Back to the hospital last night

Before I get into what happened last night, first a quick recap on some of the immediate dangers to Leslie.

1. Labor - the baby is just too young at 21 weeks. We need 24 weeks for a 50/50 chance.
2. Infection - Chorioamnionitis (AKA Chorio). This is a an infection that cannot be treated by antibiotics once it sets in. It's a very dangerous situation which requires immediate action, which is to deliver the baby. Chorio usually begins with a spiking fever, pain, etc. At 100.4°, we have been instructed to go to hospital.

Last night at 7 PM Leslie's temperature read at 100°. She has been between 98 - 98.5° since this all began. 30 minutes later it was 100.3°. By 8 PM it was 100.6°, and Leslie was generally feeling sick. We notified Leslie's doctors and left for Norton Suburban Hospital. My Mom came over to spend the night with Rylee.

When we arrived at the hospital, we expected the worst. Leslie's examination found no pain around the uterus, however she did have a 100.3° temperature. The doctor felt that she was most likely in the beginning stages of Chorio, but decided to hold off on any further actions until Leslie's white blood cell (WBC) count came back. (For WBC counts - the higher the number, the more likely there is an infection). In Denver, her WBC was at 13 which is considered "normal" for pregnant women. Last night Leslie's WBC came back at 12. Her doctor was expecting something higher than 16 for Chorio.

So we spent the night in the hospital last night. Leslie slept fairly well all in all. This morning they ran another WBC which came back at 9! Her temperature is down to 98.5°. We're not sure why she had a fever last night. We suspect it is either Chorio starting to make its presence known, or she had a "bug". We pray it's the latter.

This morning (after Leslie Depaola dropped off coffee - thank you!) we had a consult with a Neonatologist. While he was forthright in saying that at 24 weeks his medical opinion was that we are in a bad position for success, he did have hope. He mentioned several instances of survival after everyone expected the worst.

Bottom line, we are in a tough spot for sure. We are aware of the odds and the likely outcome. But until that time we are staying the course and praying for the best. The road continues on...

I'm not sure if we are going home today. I suspect Leslie may be here for the remainder of the pregnancy. We are meeting with a MFM doctor later today, so we will have more details then. Check back for more details.