Julia had a clinic visit on Monday with lab work and an exam. Her exam was good and all her labs had improved. With that being said, Julia was scheduled for her next rould of chemo to begin on Tuesday, January 17.
Julia had a great week. She spent each day at school with her friends – getting to both Brooke and the Malvern schools this week. The evenings were spent doing homework, playing with her Christmas toys and racing Daddy up the steps to get ready for bed. It was a good week to remember what it is like to just be a child – a child with no needles, no doctors, no medicines.
Sunday morning, Julia woke at 7:30 AM with a fever and we were reminded that things can change in an instant. With a fever of 102.1 F, we called the hospital and were told to bring Julia to the Emergency Room. We gave her a dose of tylenol, packed some things and headed to CHOP.
When we arrived, the ER was ready for us and Julia was quickly escorted to an exam room. Julia’s port was accessed, labs drawn and they started giving her fluids. The doctor examined Julia, but there we no signs anything wrong (her ears were clear, no redness in her throat, etc.). We had to wait for the labs.
After about one hour, Julia’s lab work returned and her counts were fine. Julia’s temperature began to go up again and she started to shake from chills. A blood culture was started and an antibiotic ordered. Julia rested as the antibiotic flowed through the line and once done, they kept the fluids running for about one hour.
Julia began to feel a bit better with the hydration and the Tylenol. It was decided that she did not need to be admitted, but we would need to monitor her over the next 24 hours. If Julia’s fever continues past 24 hours, we need to head back to CHOP; otherwise, we will see the doctor on Tuesday at the clinic. We should hear about the initial results of the blood culture tomorrow, telling us if this is bacterial or viral.
We returned home about 4:30 PM and Julia’s fever had risen again. We gave her Tylenol (which we can give every 4 hours) and she laid down. Julia has been sleeping since 6 PM and we continue to check her temps and watch for any changes.
We will keep everyone posted on any changes. Keep sending postive thoughts and praying that this is nothing major.