Oh What A Night!

It all started as a usual Thursday morning sitting with Rory watching Barney and trying to get her to eat some breakfast.  Breakfast is usually here best meal of the day but yesterday morning she did not feel like eating and I guess that should of been a clue of how the day would end.  We played all morning, we purposely left her home from school, and then when she decided she really didn't want to walk on her right leg we knew it was time to contact the Drs at Nemours and see what will happen.  We layed her down for her nap and knew that after the nap we were heading down to Wolfson's Children Hospital to have some more lab work done and a possible fluid draw from her knee.  So how in the world did Rory end up having surgery?  Once we got to Wolfson we went directly to the Children's ER where her Godfather Romi was waiting for us.  He works in  Pediatric Orthopedics at Nemours and has been wonderful about getting things handled.  We were taken directly back to an ER bed for Rory where a team of four came in to put an IV into Rory's hand followed by a splint to keep her from ripping it off.  Labs were taken and her numbers doubled the normal levels so Rory had to be sedated so a fluid draw could be done.  At this point they did not know exactly what was wrong but suspected Septic Arthritis.  Septic Arthritis is the inflammation of a joint that's caused by infection.  It will typically affect one large joint like the knee or hip.  It is usually caused by bacteria that has spread through the blood stream from another area of the body.  In Rory's case it attached to her right knee.  After the fluid draw was completed we were told that she would be spending the night at the hospital so an MRI could be done in the morning.  They wanted to make sure the infection did not get into the bones.  After waiting and making arrangements all of a sudden everything changed and for the next couple of hours all HECK broke out.  Since an MRI was not going to happen until later in the day today and the numbers were high from the lab along with some pus in the fluid the Doctors decided to go ahead with surgery to get the knee drained and antibiotics administrated.  We went from spending the night to emergency surgery in about 60 seconds.  Rory was a trooper and we kept her distracted while sitting on her Mom or Dad's lap with videos until an OR opened up.  I was fortunate enough to have never had to go through an experience like this for my children but watching my granddaughter go through it was just as painful.  It is a scary experience.  Jenny and Nate were solid for their little girl and put up a strong and supportive front for Rory but once she was led to pre-op of course they let their guard down.  A support system for all of them was in place with Romi, Rory's Godfather and Frances, "her Spanish Grandma" and of course myself at the hospital with them.  Carrie, Jenny's sister and Rory's Aunt, went to the house to take care of the dogs.  Now their support system did not stop there.  Grandpa and Grandma Wagner, both out of town, were there by phone and text and Bumpa was driving down from Tennessee. They also had so many friends willing and waiting to help.  There were all the prayers and well wishes from the internet too which was their biggest support system of all.  Thank you one and all for your thoughts and prayers.  Prayer is a powerful thing and it works every time.  Rory is on the mend and will be in the hospital for a couple more days to make sure the infection is going away so please continue the prayers for Rory, Jenny and Nate.  Thank you to the Doctors, nurses and medical staff at Wolfson's Children Hospital and Nemours for all their hard work in figuring out and taking care of Rory.  Okay my sweet Rory let's start getting better so we can get back to playing in your room, blowing bubbles outside, taking walks, etc.  Gramma and Bumpa love you Rory.