Slight Delay

You didn't really expect Madeleine to make it easy did you? This delay doesn't appear to be a big deal but the doctors are playing it safe after Madeleine spiked a temperature yesterday. We're not exactly sure what happened but yesterday, the nurse noticed she was running a temperature (around 101F/38C). The standard response to a fever in the ICU is to take blood, urine, and respiratory cultures and start a round of IV antibiotics. Madeleine received two antibiotics yesterday and within 6 hours, the fever was gone. The cultures are negative so far and assuming they stay this way, the doctors will discontinue the antibiotics tomorrow (after 48 hours). We're not exactly sure what happened and honestly, as long as it doesn't come back, don't really care.

We're particularly encouraged that this isn't a big deal as there was never a need to increase Madeleine's medical support. In fact, they've continued to slowly wean her off her support. She's close to being off all sedation and the vent settings are nearly weaned to extubation levels. They'll likely test her tonight for her extubation readiness and then will extubate tomorrow. Its not the schedule we were hoping for, but in the grand scheme of things, its not a big setback.

That's all on the medical front. On a related issue, Kirsten has started back at work today-- she was on maternity leave for 12 weeks. I know she's disappointed about going back to work with Madeleine still in the hospital as its not exactly a dream scenario that a new mother envisions. That being said, I just wanted to publicly post my admiration for Kirsten. If you know me, you're fully aware that I'm not the easiest guy to live with-- especially when my routines are thrown out of whack. Despite all of Madeleine's ups and downs, Kirsten has been there as my partner and best friend, keeping me centered and ensuring that our life continues moving forward. She's amazing and I definitely don't say thank you enough. Thanks babe.

Alright, that's all for now. Thanks again for your support. Ideally, you'll see a post tomorrow trumpeting Madeleine's progress.

Brent