RHINOVIRUS

The good news is we found the cause of Caleb’s fever. The bad news is he tested positive for Rhinovirus. This sounds scary but is one of the most common viruses found in humans and is the predominant cause of the common cold. So in other words, Caleb’s immune system was so run down he couldn’t fight off a cold.

This is why we usually keep him in a bubble this part of the cycle when his blood counts are low. He could have caught it at St. Jude, or Tyler could have brought it home from school, or any number of things. Despite this being a virus they are keeping him on antibiotics, I guess to be sure no other infections occur. But mostly the virus will just run it’s course and he was already starting to feel better today! He ate a lot more and we played with his Legos for a while.

Unfortunately Caleb is in isolation because they don’t want the virus spreading to any other kids on the floor (makes sense!) So everyone that comes in or out of our room has to wear a gown, gloves, and mask, and Caleb can not leave the room. So, we have a very limited view of the world and limited activities at the moment.

The way they test for Rhinovirus is by putting a tube up Caleb’s nose, spraying some water, and sucking out a sample. Poor Caleb! It was fast but he did NOT like this test! I hope he never has to do it again!!

I know we’ve talked about it before but thank goodness for The Happy Cart! It comes around just about every night to the kids that are here and volunteers pass out toys to cheer the kids up. It’s so wonderful because it really improves Caleb’s mood. Tonight he picked none other than… a Lego set! ha ha!! So of course we immediately opened it and built some more Legos!

So we basically just have to wait for Caleb’s counts to start coming up. He did not have a fever at all today so we have now passed 24 hours with no fever. Tomorrow afternoon will mark 48 hours since the blood cultures were started, but so far nothing has grown and I don’t really expect anything to, so that is very good! I think it was just the Rhinovirus that was making him feel really bad.

I am not sure when we will be discharged but I am really hoping by Saturday! We just pray that Caleb continues to recover quickly so we can get out of here. The walls of this hospital room close in with each day that passes, trust me!!

To end on a happy note, Tyler had another T-ball game tonight and played really great again. This really seems to be something he enjoys and so far is good at. I have yet to make it to a game with all that has been going on, but I can’t wait to see him play in person hopefully next week!