Uh-Oh

The past two nights while she slept Ash was warm with fever. Red flag. Not too warm, but not normal. She slept well and didn't seem too bothered by it and when she woke it was gone. She looked great throughout yesterday and this morning looks great once again. But...I just emptied her ostomy and it contained all most as much output as she normally has in 24 hours. Uh-Oh! The combination of the two tell me something is happening. Its probably a virus of some sort since along with the beginning of the fall season comes the beginning of the viral season for transplant patients.

I hate those little red flags that appear when I know things aren't right with her. In some ways they are good because they alert me to "be aware", but in other ways they make me cringe knowing they are usually accompanied by a hospital stay somewhere.

She will have labs drawn in the morning and they may or may not reveal more red flags. The best thing I can do at this point is just watch her. The main concern with stooling out or what is called "dumping syndrome" is dehydration. I may decide to run some extra fluids through her feeding pump today just in case. I'm not sure yet. We really won't have anyway of knowing if she has picked up a virus unless we send out some stool cultures. I may call this morning to see if I can get an order from one of her doctors.

We have been more than blessed for over 6 months with no bumps in our road. This is the longest time period Ashley has ever gone without a hospitalization in her entire life. It has been such a blessing to wake up in our home each and every day and just concentrate on learning, growing, and playing. I'm praying we will be allowed to continue.

Your prayers for our gherkin would be greatly appreciated this week. I would love for her to fight off whatever is up and for us to never know the difference. That would be blessing.

Hope you have a blessed day. Trish