!

Silliness aside, he did explain that with other infections, surgery is rarely an option. That said, mastoiditis is a tricky and frustrating bugger. It can get really ugly really fast and "the odds are against me when it comes to not needing surgery" (his explanation). So today I'm slightly bummed at the prospect of adding yet another surgery to my resume, but I'm just praying for God's hand to do whatever it takes to leave Malachi inside his incubator as long as possible and for the doctors to do whatever they need to in order to conquer this infection! My God is mighty to save!

Unworthy,
Molly

Back to work?! Nope, just kidding!

Behold...all the preggos at my baby shower!

Andrea (12 wks), Aubree (30 wks), Jamie (30 wks), Dana (31 wks), Me (31 wks)

If you're going to do something, it's always best to find some people to ride the roller coaster with you. :)

Update time...

I killed two Memorial City Hospital birds with one stone yesterday. I had Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease guru) in the morning and Dr. Levin (baby doctor) in the afternoon so I just hung around the hospital and mall all day. Let's start with Dr. Rensimer...

He said all is well. My latest urinalysis came back and thank God, I do NOT have a bladder infection!! YAY!! Also, the medicine is still on the right track of stopping this crazy infection. I do want to clear up a myth--the infection is NOT in my ear. It is in my mastoid bone (big skull bone behind your ear). I have had a lot of people asking about my ear and when I say "It's great", they give me a weird look so I wanted to clarify. Haha. Dr. Rensimer took more blood and the good ol' pee in a cup (my Monday ritual) so I will have those results back Thursday. He loaded me up with my goodie bag of syringes, saline, alcohol wipes, and antibiotics and sent me on my way. I thought I was done with his office for the day and went to lunch with my mom (Olive Garden salad and breadsticks are right across the street from his office). Thankfully, Susan Pitman (my co-worker) called me to tell me that she and my other two allies in the life skills world would give me a heads up on the health status of our classroom. Three students had to go home that morning due to various things (fever, viruses, etc.). After this ray of sunshine news, I went back to talk to my doctor to seek his opinion on all of this. He said if it were him, he would not dare risk getting any kind of virus on top of all of having mastoiditis AND being 32 weeks pregnant. He gave me a new return to work date for Friday the 19th (Happy Birthday to me!). So I feel slightly slacker-ish because I will go back for a whole day and then be on Christmas break for two weeks (after I've been off since Dec. 1st). I have to keep realizing that it's not just me anymore...I am a walking incubator for the most precious thing in my life and I have to do everything in my power to protect him! Normally I would suck it up and go back to work because "I can handle it", but when my Malachi is involved, no way! He deserves me at my healthiest so Friday it is.

Now for Dr. Levin's news...(OB/GYN)

Good news! Malachi is definitely rockin' and rollin' inside that crazy uterus of mine! While Steve and I were waiting in the exam room, we overheard the fetal heartbeat from the room next to us. I, of course, gave Malachi a pep talk..."Alright, it's time to get serious. I want to hear your heartbeat louder, stronger, and faster! Go Team Milillo!" After a team high five between Steve and I, Dr. Levin came in. Sure enough, Malachi was ready to show off! His little heart was beating to its fullest extent (showing off for his daddy). I asked her if she could tell where his head was (up or down) and she was confident that he is indeed head down! Good boy! To further demonstrate where he is hangin' out until the big day, I created an epic illustration for you...

So there it is, folks. (That's about how I look, too! Haha!)

I will see Dr. Rensimer again Thursday and get my new SED rate and other labs back. I will keep you updated so check back then! Until Thursday, there's not all that much going on concerning Malachi. I will say that it has been a Godsend being off the past two weeks because I have gotten to really spend some valuable quality time with my incredible husband who I really miss getting to see whenever I want. It was a tough first week that beat my body up pretty badly, but my energy is returning and I am trying to regain some normalcy. Until Thursday, farewell!

Unworthy,

Molly

Steve's turn

my turn.

Steve

The Results Are In...

Well, I got my blood tests back and...I'M PREGNANT!! (big shocker there!)

Really though, my appointment today went great. My SED rate went from 69 down to 55!! Yay, body!! The pain is still absent (finally) and all is looking up. My doctor also got the sensitivity report back on the type of bacteria that is causing all of this to see if it is a strain resistant to antibiotics or not. FINALLY, some great news...it IS sensitive to antibiotics (meaning the drugs are killing it)!!! They did find some white blood cells in my urine sample which means I could possibly have a bladder infection on top of all of this other stuff. Oh well, I guess. :) They will fix me up; I'm sure of it!

Malachi's room is coming together. I hung some pictures in there today and will hopefully finish it up tomorrow and this weekend. I will certainly post pictures when I'm done so you can all see it. I see Dr. Morgan (ear doctor) tomorrow for yet another "sucky" experience (haha...he has to suck out stuff that gets in there). Last time I went, a lot of you must have been praying hard because there wasn't anything to suck out. However, I woke up this morning with a "squishy" feeling in my left ear so he may have some work to do tomorrow. We shall see!

Unworthy,

Molly

A Case of the Mondays?! No Way!

I don't know if you've ever seen a holy pot pie before, but here you go.

Steve Sapaugh was kind enough to not only bring us dinner but bring us one we didn't have to say grace over...it was already holy enough. :) Haha! Thanks!

Here's me...just enjoying my PICC line. Good times.

Really, though...God is doing amazing things right now. We have hit some pretty hard financial times and it seems from the outside looking in that the timing couldn't be worse, but I can just picture God sitting on His incredible throne just smiling because "for such a time as this" is what He saw fit. He will work His miracles...we just have to be patient enough to appreciate them.

I had another promising visit at the doctor today! Dr. Rensimer (infectious disease genius) poked and prodded all over my mastoid bone and I BARELY felt any pain!! God is so good!!! The fact that the pain is almost completely gone is some preliminary proof that the antibiotics are doing their job! Praise God!

He took more blood today and we will discuss the results on Thursday. My SED rate (something in your blood that red flags inflammation) was way above normal as of last week. Normal for someone my age would be below 10, but my SED rate was a whopping 69! Ouch! He said that your SED rate naturally raises when you're pregnant, but a number that high was not normal so something is obviously going on in there. We're all praying that those numbers are down on Thursday!

He also said that I will need to be on the IV antibiotics "for awhile". "Awhile" in his terms means at least a month. I'm praying that I figure out a way so I can return to work as soon as I'm able. It's killing me knowing I'm already on medical leave (when I needed to save all 12 weeks for Malachi's arrival). But, like I said before, God certainly knows what He's doing and it will all make perfect sense one day. My impression from Dr. Rensimer was that after Malachi is born, they will do a CAT scan to see what damage has been caused to the bone and then decide if surgery is needed. He said that with an infection like this one in a "spongey" bone like the mastoid, antibiotics can only go so far and sometimes surgery is required after an aggressive course of drugs has been given. We will see what develops. I am BEYOND glad that I am far enough along that a) nothing is messin' with Malachi and b) he will be here sooner than later so we will have our end result from all of this soon enough. I actually get two days without doctors this week so I will busy myself with resting and doing various baby things!! I see Dr. Rensimer again on Thursday and I will certainly post my results from my blood work. Keep the prayers coming...and the holy pot pie, Steve Sapaugh!

Remember...Malachi remains untouched and well accounted for!

Unworthy,

Molly
(and Steve and Malachi)

What a Weekend!

Whew...this weekend was a tiring one!

I had a GREAT report at Dr. Morgan's on Friday (ear doctor). The pain in my mastoid bone is almost erradicated (which means I've been able to FINALLY sleep on my left side...to give my right hip a break!)!!! The place on my arm where the PICC line starts is still pretty sore though. They are going to change the dressing on it today at Dr. Rensimer (remember...infectious disease dude). Last time I was at his office, there was talk about possibly doing a CAT scan after Malachi is here to confirm whether or not the bone has been damaged and if surgery would still be needed.

We got the culture back from the lab on the junk Dr. Morgan sucked out of my head and it contained the Strep bacteria. I never had Strep Throat, but the bacteria somehow settled itself in my ear and then my bone. Unfortunately, the Strep bacteria is harder to kill than Staff, but so far the antibiotics seem to be doing their job! I see Dr. Rensimer today at 10:30 so we will see what he says our next couple of steps are. He will take some blood today and I will pick up my next round of antibiotics (they give me a few days at a time in case they need to change them). I always feel so informed and much smarter after leaving his office. He truly is a genius.

I will (of course) keep you posted on how the visit goes.

Also, Saturday marked my baby shower!! I understand there was a mix-up in the mail with quite a few invitations so if you didn't receive one in tme or just plain didn't receive one, I am so sorry!! I would have loved for you to be there! It was great to see my worlds collide: family, friends, extended family, friends that pretty much are family...it made my heart quite happy. :)

I will post pictures of the shower soon so check back!

Unworthy,

Molly

Crazy to think...

So I was thinking...

I wasn't even supposed to go see my ear doctor until Wednesday for my follow-up from three weeks ago. Crazy to think how much worse all of this could have been if I would have waited. I just knew my body was telling me something wasn't right all weekend, so I picked up the phone Monday morning. Always listen to your body!!

We saw Dr. Rensimer yesterday (Infectious Disease) and he had my blood test results back from Tuesday. He found a lot of inflammation and said certain levels were high so my body was definitely ridden with something. He will take blood every Monday and discuss the results every Thursday. I like him a lot because he is very thorough and lays it all out for you. He doesn't sugar-coat anything but remains positive nonetheless. He didn't want me going back to work quite yet (the 12-inch tubing sticking out of my vein could be a deterent) so I'm off until at least the 16th. Thankfully we serve a very holy and very faithful God whom I know will work out the financial responsibilities this has brought on (as well as how He'll stretch what little paycheck I will get once they dock my days). The co-pays alone this week have been unreal, but I can't thank my family enough for coming through to help Steve and I.

I must say a HUGE "THANK YOU!!!!" to my mom. She has been with me every step of the way this week. Every appointment, every IV stick, every waiting room...she has been by my side through it all and I know she has her own health problems so it was no pinic. Thank you so much, mom, for showing me how sacrificial a mother is supposed to be in the blink of an eye. We went from what we thought was a routine visit to all of this happening in a matter of hours on Monday and it's been non-stop since then. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Also, thank you so much to everyone who has been praying. I can't tell you how much it means to Steve and I to know we are mentioned in so many prayers right now. Also, to anyone who has signed up to bring us dinner, thank you! You don't know the burden it lifts off of me not to have to think about that one little detail. :)

Back to doctor talk. Dr. Rensimer will be watching me like a hawk. He re-emphasized how quickly something could go really bad since this particular bone is right next to my brain and spinal fluid. So, with his watchful eye, we will keep a tight handle on this thing. He also was honest and said that for a few weeks, I may be feeling better and my levels in my blood may come down (what we want) and all appears to be working. However, sometimes, the antibiotics can only do so much of the work. It all depends on whether the infection has started to destroy that bone or not and how long it's really been in there doing it's thing (there's no way of knowing exactly how long). He said the worse case scenario would be to eventually need surgery to remove that bone or to open that bone and drain out the infection that's in there. We obviously have a sensitive timeline with Malachi still being squishy in the middle, but I have excellent doctors who know what they're doing. Dr. Morgan (ear dude) seemed pretty confident that surgery wasn't in my future so let's stick with that!

As for now, I'm either at home or in a doctor's office, infusing my little antibiotic pod things around the clock. Oh, I almost forgot....Dr. Rensimer did an excellent job of explaining to me that based on my blood work, my infection is truly MY infection. It is going nowhere near Malachi!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! God's grace is truly incredible!!! For me to have this serious of an infection rummaging through my skull area and for NONE OF IT to even affect Malachi in the slightest is amazing! Thank you, God, for Your incredible design!

I see Dr. Morgan today at 2:00pm so I'm praying he doesn't have much to suction out of my ear!

Unworthy,

Molly

Whew...what a week!

Let me just start by filling you in on my schedule since Monday morning...

MONDAY:

11:00am-12:30pm Dr. Morgan (Ear, Nose, Throat) for diagnosis, Myringotomy, and tube placement...don't forget the suction!

12:30-3:00pm Infusion Clinic to start first IV and learn how to inject at home

3:00-4:30 Dr. Levin (OB/GYN) to make sure Malachi is fantastic (he is!)

4:30-6:00 Wal-Mart to get prescriptions filled

TUESDAY:

10:30-11:45 Dr. Morgan for suction (I mean, for pain)

11:45-5:00 Dr. Rensimer (Infectious Disease genius) for plan of attack, take out old IV, put in new IV, get antibiotic pod things to inject at home, get blood drawn

5:00-6:30 Sit in traffic until FINALLY...home!

8:30-11:00 Doze off

11:00 Wake up to take antibiotic out of fridge

11:30-12:30 Infuse antibiotics

12:30 SLEEP!

WEDNESDAY:

7:30 Wake up to take antibiotic out of fridge

8:00-9:00 Infuse antibiotic

9:00-10:00 Doze off again

10:00-11:30 Attempt to shower, etc.

11:30-1:00 Mom came over to make chicken and rice!! (Perks me right up!)

1:15-3:00 Dr. Morgan for suction (least painful visit yet)

3:30 Check-in at Memorial City Hospital for PICC line

3:30-4:45 Infuse antibiotic

5:30-6:00 Get PICC line inserted (and got to see my heart...cool!)

6:00-6:30 Realize the valet closes at 6...wait for security guy

7:00 HOME!

8:00 Dang it...Lidocaine wore off

8:30-10:30 Doze off (Sorry, Rockets...I tried to watch)

11:00 Take antibiotics out of fridge

11:30-12:45 Infuse antibiotics

12:45am SLEEP!

As for today, THURSDAY...

I had to wake up at 7:30 to take the antibiotics out of the fridge. Woke up again at 8:00 to infuse them. Dozed off during the infusion and didn't realize the tube got pinched so then I had to stay awake and make sure it all went in. Flushed out both tubes, dozed off for another half hour, ate some breakfast, got on blogspot.

UPDATES FROM DOCTORS:

Seeing Dr. Morgan yesterday was finally the least painful visit I've ever had with him. He still had to suction my ear, but by the grace of God, there was just one little thing to suck out so two seconds of pain was nothing! I went for the PICC line yesterday. I felt fine about it until they explain all the things to watch for to make sure I'm not getting a blood clot. (Remember, I'm not using a blood thinner b/c it's not the safest for my little Malachi.) But, they said complications are rare, but rare seems to be my middle name lately. :)
Dr. Rensimer (Infectious Disease genius) was very thorough and really took time and put in energy to developing a treatment plan for me. He said that I will be on IV antibiotics every eight hours (they take one hour to infuse) for at least two weeks. Dr. Morgan (ENT) was hopeful that he won't have to do any kind of surgery on me! The pain is definitely still there, but I think I am beginning to notice a difference with these super drugs. Praise God!

The PICC line wasn't painful going in, it was actually kinda cool to get to see a tube going into my heart. (Not for the weak stomached!) Maybe I've seen too much Discovery Health or something, but stuff like that fascinates me. It is really sore today but it's just sore from the stitches (they stitch it in place). Actually, let me explain what a PICC line is. A PICC line is short for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. It's a small, flexible tube that is inserted in your upper arm (between your elbow and armpit) and threaded into a large vein in the chest. It has two tubes sticking out of my arm so that I can infuse whatever medicine I need to. It also doubles as a major plus because they won't have to re-stick me everytime they need blood. Since it's in a main blood supply, they can just get blood from it too. Like I said, it's sore today but much more comfortable (thus far) than the IV's they were having to put in my hand. Here's a picture of my progress...

This is my second IV. The first one didn't last long.

And here is the PICC line...

It's like really weird arm necklaces.

Anyways, I will be seeing Dr. Rensimer every Monday for blood work and to pick up more antibiotics and every Thursday to get the results of the labs and to pick up even more antibiotics. I see him in 45 minutes today so I need to go figure out how to shower with my new arm jewelry. I will keep you posted on all the happenings.

In case you're wondering, my baby shower is definitely still on at the Abdo's house for this Satuday! I need a pick-me-up and baby things always do the trick! :)

Unworthy,
Molly

Mastoid-WHAT-is??

Malachi's little life in the womb continues to show me astounding things about God's grace. Let me explain...

I have been "under the weather" for about two months now. It started with Pink Eye (working in an elementary school will do that to you), morphed into a sinus infection that never went away, and took residence in an infection in my left ear. ("It" is the name for the bacteria gremlin who won't leave me alone.) I was on weeks of antibiotics, including a round of steroids to kick things into overdrive--so Malachi will be born with a six pack!

I thought relief was finally coming three weeks ago when I got in to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist (one of the best around here, I might add). Dr. Morgan is his name and unfortunately, it seems that causing me pain is his game! (I joke because I can...no really, he is an amazing doctor that I certainly trust!) Three weeks ago, he did a myringotomy (meer-in-got-o-mee) on my left ear. It's where he goes in with a tiny scalpal and cuts open my ear drum and sticks a vacuum thing inside to suck out the fluid that got built up. Well, that was three weeks ago.

I was supposed to go in for my three-week follow up on Wednesday this week, but over the past week, I knew something wasn't right with that side of my head. There is a horrible pain if anything even thinks about touching the area around my ear, the bone behind my ear (the mastoid bone), and the pain runs down the back of my skull and my neck. I thought I was just sore from the surgery he did...but it had been three weeks. After the five days of nausea, a little fever, and the pain, I called his office yesterday morning and they were gracious enough to see me that morning.

After some extensive hearing tests to confirm that I'm not crazy but there is hearing loss in my left ear, it was time to see Dr. Morgan. He came right in, shook my hand, asked a few questions and got right to work. He knew exactly what questions to ask and (unfortunately) where to touch my head to make me cringe--to help confirm his diagnosis. He said that my inner ear was infected again and he was going to have to repeat the surgery he did three weeks ago and this time go ahead and put in a tube. No big deal, right? WRONG!! I thought I learned last time why they usually sedate people for this surgery, but this one was far more of a learning experience on the power of anesthesia (or lack thereof). As he is about to cut my ear drum (again), he explains that because of the scar tissue from last time, THE NUMBING DROPS WON'T WORK!! What?! I was lying there thinking, "At least lie to me...tell me I won't feel that much!!!" Immediately after he cut it open, there was a release of pressure that I didn't know was in there. He said it was full of puss and blood (which he sucked out). If that wasn't painful enough, it was then time to insert the tube. With the numbing drops that were no more than just water to me, this was the worst pain I have felt to date. I am not a wuss and have a pretty high treshhold of pain, but I cried like a baby. To make matters worse, with all my hormones going crazy anyways, once I start crying it is impossible to stop AND you have to hold completely still while there is a scalpal in your ear drum! AHH! After about 15-20 minutes, he was done and I was a pool of sweat and tears on the table. Like I said, I am usually a trooper, but that thing HURT!

Let's throw one more unfortunately in the mix...after Dr. Morgan had a closer examination of my mastoid bone (bone behind the ear), he said that he was afraid I had Mastoiditis. Mastoid-WHAT-is?! I had never heard of it before. Evidently, Mastoiditis is a pretty serious infection that seeps into the honeycomb-like mastoid bone. If not treated properly, it can spread throughout your body and in the worst cases into your brain. Because of modern medicine, the chances of someone getting this infection is..get this...0.004%!!!! And of that, the majority affected are babies ages 6-13 months old!!!! WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!

So I have this rare bone infection. What now?

Good question. Dr. Morgan immediately sent me upstairs to an Infusion Clinic to get my IV antibiotics started. I have a nifty IV (a.k.a. HOSE) sticking out of my wrist at the moment so that between my mom and Steve, I can get a big dose of IV antibiotics once a day at home. The modern technology is pretty cool. They taught me and my mom how to hook up the IV to the antibiotics, how to clean it, and how to administer the stuff. I also have to flush the IV with saline every eight hours so it doesn't clot. I taught Steve how to do that last night. Good times. To give you a better idea, here's a nice picture of what my wrist looks like right now...

Isn't it pretty?!

I got to see my OB yesterday too which is always reassuring. She has been in close communication with Dr. Morgan to make sure myself and my Malachi are doing the best we can through all of this. The really amazing thing is, here's where God's grace is astounding...

Through all of this happening to me and my body, God is sparing Malachi any consequences. His heartbeat, position, size, and overall well-being was perfect at yesterday's visit! It is absolutely amazing to me that so much can be going on in my body but that Malachi remains unaffected. My OB called him "oblivious"....haha.

The big decision of the day is whether or not I will get a PICC line put in instead of my IV. A PICC line is inserted into your arm and threaded up through your arm into your subclavian vein. This sounds drastic, but unlike an IV, a PICC line can stay in the entire time I'm on these injections. Which, by the way, could be anywhere from 10-20 days. With an IV, I have to go the Infusion place and get a new IV started every 2-3 days because your little arm veins just can't handle more than a couple days. With a PICC, it could stay in for the duration, can't get pulled out (they stitch it in place), and has less chance of infection than an IV. However, with a PICC they would probably have to put me on Heprin which is a blood thinner. My OB said she was fine with a PICC (and would prefer it) if it wasn't for the Heprin. Just on the sheer chance anything were to happen like a car wreck or early labor or something, I could bleed out if I was on blood thinners. So, the nurse from the Infusion place called me last night to check on me and said there is actually a way to do a PICC without using Heprin. I see Dr. Morgan this morning at 10:30 so I will just have to wait and see what he and my OB (Dr. Levin) decided to do.

If getting poked and prodded every few days is safer for my little man inside, then that is a small cross to bear to keep him safe.

Please, if you will, don't take this post as a pity party in any way. I just wanted to keep you all in the loop of what is happening with Malachi (and his incubator). Please pray that God continues to show off in this situation. It is my understanding that as long as I have an active IV, I can't work (which cuts into not only my small paycheck but also the time I can take for maternity). It is also my understanding that this infection is hard to treat because it is so far deep into the bone and takes a long-term course of antibiotics. Some cases require surgery, but we will cross that bridge if it comes (preferably after February 6th!). God has something amazing up His sleeve through all of this and I am glad I have a front-row seat to see what happens. Please pray for His continued healing as I deal with the pain and discomfort as well as His incredible hands to remain around Malachi.

I will update you after the doctor today. Thank you for joining us on this roller coaster.

Unworthy,
Molly