Yellow is the color of sunshine and happiness...

So, we made it through the night without anything crazy happening. Fever still there, not better, not worse, at 38.6. I was speaking to a resident this morning about him. The problem is, even when something is going on with Isaiah, his lab work typically does not look horrible. Abnormal, but not horrible. When he was in rejection his lab work was normal, even his immunosuppressive drug level was normal. Yet he was in rejection. With the vomiting that started in January and led to this surgery-lab work, all normal. Not a single sign that something is going on except what I can see with my eyes and my intimate knowledge of my son. Normal kids lay in bed-not Isaiah. If he is laying in bed, something is seriously wrong. But I digress...

The resident was explaining to me that his lab work is abnormal but not significantly horrible. I exlpained about how everything looks OK when it's not. I really believed that the vomiting he was having was because everything was backing up into his liver again, but I don't think anyone believed me.

When I bathed him I realized that the swelling has gone down in his abdomen. Since his abdomen is basically hollow now, the drain tube (from the picture yesterday) is tilted downwards instead of being straight. I cleaned it and put a piece of gauze under the round plastic guard. Guess what?? A ton of drainage came out. Then suddenly, my boy felt much better. So, I think we have taken care of the pain issue, maybe. That would have been enough to cause the vomiting because the fluid in his gut would have backed up into the liver.

When the team came for rounds, we talked about the fever and jaundice. It may never go away. We just don't know yet. It could start to resolve slowly OR this is the start of a very rocky road to liver failure. He's not even officially listed for transplant yet. He has to heal for 6-8 weeks first. So, we will have to learn to love yellow, I'm trying to make myself really like it right now. I think I will go straight home and take anything yellow out of his closet. Definitely not flattering at this point. It reminds me of when his big sister, Boo, was a newborn. She had the newborn jaundice and it really ticked me off-we had received some darling clothes for her at a shower and most of the items were yellow. You never saw a less flattering look on a newborn.

I am about to leave for home again and hated saying goodbye to my boy. My husband had just left for church services when the team came for rounds, so I need to update him ASAP.

Back home to my girls!!!