Please pray

I know this is true; Liz shows me that this is true-
"Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" Romans 5:3-4

I wrote a long, extensive update earlier today and it was erased. I was so upset because I hadn't wanted to spend time writing it in the first place and I definitely didn't want to re-write it. It was a blog of facts and request for prayer, but full of silly references and puns. It would have made you all giggle. Alright, maybe not all of you, but many, and especially Meggan Hyde! It is gone, floating in cyberspace somewhere, and maybe it was meant to be because there is nothing silly about how much Liz needs your prayers.

We had her appointment with the Infectious Disease Team this morning. I know I bore you to death with medical talk, as this blog serves as a history for me, so I'll keep it as simple as I can. We need this drug to work. Please, please Lord, let the antibiotic work. Long story short, we are staying on Vancomycin, the same drug she's been on for 4 months, for another 3 weeks. Why would we stay on a drug we know hasn't cured the toxin? I asked the same thing. Vancomycin is the front-line, hardest-hitting drug we can use. The other possible drugs that are untested on children are not better than Vanco. At this point if there was a better drug, even of it was untested on children, we'd use it. That is not the case, though.
We know the toxin has not become resistant to the Vanco. because when we up her dose, her symptoms get better. This alone confirms that we should give it one last try.

The doctors are the first to say that this is rare and so everything is being decided on a risk versus risk basis.
If the Vanco. does not work, there is a strong possibility that she will need a fecal transplant. I kid you not. Liz heard this and put her foot down, swearing that she draws the line at someone else's poop being transplanted into her. I totally understand. This is a last-resort, rare treatment, but the doctor felt he needed to at least talk to us about the possibility because, bluntly, we are running out of options.

The doctor felt that Liz was extra pale today and so she had labs drawn to check her counts. She also had blood taken for Retic study- it measures how her marrow is producing red blood cells. We know she is anemic and we know she will need therapy for the anemia, but they wanted to hold off on that until her CDiff was cured, as iron can cause stomach issues and she is already dealing with enough of that. We may have to start now, though, depending on these results.

At one point today Liz asked the doctors why she is not getting better. Damn good question Liz, but oh, my heart. Dr. M. told her that NONE of this is her fault and that he doesn't know exactly why. He explained to her that her body isn't as strong as some others and it isn't as ready to fight off such a nasty toxin. He promised her she would get better and bless her heart, she shrugged her shoulders at him.

So, you can see how many inferences and how much silliness I must have had in my first attempt at this post. But, you can also see how seriously I come to those of you who pray to ask for your prayers. Pray for the Vanco. to finally work. Pray that VRE not become an issue due to being on the Vanco for so long. Pray that her blood counts be stable and her anemia resolve. Pray for her mentally as she is so, so strong, but she is tired of all of this and it is wearing her down.

As Liz suffers and endures, please pray and hope with us.