Cryptococcus, Hatcher, and the Saint

Just a quick medical update. Timmie had 900 ccs of fluid drained from her lung this morning in interventional radiology. 900 ccs! That is 30.5 ounces. Nearly 4 cups of fluid. No wonder the poor kid couldn't breath and get her lung to inflate. They placed a chest tube, so fluids continue to drain.  Her fevers spiked pretty high last night, so we are sure hoping this helps with pain, fevers, and nausea. They will test the fluid for bacteria or fungus and try to figure out why this happened. Meanwhile, Infectious Disease came in with some news from University of Washington. The original fungus found in her lung was not aspergillus after all. Rather it was a fungus called cryptococcus, which they are telling me is much easier to treat. She will, however, have to stay on her anti fungal med (v-fend...I only remember the nickname) for six to twelve months. That doesn't sound so easy to me, but apparently it is much easier to fight. Of course it is fairly rare, and the "smartest infectious doctor alive" has seen less than 100 cases in his career. However, it is much more common in other parts of the country, and smart people know other smart people, so the "smartest infectious doctor alive" will contact the cryptococcus expert and pick his brain. They will test the fluids they extracted from her lung this morning for bacteria and fungus, and they will look for an explanation as to why this happened. She has been awake for about an hour and a half, and we are all surprised at how well she is doing. Her fever is down a bit, but she is still groggy from the sedation.  She just ate some soup and bread, asked for an icee (of course... it is her favorite part of any surgery or procedure) and is getting ready for respiratory therapy. She is in much less pain than we expected, which is a huge blessing because we should get her up and moving tonight. I hate to be too presumptuous or to get my hopes up, but she is doing fairly well at the moment. Her soccer team and a few other groups of friends wanted to come and visit her this weekend, but when we found out about the procedure, we realized there was a good chance of complications. Her last chest tube landed her in picu with a collapsed lung. She was very disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see her teammates and friends...at least not this weekend. She is drifting off to sleep now and keeps asking me if her dad is here yet. She loves it when he is here, and gets so sad when he has to get back to Pocatello to work and to take care of little Julian. Lately she has been missing Julian terribly as well. Two nights ago, through her tears, she told me that she didn't want to miss any more time with him before she goes off to college. Ok...I said this would be a short medical update, but I have to share some good news. While Timmie was having her chest tube placed, I saw a message that she had received from Hatcher's mother. Before she got sick, Timmie and her sophomore class raised money for Make-a-Wish so that he and his family could go to Disneyworld. He has had a rough go of it, and Timmie realized that he might not make it to the trip. She and Julian have prayed so hard for him daily, that he would be able to go to Disneyworld. Britt's message was informing Timmie that they are flying out tomorrow. She sent a cute picture of Hatcher and his sweet sister, Jackson, preparing for their trip. As soon as Timmie opened her eyes from sedation, I whispered the good news to her. An instant smile swept across her face. She wanted this so badly for him and his family. I believe that certain people are sent into our lives for special reasons. It was no accident that Timmie crossed paths with the Wheatleys, and I am so grateful that she can look up to people of such character, courage, faith, and strength.  Have fun guys! As always, our thoughts and prayers are with you! Timmie loves the Princess and the Frog princess. Take a picture if you see her. Oh...one last thing. Have I mentioned that Dr. Carroll is a saint? She made such a huge sacrifice today to make sure that Timmie could get her wound vac change done while still under sedation. She is the most selfless and genuine person that I know. I can completely understand why she and Timmie share such a strong bond. They are kindred spirits.