antibiotic

[MATJESNIC]

Just want to be sure that Nicole doesn't need an antibiotic before the orthodontist. Her bracket just broke and he will need to put on a new one. He says she doesn't need one for that, but I want to know what you all think.

[mariaf]

I would think she'd need one...unless what he's doing is very minor. For David, I was told antibiotics for the first year post-op if he was going to the dentist - so that first annual checkup he took antibiotics first.

Definitely check with Dr. Dorman's office.

[MATJESNIC]

They prescribed something for "dirty dental" She is going to the ortho to get a bracket put on. The ortho says she shouldn't need it for this procedure. Wanted to know if others had experience with ortho, not dentist.

[mariaf]

Melissa,

I remember one mom telling me a while ago that her daughter took antibiotics before getting work on her braces. If it were me I would ask my orthopedic surgeon to be sure, rather than going strictly by what the orthodontist says. I'm sure he/she knows what they are talking about but it can't hurt to ask Dormans, right? You know me - I am a big worry wart

Maria

[MATJESNIC]

She just had her appt. and I didn't have her take anything. The ortho said if there is no blood involved it is not necessary. Thanks for all of your input.

[Carmell]

Melissa,

Glad the appt went well. That information is what we were told - as long as no possible bleeding, she's fine.

I hope Nicole is still doing well at school. 8th grade is a cool year! Braydon is in 7th grade, but isn't going to public school. He missed a lot of 6th grade due to migraines and a re-tethered spinal cord. I knew he was behind, academically, so I had pre-planned to do homeschooling this year to get him caught up. I'm glad I did because this infection mess has sent our heads spinning. He is getting ready to start the homeschooling stuff (finally physically able to do school work) this weekend. He has no desire to go to middle school, so we'll likely do homeschooling again next year. Then, 9th grade is in the high school here, so he will be able to choose if he wants to go to high school or not. By then, he should be more than caught up (schoolwork comes fairly easy to him, so I'm not worried about him being behind forever).

[MATJESNIC]

Carmell,

Am I right to assume your Brayden's infection has cleared up? I sure hope so. I agree with him. He is not missing much by not going to middle school. Both of my girls were and are less than thrilled with it. High school is a different story. I can imagine there is a lot less stress at your house because he is not worrying about catching up when he gets back. Nicole is pretty much caught up, but that is because she has been working non-stop. She comes home and does homework until she goes to bed. Hopefully it will soon get easier.

[Carmell]

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for letting me side-track your thread... didn't mean to, but this is as good a place as any.

We met with the Infectious Disease people on Tuesday. His blood work has been in the "normal" range (CRP and ESR are inflammatory markers) for 2 weeks now. They feel the infection is gone and he could stop the IV antibiotics (had been taking them for 4 weeks). He will do one week of oral antibiotics (Cipro - yikes!) and then be done! We won't have to go back to Infectious Disease unless there is a problem. He's been taking the Cipro since Tuesday and it makes him nauseous and still not feeling well, but better than he has in the past 7+ weeks. I'm hoping once he stops the antibiotics for good, he will feel much better, much quicker. He is just wiped out still. His red blood cell counts are barely in the normal range, but low. His potassium is low. The meds have wiped him out. He's taking iron+ supplements and that seems to help a little. Every little bit helps. The weight bearing will be our longer term issue now. And yes, it is so nice not to have to worry about school and them hounding us that he's not attending or not keeping up. He'll make it, I'm sure. I'm glad my kids aren't the only ones who think middle school isn't all its cracked up to be. I think high school might work for Braydon. Only time will tell.

Take care and tell Nicole we're thinking of her... BTW, Braydon has dark red bands on his braces... he didn't want to be "festive" and do Halloween colors... silly kid.

[mariaf]

Carmell,

I'm so sorry to hear that Braydon has had such a difficult time lately. I didn't know about the infection or anything - he must be one tough fellow - I'll be pulling for him!

Best,

Maria

[Carmell]

Thanks Maria. I didn't know anything about infection either. After 23 surgeries, he's NEVER had a complication, let alone an infection like this. He had 3 surgeries in 4 weeks time during Sept. Two were debridement surgeries to clean out two different infected areas. I've learned about infections, PICC lines, antibiotics, etc. Now, I'm done. I hope never to have to use what I learned, ever again. This has by far wiped him out more and longer than anything he's been through. Not fun, but he's on the mend, finally. Life is great.

[MATJESNIC]

Hopefully, it will only get better from here. I am sorry I keep spelling your son's name wrong. Is Braydon going to get to go out at all on Wed.? Does he feel well enough to have friends over at all? How is his spirit?

[Carmell]

Melissa,

Braydon has become quite a recluse. I've had to almost force him to go outside with me when I run quick errands, just to get fresh air. It's been better this week, since he stopped the IV antibiotics. Before then, the ONLY time he went out was to go to yet another appointment. We live 2 hours away from the hospital, so those days wiped him out even more. He's talked about dressing up for Halloween, but in the same breath he'll say he's not going trick-or-treating. He doesn't even want to hand out candy at our house. Usually that's what we do as a family - hand out candy instead of going out for more. My kids weren't into trick or treating, but we love to have fun with the holiday. We have a neighbor family who may be having a "Young Frankenstein" party this weekend. That would be good if he can get out and socialize a little. One step at a time, right? Thanks again for thinking of us. It means a lot knowing people we've never met do care. Mary Lou was very thoughtful and sent him a card a few weeks ago. That was fun for him to see someone was thinking of him. Once he gets feeling better, I'm sure his social calendar will fill up. We don't have very many kids in the neighborhood, but everyone likes him and is willing to help keep him company, when he's ready. Take care and Happy Halloween to you and your family.

[MATJESNIC]

Again,

I wish him and all of you the best. Yes, Mary Lou is a very sweet person. We actually went to her family's home last year. It is so nice when you can meet people in person. Of course, so many people on this forum don't live that far from me, so it makes it a lot easier.

Not crazy about Halloween. But my kids never tire of it. I said earlier that Roxy (little bichon puppy) is going to be a ballerina. So that should make for some interesting conversation!!!!

[Snoopy]

Thank you ladies for your kind words.

Carmell,

It's funny you mentioned the card--there is another one sitting in my kitchen since the beginning of the week just waiting for me to remember to mail it!

Mary Lou

[laurieg6]

Carmell - I am happy to hear that Braydon's infection is better & that he is regaining his strength. I've been wondering how he's been doing so it's really good to see something positive about him. It's great that you can homeschool him & let him work at his own pace both in recovery & with school work.

Melissa - It's amazing how well Nicole seems to be doing. That is wonderful. I thought you had said before her surgery that she didn't like school but now it sounds like she is liking it & doing well! How is her posture?