Life with The Leivas: Good Timing

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Good Timing

I am so thankful that my mother-in-law has arrived to help and her timing couldn't be more perfect. Olivia spent all day throwing up. This morning I thought it might have been her medicine. Some changes were made to her medication line-up on Friday and I thought she might still be adjusting to those changes. It's not completely unusual for her to be a little nauseous in the morning. The doctors say that this is pretty common. Chemotherapy can really do a number on your stomach and sometimes it can take months to resolve. I also gave her some Lactaid milk today for the first time. She had been having soy milk but she has seemed really interested in Peter's whole milk so I thought she might like the lactaid milk. The vomiting continued throughout the day even though she only had milk with breakfast. She didn't have a fever and she was still acting like herself. Around 3:30 this afternoon she was still vomiting. She was just having water but it didn't seem like she was able to keep anything in her stomach. I called the clinic and they suggested that we bring her in. I quickly packed up and I headed into the clinic with Olivia. I am so thakful that Sonia was here to help with Peter. I would have hated to drag him into the clinic. Olivia and I arrived around 4:30. They started Olivia on some IV fluids and and gave her some anti-nausea medicine. They drew some labs and we waited for the results. I could tell the anti-nausea medicine made her feel better. Her labs came back showing that she wasn't dehydrated but that her white blood count was very elevated. At this stage in the game an elevated white blood count is an indicator that her body is fighting some type of infection. Olivia is on almost every kid of antibiotic known to man so I don't know how she could even have an infection. Olivia stopped throwing up after her anti-nausea medicine so they eventually let us head home around 8pm with a follow-up appointment first thing Monday morning and a prescription for some anti-nausea medicine.

At this point we're not really sure what's going on. I do know that I am very glad that Sonia is here to help. It was so nice to leave Peter happily here at home instead of having to drag him along with us. With just Olivia to occupy at clinic our time seemed to go by so much faster.

1 comment:

Laura said...: I am so sorry! I hope the rest of the week brings better days for you and your sweet little one!; Monday, November 02, 2009 10:08:00 AM

Post a Comment

MPS/Sanfilippo Syndrome

In October, 2008 Olivia was disgnosed with MPS III or Sanfilippo Syndrome, type B. MPS stands for: Mucopolysaccharidoses. It is a genetic lysosomal storage disease (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes. Normally, the body uses enzymes to break down and recycle materials in cells. In individuals with MPS and related diseases, the missing or insufficient enzyme prevents the proper recycling process, resulting in the storage of materials in virtually every cell of the body. As a result, cells do not perform properly and may cause progressive damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system. While the disease may not be apparent at birth, signs and symptoms develop with age as more cells become damaged by the accumulation of cell materials.

Babies and young children with Sanfilippo Syndrome appear normal, but symptoms begin to appear with age as more and GAGs build up in the cells of the body. There are 3 stages to the disease. Stage 1 the child begins to lag behind peers and begins to display difficult behaviors. Stage 2 the child losing his/her language, becomes hyperactive, chews on everything, and has sleeping difficulties. Stage 3 the child slows down, becomes dependant for all mobility and loses the ability to chew/swallow. There is no treatment or cure for Sanfilippo. Life expectancy varies.