Temperature Spikes

Dylan got readmitted to E39 at the QMC on Wednesday afternoon after spiking a temperature whilst we were out. We were shopping in Farmfoods at the time and he had been complaining of tummy ache for a while so we checked his temperature.. it gradually went from 37.5 to 38 then to 39.5 which meant a call to the ward! We quickly abandoned our shopping, popped home for some clothes and his meds then drove over.

Despite sitting him in the car in just a t-shirt and pants with the air con on full blast and the windows all down he just got hotter, not helped by the heat outside either! By the time we arrived his temperature was well over 40 and at dangerous levels..

They took blood for cultures from his lines and did swabs. They then gave him IV paracetamol to help bring his temperature down quickly as he was starting to look awful, shaking and almost falling asleep. The doctor started him on a broad spectrum antibiotic as the results from the cultures would take up to 48 hours and that was a little too long to leave him in such a state in case it was anything serious! Thankfully he did not have a febrile seizure which we now know he is prone to, so that was a blessing at least..

He perked up with paracetamol but seemed to keep spiking the next day as it wore off and before the next lot was due but we managed to keep him comfortable and he seemed fairly happy in himself!

By yesterday morning he was running riot and not acting poorly at all! His consultant would have let us go home had he not spiked again when he woke up crying from a nightmare at 5am. So they all decided to hold and wait for the culture results to be safe, which were due to be reported by 6pm.

His nurse let me know last night that his results were all negative and he had no more temperature spikes over night. Prof. Grundy was on ward rounds this morning as it is his weekend on call.. he simply waved at us and said "off you go"!

It looks like his temperature was either down to something viral or just a reaction to his chemotherapy, either way antibiotics won't treat it. We also discussed Dylan's appointment with GOSH on August 25th and that he will be having a repeat CT scan now before we go. This makes me nervous but also excited to see if there has been any improvement.

The past few days/nights have been tricky. Mike can't really keep taking time off work so Bryce stayed at my parents and Logan stayed at the hospital with me. Luckily he was fairly settled once he did fall asleep at night, the biggest challenge was getting him to sleep and keeping him and Dylan both entertained in the day. I had to take Logan in the pushchair with me when I went to the toilet even!! It gives me a new appreciation for those with young babies in the hospital 24/7.. it really is exhausting!