the facts as we know them.........

So............these are the facts as we know them. Likely not so accurate but the best that we have until the parents can correct us.

Saturday: Charlie spends the night vomicking and he is a bit lack-luster. Angel takes him to the Instacare where she is instructed to push the pedilyte.

Sunday: There is a fever, listlessness, and vomick. Another trip to Instacare-more pedilyte and instructions to come back if the diapers are dry.

Sunday around 5:00-Back to Instacare due to dry diapers. The ambulance was summoned and off to PCMC Angel and Charlie go with Brit and Rob in the car following behind. Once at PCMC there was a chest x-ray, lab tests, and a lumbar puncture. The lumbar puncture was sadly positive and off to the ICU they all went with the diagnosis of Pneumococcal Meningitis.

Monday early AM: Charlie Cooper begins to receive LARGE doses of vancomycin and rifamphin. He is awake but miserable and the MD's cannot administer anything to alleviate the poor childs discomfort. The antibiotics are given every 6 hours and getting sick before getting better is normal. A baseline cat scan is done.

Monday morning: The infectious disease MD came and said that in all his years he hadn't see the amount of bacteria on a gram stain that Charlie had produced. Complications were discussed (hearing loss, dain bramage, seizures). Charlie is beginning to posture (a sign of trouble in the brain) on the right side. Due to the dehydration from several days of vomicking a lot of IV fluid was given so the poor child was quite swollen and puffy. Boo.

Monday lunch: Meghan went to the hospital to sit with Charlie so Angel and Rob could take a breather. Charlie is miserable and Meghan is heartsick.

Monday afternoon: The MD's decide to intubate (install a breathing tube) Charlie as a safety precaution before repeating the cat scan. Luckily, Beth was visiting the parents and she was able to stay with Charlie during the procedure as parents are asked to step out. After the intubation, Charlie seems more comfortable and he heads off to the CT. At this point, Rob and Grandpa Brian administered to Charlie. Never have we needed the power of the Priesthood like we do now! The MD's have done a test on the response of the puplis and the results were not good.

Angel and Rob, physically and emotionally exhausted. Keep them in your prayers as well.