Meningitis

Day 9 post op and Gabriel has been admitted to the ICU with meningitis.  As if brain surgery doesn't illicit enough fear in a parent, now I have to hear that my child has meningitis. 

The neurosurgeon did a spinal tap to determine which type of meningitis he is battling. I was surprised that the spinal tap is performed in his hospital room.  Andrew stayed in the room and ended up assisting in case Gabriel woke up.  

If he has bacterial meningitis, he will be in the hospital for 14-21 days depending on which bacteria it is.  It takes 48-72 hours to run all of the tests so the earliest we can leave is Sunday evening at 7 pm. (It's Friday evening)

All of the beeps and running oxygen and suction swooshing are making me anxious this time.  Actually I'm scared  I'm terrified about what lies ahead of us This is our third stay in the PICU in a matter of months.  The bright lights flash across the screens with numbers and when they go too low, people run into the room and monitors beep furiously. 

This time we have an added bonus: the staff comes in the room in a yellow mask and a yellow protective covering over their clothing. It feels like I'm on a TV set, not a child's hospital room. The extra protection is freaking me out, I can only imagine what my 9 year old is thinking when he sees these people approach him.