Home Again, Home Again....

(This post was originally written the day after we returned from the hospital. It got delayed because the other posts seemed more important.  I couldn't figure out an easy way to make it current, and I like it, so here it is.)

We made it home Sunday afternoon, and spent Sunday evening recovering as best we could from three nights of broken hospital sleep.  I returned to work today, and Hubby had to leave periodically,  leaving Babygirl in phone contact with us and a neighbor.  Curlygirl is sick and couldn't come over, and Boo is sick so Boo'sMom couldn't come.  In a perfect world one of us would have totally had the day off, but hey, we are living proof that this is not a perfect world. 

Babygirl is closer to "back to normal" each day.  She ate dinner tonight, the first full meal I've seen her eat since Tuesday night.  Teacher is coming tomorrow to continue her State testing. Life marches on. 

I didn't see too many patients today - most were cancelled in case we didn't make it back from Philly.  But needless to say, at least two had illnesses that made me have to consider using the medication that wiped out Babygirl's immune system. 

And I used it.

Nothing has changed at all about what I know of the risks of the drug - I myself am allergic to it.  What has changed is my personal experience, my personal awareness of the dangers.  It doesn't merely impact THIS drug - I had to think a bit longer and a bit harder about ALL of the medications my patients were on today, double checking mentally to see what, if anything I can do about risks.  And the answer did not surprise me:  "Very little."

All I can do is be vigilant.  I always warn my patients about common side effects of medications, but there is no way on earth even the fast-speaking commercial voiceovers can cover all the potential risks, and no way any patient would listen beyond the first three or four (or if they did, then no way the would ever take ANY medication.  What sane person would?).  The only other thing I can do is to ask my patients to be vigilant.  Taking a moment to educate people on the common risks of their meds is easy.  Figuring out where to draw the line on the rarer stuff is difficult.  Frankly, if people knew ALL of the risks of  medications, no one would take them.

I feel a bit like I'm in the Hunger Games:  "And may the odds be EVER in your favor!"

DeeDee