Fever

Eleanor's fever is persisting. Every time I think it is under control, it pops up, seemingly out of nowhere. She had blood cultures done when it first spiked three days ago and they put her on antibiotics right away. That didn't seem to work, so they put her on a new antibiotic and have done more blood cultures this morning.

We never had a thermomater in the house when I was growing up. My mum and dad used to just feel my forehead to judge how sick I was. It seemed to work for them, but I thought they were crazy to rely on intuition. Now that I have experienced my own child with a fever, I get it. Her whole being is consumed by fire. Her breath is hot and ragged. Her head is sweaty. Her skin is scorching. Her cries are laboured and are never ending. It seems so exhausting. I hope these antibiotics work for her. She hasn't slept much this week and she really needs to rest, God love her.

She is getting better, despite the fever. Her blood counts are rising again, which will help her fight off whatever is ailing her. Every now and then we see glimmers of a happier girl, and it eases our worried minds. She loves playing peek-a-boo with her dad's hat and has started showing an interest in that again. It's better than her playing with all the tubes! She has a really bad habit of pulling on them when she is high on morphine. I turned my back for a few minutes the other night and this is the mess she created...

Such a junkie!