Brent Update

Brent is in the hospital again. This is the second time in about a month. Once again, he is fighting MRSA.

The Infectious Disease docs saw him on Friday. They are all in agreement that something besides the MRSA is going on. Yes, MRSA is a nasty infection. However, most people who get it can fight it off either on their own or with oral antibiotics. For many people, it doesn't ever return. They are concerned that there is something else going on with Brent that is causing him to get this over and over and over without being able to fight it on his own. So now they are talking about doing some tests to figure out if there is something going on in his immune system. So that's kind of the next step. They are also talking about sending him home with a central line, probably a PICC line, so that he can continue IV therapy at home. This is something we have been pushing for for a long time. We are really glad that the docs are finally starting to come around to this idea. The bottom line is that oral antibiotics just aren't enough for Brent. This infection continues to return, he goes to the hospital for a few days of IV treatment, comes home on oral antibiotics and we're back in the same boat again in a few weeks. All in all, this is his fifth hospital stay for MRSA and I'm not even sure how many times he has fought the infection out of the hospital. More than anything else, we just want him to get well. Hopefully by tomorrow we should have more information.

The other concern with Brent coming home without a treatment plan is Tyler's health. Obviously Ty has also battled MRSA quite often. Tyler's immune system is compromised due to the chemo and they're concerned that Brent and Ty are just passing the infection back and forth to one another. Tyler's Oncology team is starting to advocate for Brent and Tyler as well so that we can come up with a plan for both of them. We are so thankful for all of Tyler's doctors and nurses. They truly do have his best interest at heart as well as the rest of our family. We are so blessed!

Unfortunately Tyler has the same nasty head cold that Emma and I have. He has been pretty miserable today. Thankfully Em seems to be feeling better though she still has a yucky cough. Nate has started coughing and has the runny nose. Sounds like a barrel of laughs, doesn't it? :) The kids all want to go see their Daddy but I'm afraid to take them up there. I don't want to share germs or contract any new ones.

I will update again tomorrow when I know more. Thanks for the emails and comments left here and the love and prayers. We truly appreciate it!