Katy came home from the hospital last night. Paul went to get her and I stayed home to get her “hot tub” ready for a long, hot, soak when she got home. She took a bath and went right to bed and slept eighteen hours without pain medication. At four this morning I checked on Katy and her body was soaking wet. I woke her up and immediately she said, “Mom! My nausea is gone and I’m so hungry!” Today she is able to eat baby food. Her nausea and abdominal pain are low.
Four weeks ago our family and extended family joined together and fasted for 24 hours, dedicating ourselves to God in prayer for Katy and others in our family. We communicated by email throughout the day including our prayer requests for each other. Aunt Lil prayed that Katy’s adrenal glands would be miraculously healed. It was shortly after that when Katy got very sick.
One of the reasons Katy was sent back to the hospital was a fierce looking boil under her arm, that appeared immediately after her hospital visit last week. When I showed it to the doctor on Monday and asked him about MRSA he was very abrupt with me and told me that it was probably an ingrown hair follicle. I finally told him that whether it looked like it to him or not I thought a culture of it would be the wisest thing so he drained it and took a scraping of it. Although her blood tested negative for MRSA, her skin culture from the boil was positive for MRSA. At that same appointment, Katy told him that she was so extremely nauseated that she felt poisoned. She told him how the nausea, diarrhea, and finally vomiting, had plagued her for the past few weeks along with severe stomach and bowel pain, accompanied by another adrenal crash. Once in the hospital a strong antibiotic was started while the lab cultures were in incubation. Cultures begin to grow bacteria within twenty-four hours. Except for the nausea, she started to feel a little bit better on the antibiotic. The IV antibiotic was changed over to oral medication Wednesday night in an effort to continue her care at home. Katy began taking Bactrim by mouth that night. She started feeling a little stronger and the medication stayed down, so by late afternoon yesterday she was released to come home. Paul and I suspect that she did have a nasty bacteria in her stomach and bowel and that it had caused many of her problems over the last few weeks. If not for the boil, there would have been no obvious reason for the doctor to put her on an antibiotic.
Now here is the interesting twist. After Katy had experienced severe diarrhea for three weeks, we discovered last Saturday that all of her daily oral medications (including prednisone) had passed through her body that day, completely whole and unabsorbed. Although she was still experiencing abdominal pain and nausea, her adrenal system seemed to be working fine. Remembering Aunt Lil’s prayer, we began to discuss the possibility that Katy had already gone through a prednisone withdrawal. That would explain her adrenal instability and aching body for the past three weeks. Since she had absorbed no prednisone on Saturday, we asked Katy if she wanted to try cutting her prednisone from her normal 20mg to 10mg to see what would happen. She did, on Sunday, and nothing happened. She was fine. The next day she said, “I want to try 5mg today and see what happens.” Nothing happened! Since Monday she has been on 5mg of prednisone daily. Her blood sugar, pressure, and temperature are all in the normal range, and her blood levels were monitored daily because she was in the hospital this week to treat the infection. She has not needed additional potassium or magnesium for the past five days. To go from 20mg to 5mg so quickly without adrenal failure is a miracle. It was just last week that one of the GI doctors said that if we keep trying to lower her prednisone we could risk her life at this point. Her endocrinologist said last month that he would try to help her taper off prednisone gradually but it would take a year or more. At 5mg, Katy is on a low enough dose of prednisone that she will be seeing a huge improvement in bone density and muscle strength. Her skin had become very thin and marked with what is known as ribboning. That will all improve.
In what seemed at the time like a horrible nightmare, the past three weeks were about tearing her down to build her back up. She experienced one of her lowest times in this HPS journey (see the posts from September 28 to October 5). She would be the first to say that she wouldn’t want to have to do that again, but the pain has produced a great gain for her. This was prayer being answered. During that time of extreme suffering, we believed that God was up to something. Some of her doctors, believing Katy was anorexic or enjoying the attention, treated her so poorly that we have been on a quest to replace them! We have found some new ones who are excited to take on this HPS mystery, and she will begin seeing them before the end of the month.
Many of us will be fasting again on Saturday, October 13. Anyone could have looked at Katy during the past three weeks and said, “Where is your God now?” Even several of her doctors had deserted her. If not for our steadfast resolve to leave Katy in God’s care and to trust Him, this journey has the potential to destroy us. We choose to believe that God is with us and carrying us through the most difficult circumstances. During this ordeal, Katy and I meditated on words from Jeremiah and they strengthened us. Whatever your circumstances, whatever your heartache, hold on and savor these words: Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord. Jeremiah 15:16
Comments: 
October 31st, 2007 at 6:58 pm e
Wow!!!
Enjoy your visiting Trick or Treaters’ costumes tonight and laugh and have fun!!
October 31st, 2007 at 8:36 pm e
God is so good to us and gives us encouraging news when we need it! I’m glad to hear about all the good things going on right now. It really is true that God’s blessings abound most clearly in our struggles. It seems I tell someone about Katy and the Campbell family every day
Someone always needs to hear the encouragement of knowing that it is possible to persevere and trust God even when we don’t necessarily know what’s going on! Praying for Katy and Qavah and all of you tonight. In Christ, Aleah
October 31st, 2007 at 8:59 pm e
What a clear and wonderful witness to the fact that our God IS and that He is doing miracles today! Those calorie and hemoglobin facts and the labs and how the girls are doing physically can only be His blessed work. We Praise you, Father! Please tell little Qavah that her Aunt Lil is very proud of her that she decided to be brave like Sister Katy! It will be SO much less traumatic for her, as she sees that it can be done without fighting and screaming, and over so much sooner! Katy, your Aunt Lil is so proud of you, too! Oh, my goodness, but I am. God bless you’re cotton-pickin’ little heart, as they used to say in No’th Carolina! Did you know I went to High School there? Used to talk just like a Tar-heel!
But I hope Katy, you will soon begin to lose the water weight from the prednisone. And I’m all stretched out waiting for you to be able to EAT A BLUEBERRY PANCAKE AGAIN! Love you all, Aunt Lil
October 31st, 2007 at 9:01 pm e
Once again we join you in praising God for His sustaining work in Katy and Qavah’s lives. It is a wondrous thing to see! Thank you for sharing. We continue in prayer for ya’ll and for the doctors.
Love and prayers,
Jen
November 1st, 2007 at 10:53 am e
Keep sipping away, Katy! Dehydration alone can make a person feel pretty nauseated. I hope the next couple of days bring a turn around in how Katy feels. I’m glad the labs look OK — that truly is a wonder and a miracle!
So glad that Qavah is finding huge amounts of courage to carry her through difficult medical procedures. Nobody should have to be poked so much when they are so small!
I send lots of hugs and prayers to all of you.
November 1st, 2007 at 7:24 pm e
Wow, what a truly Amazing God we serve.
May we always give Him the honor and praise he deserves.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:28 am e
Tell Qavah that we are so proud of her!! What an improvement! I can’t wait to meet her someday soon.
And proud of Katy too! We LOVE you!! I’m so thankful that God is giving you the strength that you need.
Love and hugs
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 am e
This update has brought me to tears. The grace the Lord has poured upon your family is amazing. I’m so proud of Qavah. I know that took a lot of courage for a four year old. I want her and Lorien to play together. I’ll give you a call when you are having some good days. We are praying for you all.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:21 am e
Really glad to hear things are improving!! Happy Birthday to Paul. I’ll be there soon. God bless you all.