Monday was Audrena's first day back at daycare. About mid-morning, I got a call from daycare asking if we might have a headband or something to help them keep the headpiece on. Remember that we are waiting for a magnet, so in the meantime I have it configured so that it's too weak rather than too strong. I ran to Wal-Mart and picked up a set of cloth headbands and dropped them off. The one I put on her fit nicely, not too tight, and it worked well for them.
Randy went to daycare in the afternoon for an in-service with our SD School for the Deaf worker. All was well, and the training went well. That was at 2:30.
At about 5:10, I arrived to pick up the kids. Audrena was fussy, and I attributed it to an overwhelmingly stimulating day. When we got home, I was calming her down, and I ran my hand over her forehead and cheek. She felt warm. I took her temperature, and the thermometer read 100.4. We were 2 weeks out from the first surgery and 2 weeks until the next surgery. I struggled with wanting to panic. This could be infection.
Immediately, I let Randy know. He was able to stop home for his supper break. Right away, he noticed that her implant site seemed swollen. The internal implant just looked like it was sticking out more than it had been. I had heard about instances where the implant site gets really infected and had to be removed until it's clear of infection. My mind went to the worst place, and I was so sick about it that I just wanted to throw up.
I called the after hours line for Boys Town, and a nurse called me back. He said it was probably fine to wait until morning since it was a low fever, and I should call the doctor's office then. I gave Audrena a dose of Tylenol, and she was so exhausted that she quickly fell asleep. All evening, I kept checking her temperature and feeling the implant site while she slept. After Reyana and Kelton were asleep, I brought Audrena into my bed so I could keep close watch over her. All night long, I kept waking to check her temperature. I would let the Tylenol wear off awhile to see what the fever was doing. It climbed very slowly.
Right away the next morning I called Boys Town. I was able to forward a photo of the implant site to Dr. L.'s nurse. She consulted with him, and he suggested that we see our family doctor. His nurse called our family doctor's office and instructed them on what they should look for. Randy took Audrena to see Dr. A. She checked Audrena over well and did a CBC to check her levels. That came back just fine, and she said there was no indication of infection around the incision, in the ears, or at the implant site. But she did have a swollen lymph node on the left side, and those counts were slightly elevated on the CBC. She called Dr. L.'s nurse back to consult with her.
They think Audrena had a bit of a virus. Also, the nurse said sometimes after activation the soft tissue swells a bit. We also wonder if the headband might have irritated the tissue at the implant site a bit as well. The fever has gone away, and Audrena is back to normal. What a scare! I was so worried!
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