worried sick

Last Tuesday (4/16) I noticed that Caylinn had some drainage coming from her left ear. we got her into her normal ped's doctor (Dr. schwartzlow) on Wednesday (4/17) and he said she had an ear infection and prescribed some ear drops for it. The next day Caylinn was starting to throw up and fevering which Dr. Schwartzlow had said would probably happen. so we just gave her some Tylenol and hoped she would feel better sooner then later as LaVon wasn't even home from his Air Force training yet. Friday (4/18), Caylinn was very tired and was sleeping on our couch all day. she wanted me near and if i went into the other room she would get up off the couch if she really wanted to and would follow me around as she whimpered. She was still fevering and throwing up but we just figured the infection was running it's course. we did the best we could to get her to keep down fluids and foods. Saturday morning (4/19) we woke up around 6:30am and by 9am she had taken 3 naps already. we met LaVon at Cyle's soccer game and had some other errands to run so she slept in the car and in our arms. she was still super tired and moaning a lot but we just figured she was just letting her body take care of the infection- at this point I was terrified of her ear infections and was hoping she wouldn't get another any time soon. Sunday (4/20) was the same as Saturday but now she wasn't holding her head up very good, wasn't holding her own body weight when I would hold her, didn't want to sit up or stand, and wasn't responding to us saying her name, wasn't tracking people as they came in the room, wasn't startled by noises. she also started getting very pale and as you can guess I was pretty scared of this ear infection. I really didn't want to take an hour car out to Children's emergency room for them to just tell me that it was just her ear infection and that i was over thinking her symptoms (this has happened a lot to us). I called my mom for motherly advice and she said to take her in. without doubt I gathered stuff together scooped up my little angel and we headed out to children's hospital. I can honestly say there are angels working here in this hospital who know exactly who needs help and when. the minute we walked through the security metal scanners (yes, they have them here- sad, i know) and entered the sign in area a lady noticed that I was holding a very pale, dead weight baby girl who needed attention and fast. she requested that a room be ready right then and took all the info so quickly (maybe 5 minutes) and then helped us back into our emergency station. within an hour of being in the emergency station Caylinn had a team of 5 who were helping her in every way possible. they got her into a CTscan, a chest/ lung x-ray, blood labs drawn, urine samples collected,an IV put in, re-hydration process was started, etc (mind you, this is all within an hour of being back in the station- which is pretty amazing in and of itself for an emergency room anywhere)...because of her health history which is why we come directly to children's and don't mess with the other two hospitals that are closer to us they knew something was going on. they thought maybe her hydrocephalus had gotten worse or her chiari malformation maybe. they checked for a UTI...nothing came up to say this is wrong- or at least right away. It was a relief to know that I wasn't the only one noticing that the symptoms she was having were drastic and that something was seriously wrong with her. They decided that it must be an infection so they admitted her into the hospital and a general antibiotic was started through her IV while we waited for the next day to bring us the results of the blood work that had been done in the emergency room. The rest is still kind of a blur because we are still going through it but this is what has transpired. From her blood work they found out that she has Haemophilous influenza. It is a blood infection basically that not many kids get. Because I felt like she was in pain every time i lifted her up or lifted her legs they did a spinal tap in which they found she had some spinal meningitis because the blood infection had spread over into her spinal fluid and then caused inflammation. Later on her face was showing signs of asymmetry which is one of the things that tends to happen with meningitis because of the inflammation pushing on different nerve endings. they are not sure if this will be a long term or short term thing but we are hoping for the best. Because of the asymmetry and her spiking fevers they decided to do a sedated MRI scan of her brain and to put a PICC in. From the MRI they know she has not had any strokes and there is not any abscesses (an area where the blood cells have blocked off the infection so the antibiotics can't get to it). this was a huge relief! The PICC that they put in her is like a long term IV. they use it for when patients are going to be receiving medicines for more then 5 days. she will be on her antibiotics for 10 days at least and they are going to keep her in the hospital the whole time. we should be home from the hospital the first week of May. We think she may have Thrush now. we are waiting for the Dr. to come and take a look- this little girl can't seem to catch a break. we are asking people to keep praying for her and sending good thoughts this way. Cyle has come down with impetigo and has had to stay home from school- which just adds to all the craziness. I will say I am so glad that we are in the Air Force, that we have free health care, and that LaVon works under some amazing people that truly are our family away from family and have made it possible for him to take off the time he needs to help out during this trial. I am so touched by all the people who have reached out and know that God is truly taking care of us. I wish there was more for me and others to do but right now to make everything better, but praying and fasting is all we can do. I know I have truly felt the Lord by my side and that he is here carrying Caylinn and our family through this. Honestly we all have our emotional moments but overall we are handling this okay- given the circumstances. I keep repeating to myself- "this too shall pass, this too shall pass." and I know it will and that we will endure to the end with the help of the Lord. Lots of Love to all and much gratitude to you and your thoughts and prayers!