Thanks for the prayers!

I wasn't sure how to update everyone on our MRSA ordeal, because the situation seems to change everyday, if not many times a day. I decided to just share what has happened so far.

Madeline finished her MRSA antibiotics Sunday. Upon completing them, her bottom broke out in a nasty rash that bleeds when wiped. She also had a new rash spreading up her leg and eventually her torso and face. Our original plan was to wait until we got back from vacation to get her second culture done, but we decided to get it done at the recommended 14 days (Thursday) because of the intensity of the rash. So we left our campground and headed to an Urgent Care in town. That culture will come back next week.

The doctor in Oregon told us once Madeline has MRSA, she will always have it. This is a new piece of information to us and is an example of what has frustrated us all along. We don't feel that we've gotten all the facts, and the ones we do get seem to come in bits and pieces. Then we are left on our own to figure out what is fact and what is not, since different doctors are telling us different things.

We did not get to go on our houseboat vacation. Instead, we decided last minute to pack up the RV and head to the sand dunes in Oregon. We are pretty self-contained and won't risk spreading the infection here. We also have access to a washing machine to keep things sterilized. The fact that a major part broke on the RV, only serves to extend our family vacation, as it won't arrive until next Tuesday.

Olivia's culture came back as regular staph, not MRSA. This was a huge answer to prayer. They told us to stop antibiotics, which we did that night. The next morning, her bottom broke out with huge sores and a rash. We decided to continue the antibiotics through the rest of the course and she finished up yesterday. She has had no other mysterious rashes or breakouts since. She even ran into a wall and opened up the skin above, around and below her eye. This healed up and did not get infected! We will have her new culture done in a few days to see if she is clear.

Two days ago, we found out Troy's culture came back positive as a "carrier" for staph. His parents also had cultures done, since they had been around the girls, and Oma came back positive as well. Apparently, approximately 1/3 of the population is a staph carrier (it lives in their nose and under fingernails). This is not usually an issue, unless someone in the household is fighting MRSA. So we picked up some antibiotics for Troy while we were in town yesterday as well. And Oma has already been on them a few days. This means Troy cannot help change Madeline's diapers or administer ointments or creams until he finishes his medication, as he could reinfect her. He's secretly enjoying this, but doesn't dare say it out loud. ;) Ideally, they would have recommended the culture earlier, so he could have been finished with his medications close to the same time Madeline was done.

Somehow, I ended up being the only one not infected with something. Which doesn't make sense, since I am the one touching and cleaning everything. We praise God that I haven't been infected yet!

We are still keeping ourselves away from people, as the doctors have recommended, so this nasty infection won't spread any further. But we have been blessed to visit with some good friends this week, Cassie and Gunnar, who live in Oregon. They are even heading out this weekend to ride and visit with us (and probably encourage us more than they realize). They will be staying in their cozy 2 person tent, as opposed to our infected RV. The girls couldn't be more excited to have them as company -- we are on a daily countdown.

Many of you have asked how the girls are doing...if you could have seen them this morning throwing themselves down the side of a sand dune, rolling to the bottom, you would never have known anything was wrong. You don't realize there's a problem until it's time for a diaper change. The dirty diapers and wiping are very painful. Other than that, they are full of energy and generally happy. This is a HUGE blessing for Troy and I.

That's the scoop so far. We continue to be humbled and amazed by the stories of people who have committed to cover our family in prayer. Specifically, we still need prayer:
that we won't reinfect each other,
that Troy and Olivia's second cultures come back clean,
that Madeline's culture comes back as something besides MRSA, or better yet - clean!
that we stay encouraged until we can join back in with the rest of the world,
and for continued guidance for us as parents to know what to do, when to do it and who to seek medical advice from.