We all know that Maisie had tetanus as a baby, but we thought it had been eradicated completely from her system by her first birthday. Well, the last time Maisie saw Kaitlynn it was in May, when Maisie started exhibiting symptoms again. We're not really sure if the bacteria had been reintroduced or if it had been dormant for two years, but either way this time it really did a number on her system. As a baby she responded really well to the drugs they gave her but this time after a few days she started a downward spiral. The IDS (infectious disease specialist) prescribed one antibiotic after another. He was confident he'd find something that worked eventually, but in the meantime s just got worse and worse. It was awful to watch. She could not swallow or breathe or even turn her head by herself. She was on oxygen 24/7 and sometimes even that wasn't enough. It was scary shit. Eventually her jaw locked shut and she had to have a feeding tube put back in. But long before then, she had lost the will to eat. She had no appetite. She lost twenty pounds. Finally, the doctors told us there was not much hope.
Kaitlynn was in a similar state. She had stopped responding to the chemotherapy. Despite the fact that Maisie was 3 and Kaitlynn was 8, they could almost have passed for twins. Zombie twins. She's really short for her age because of the cancer, but she just looked diminutive. The very definition of "wasting away." I can't describe how scary it was to see these girls, my girls, looking like this. They really were like a pair of skeletons. Then, something amazing happened.
The IDS prescribed a massive dose of metronidazole AND clindamycin. Both medicines had been tried before individually, but the risks associated with taking them together and taking so much of them was such that he would not have tried this until she was at the brink of death. Well, she was flirting with death, alright. It took a long time (she was first admitted to the hospital in March and wasn't released until May) but by the last week of April she was herself again.
Unfortunately, it wasn't so simple for Kaitlynn. The oncologist who was treating her gave up and gave her another month to live. So her parents had her airlifted to a hospital in Boston, where they had a little more hope. By the end of the summer, both girls were happy and (sort of) healthy again.
Miracle.
Kaitlynn was in a similar state. She had stopped responding to the chemotherapy. Despite the fact that Maisie was 3 and Kaitlynn was 8, they could almost have passed for twins. Zombie twins. She's really short for her age because of the cancer, but she just looked diminutive. The very definition of "wasting away." I can't describe how scary it was to see these girls, my girls, looking like this. They really were like a pair of skeletons. Then, something amazing happened.
The IDS prescribed a massive dose of metronidazole AND clindamycin. Both medicines had been tried before individually, but the risks associated with taking them together and taking so much of them was such that he would not have tried this until she was at the brink of death. Well, she was flirting with death, alright. It took a long time (she was first admitted to the hospital in March and wasn't released until May) but by the last week of April she was herself again.
Unfortunately, it wasn't so simple for Kaitlynn. The oncologist who was treating her gave up and gave her another month to live. So her parents had her airlifted to a hospital in Boston, where they had a little more hope. By the end of the summer, both girls were happy and (sort of) healthy again.
Miracle.
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