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ste_noniSo, on Tuesday December 5th, Ellie had her 18 month check-up. At that time, she was 33 inches tall (an inch and a half taller than 3 months ago) and weighed 21 lbs, 8 oz. She got a Hepatitis A shot and we went home. Wednesday night she had a fever, but by Thursday it was gone and I sent her to daycare. She came home Thursday afternoon with a high fever and fell asleep almost immediately.
She was up and down all weekend - fever, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, runny nose, and so on. By Sunday, she was pretty sick - just laying in my arms and nursing all day. Monday morning, I took her to the pediatrician. They told me she had a virus and was dehydrated. Unfortunately, it took them three hours to tell me that. We headed to the pediatric ER at San Pablo Hospital near our house. They hooked her up to an IV and did blood, urine, mucous, and stool cultures. Ellie only objected to the mucus one (small tube down her nose into her throat) because she was took lethargic to notice anything else. Even with the IV hooked up to her, it took her 24 hours to have any wet diapers. She did, however, have lots of diarrhea. We ended up going through a month;s worth of diapers in a week, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We spent Monday night and Tuesday sitting with her in the ER. She kept spiking high fevers and then we would cool her down with ice packs. The ER doctor told me not to nurse her because he thought it would make her vomit more. My gut told me not to listen to him, but I was also feeling guilty that she was so sick and figured I should maybe listen to the doctors instead of dismissing their advice. Anyway, I just help her all night. In the morning, her IV had come out of her arm, leaving blood and IV fluid all over the floor.
Around this time, we got to see the pulmonologist. I really liked her a lot. She told us that Ellie had RSV and explained how to treat it. We started Ellie on nebulizer treatments and some other stuff that would make her feel better. The pulmonologist also told me to be sure to nurse her as much as she would accept. She wasn't eating anything or drinking, although she was getting electrolytes through the IV. Anyway, the pulmonologist said that with any luck, I'd get RSV also (since it's not bad for adults) and pass the antibodies on to Ellie. I was so happy to be able to nurse her again. Beyond being painful (I had no idea I was still producing that much milk) I was glad to be able to provide Ellie with some comfort.
On Tuesday afternoon, we were finally put in a room in the pediatric ward. The doctors were wonderful and the nurses professional, but the hospital itself was a little bleak. I guess Puerto Rican hospitals don't have the stuff we in the US would consider standard (blankets, pillows, hospital gowns, etc.) Ellie had a horrible diaper rash on Monday from all the diarrhea. There was no diaper cream anywhere in the hospital. Joe made a special trip home just to get it because her little butt was so red.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent with me sitting in the bed with Ellie. She was gradually improving, although still not eating. Still, she was happy to nurse and she was a bit more alert. I thought we were ready to go home but Thursday night, she threw up the first meal she had eaten in a week. This pattern continued all day Friday. She would nurse and then a few hours later, it would all come back up. The pulmonologist did another X ray and Ellie had developed pneumonia. Also, they did another stool sample and found that Ellie had salmonella. I have no idea where she got it or why it didn't show up on the first two tests they did earlier in the week. Still, on Friday, the started her on an antibiotic for the pneumonia and on Saturday, she started another antibiotic for the salmonella. She really began to perk up and on Sunday, she was walking around the room, coloring, and playing with her toys. Unfortunately, both Joe and I developed some sort of stomach issue on Saturday night and spent the night and Sunday morning taking turns in the bathroom. The nurses thought Ellie had given the salmonella to us and it is possible, but I'm not sure because we both got sick within an hour of each other. I think we might have eaten some bad food.
Finally Monday arrived and everyone was feeling much better. All four of Ellie's doctors (Pediatrician, Pulmonologist, Gastroenterologist, and Infectious Disease Specialist) all finally agreed that she was ready to go home. When she saw me get out her stroller, she insisted on getting in it and she wouldn't let me get her out even though we waited over a half hour for Joe to get us checked out. Once we put her in her carseat, she was so happy to be out of there. She was chattering away, pointing at the birds, and smiling. When we got home, she did a little dance in the kitchen and squealed at the dogs. She was so happy to be home.
______________________
There's so much I have left out. The leaky ceiling with the ceiling tile that fell in, the nurses harassing me for nursing her so much, the nurses harassing me for not putting her in the crib, the nurses harassing me for sitting in the bed with her, Ellie's glare every time a nurse came in to check something, and the massive amount of clothes and diapers we went through. That's the stuff off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more. All I can say is that I hope I'm never in another hospital, especially one in Puerto Rico, and I'm glad Ellie's home and healthy.
She was up and down all weekend - fever, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, runny nose, and so on. By Sunday, she was pretty sick - just laying in my arms and nursing all day. Monday morning, I took her to the pediatrician. They told me she had a virus and was dehydrated. Unfortunately, it took them three hours to tell me that. We headed to the pediatric ER at San Pablo Hospital near our house. They hooked her up to an IV and did blood, urine, mucous, and stool cultures. Ellie only objected to the mucus one (small tube down her nose into her throat) because she was took lethargic to notice anything else. Even with the IV hooked up to her, it took her 24 hours to have any wet diapers. She did, however, have lots of diarrhea. We ended up going through a month;s worth of diapers in a week, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We spent Monday night and Tuesday sitting with her in the ER. She kept spiking high fevers and then we would cool her down with ice packs. The ER doctor told me not to nurse her because he thought it would make her vomit more. My gut told me not to listen to him, but I was also feeling guilty that she was so sick and figured I should maybe listen to the doctors instead of dismissing their advice. Anyway, I just help her all night. In the morning, her IV had come out of her arm, leaving blood and IV fluid all over the floor.
Around this time, we got to see the pulmonologist. I really liked her a lot. She told us that Ellie had RSV and explained how to treat it. We started Ellie on nebulizer treatments and some other stuff that would make her feel better. The pulmonologist also told me to be sure to nurse her as much as she would accept. She wasn't eating anything or drinking, although she was getting electrolytes through the IV. Anyway, the pulmonologist said that with any luck, I'd get RSV also (since it's not bad for adults) and pass the antibodies on to Ellie. I was so happy to be able to nurse her again. Beyond being painful (I had no idea I was still producing that much milk) I was glad to be able to provide Ellie with some comfort.
On Tuesday afternoon, we were finally put in a room in the pediatric ward. The doctors were wonderful and the nurses professional, but the hospital itself was a little bleak. I guess Puerto Rican hospitals don't have the stuff we in the US would consider standard (blankets, pillows, hospital gowns, etc.) Ellie had a horrible diaper rash on Monday from all the diarrhea. There was no diaper cream anywhere in the hospital. Joe made a special trip home just to get it because her little butt was so red.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent with me sitting in the bed with Ellie. She was gradually improving, although still not eating. Still, she was happy to nurse and she was a bit more alert. I thought we were ready to go home but Thursday night, she threw up the first meal she had eaten in a week. This pattern continued all day Friday. She would nurse and then a few hours later, it would all come back up. The pulmonologist did another X ray and Ellie had developed pneumonia. Also, they did another stool sample and found that Ellie had salmonella. I have no idea where she got it or why it didn't show up on the first two tests they did earlier in the week. Still, on Friday, the started her on an antibiotic for the pneumonia and on Saturday, she started another antibiotic for the salmonella. She really began to perk up and on Sunday, she was walking around the room, coloring, and playing with her toys. Unfortunately, both Joe and I developed some sort of stomach issue on Saturday night and spent the night and Sunday morning taking turns in the bathroom. The nurses thought Ellie had given the salmonella to us and it is possible, but I'm not sure because we both got sick within an hour of each other. I think we might have eaten some bad food.
Finally Monday arrived and everyone was feeling much better. All four of Ellie's doctors (Pediatrician, Pulmonologist, Gastroenterologist, and Infectious Disease Specialist) all finally agreed that she was ready to go home. When she saw me get out her stroller, she insisted on getting in it and she wouldn't let me get her out even though we waited over a half hour for Joe to get us checked out. Once we put her in her carseat, she was so happy to be out of there. She was chattering away, pointing at the birds, and smiling. When we got home, she did a little dance in the kitchen and squealed at the dogs. She was so happy to be home.
______________________
There's so much I have left out. The leaky ceiling with the ceiling tile that fell in, the nurses harassing me for nursing her so much, the nurses harassing me for not putting her in the crib, the nurses harassing me for sitting in the bed with her, Ellie's glare every time a nurse came in to check something, and the massive amount of clothes and diapers we went through. That's the stuff off the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more. All I can say is that I hope I'm never in another hospital, especially one in Puerto Rico, and I'm glad Ellie's home and healthy.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 03:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 03:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-12-21 03:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 04:04 pm (UTC)Both Julia and Chris had RSV as older babies. The nebulizer makes such a big difference.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 04:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 05:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 05:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-12-21 07:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 07:26 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you're all home and safe. What a terrible ordeal.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:23 am (UTC)I had never heard of RSV either but one morning while at the hospital I was reading a bunch pf parenting magazines a friend gave me. The first article on the first page was about RSV. A little late for me, but the timing made me laugh.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 07:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:25 am (UTC)I don't know what I would have done without Joe. I was very belssed that he has the job now and the personality that allowed him to just blow off work for three and a half days and stay with me.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 10:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-21 11:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 09:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 01:46 pm (UTC)I'm glad you all are home in time for Christmas, though, and that your family will all be there soon. I hope you have a lovely Christmas. Much love to you all
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 02:13 pm (UTC)::hugs::
(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 02:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-22 07:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-12-23 01:46 am (UTC)