news.

They say that no news is good news.  But good news isn't no news.  And bad news, well, nobody likes that.  Unfortunately, that's what I have today.

Last night, before my mom and I left the hospital, Ruthe's nurse told us that her white blood cell count was a little high.  That made me nervous, but I know that I can't really do anything about it and I just have to trust the doctors to treat her.  Then, when I got to the hospital this morning, her count had gone up even higher!  (It was 16, and jumped to 33 - in case you understand WBC numbers, because I sure don't!)  The doctor told me that they'd taken some blood and urine cultures to test for infection, and started her on antibiotics.  So now it's just a waiting game, because the cultures have to be given 48-hours to grow before the doctors can decide if they're positive or negative.

I'm kind of hoping that this is just a little flare-up of her VRE, and the antibiotics will take care of it before it even turns into a big deal.

It could also be a symptom of diGeorge Syndrome, and there could be an issue with her thymus.  In some cases of diGeorge, the thymus is totally absent, causing some immunodeficiencies.  Ruthe's thymus is definitely there, but they weren't sure if some had been lost during her first surgery, or if it was underdeveloped, or if it's just completely normal and they saw it at a weird angle.  And all of her blood work came back normal, suggesting that she won't have any serious issues with infections.  But we'll really only know for certain if she stays healthy as she grows and continues to be exposed to different things.  

There are a couple of good things going for us... First, Ruthe hasn't been acting like she's sick.  She's sleepy all the time, from her drugs, but when she is awake she's definitely her regular self!  And second, she hasn't had a fever, at all, the entire time she's been in the hospital.  Actually, I don't think Ruthe's ever had a fever!  

I sure do love my little baby nugget!  I'm really hoping that this all gets figured out quickly, so I can bring her home again!!  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, because we all know she's not the only one fighting this battle - Ruthe has more well-wishers, cheerleaders, and guardian angels than anyone else I know, and every single one of her victories belongs to all of you, too!!