Sunday, February 16, 2014
E.R. Times Two
Last weekend was not exactly a fun weekend for us. On Wednesday, February 5th, Ms. Jordan called me at work to tell me Collins woke up from his nap and his cheeks were red. She checked his temp and it was 102. Jake went and got him and he felt fine other than running a fever.
The next day, we took Hadley to preschool and Collins and I went to Target for some over-the-counter medicines. We then went to Krispy Kreme because he was hungry and we thought it would be fun. We played at home the rest of the day. Had a good lunch, good nap, etc.
Collins still had fever on Saturday, so Jake took him to Med Center. They tested for flu, RSV, and strep. All negative, but gave him an antibiotic anyway just in case. They said to not fill it unless he didn't get better. We filled it Sunday morning.
By Sunday, February 9th, Collins' temp was 105.6 when he woke up from his nap. No other symptoms, but we went to the ER anyway. Jake took him and I packed a bag for Hadley and took her to Nana Wilda's. Then I went to the ER to be with my baby boy. This is how he felt at the hospital:
We went home later that night because the only thing that was determined was that he had fever. His second rapid strep test was negative, chest x-ray looked good, etc. Possibly a virus of some sort. They said to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every three hours, which we'd been doing already except for during the night. We were relieved to know nothing else was wrong, but were waiting on lab results for the other strep test and anything else that showed up.
I set my phone to wake him up at 10:30pm to give the next dose of medicine, but somehow didn't hear the alarm. He woke up at 12:30 and was burning up...105 again. We put cool cloths on his arms and forehead and it cooled it down pretty quickly. I felt horrible.
The next morning, Monday the 10th, Jake took Hadley to preschool and I waited for Collins to wake up. When he did, his temp was 104. He also had a little blood tinged spit and his nose was bleeding (dried blood; hindsight, not a big deal. But it scared me). I didn't know what else to do, so I put him in the car and we went back to the ER. On the way there Collins told me a building was moving. Jake met us there after dropping off Hadley.
This time the pediatrician (not our regular one, but one in the same practice) decided to test for mono. They didn't have to collect more blood, thank goodness, because they had an extra tube left from the day before. During this ER visit, Collins still acted pretty normal. His temp came down and he still had an appetite. They couldn't find anything as the source.
After getting home from the ER the second time, Collins started complaining about his throat hurting. He quickly went from feeling okay and having an appetite to feeling rough and not wanting to eat or drink anything. They had looked at his tonsils and noted they were huge, but they are always huge; even the ENT told us that after a visit once. It became VERY difficult to give Collins his medicine because he said it hurt so bad. We were worried about dehydration, but he drank just enough to stay in the clear. We had to hold him down and force medicine in his mouth (he's usually great about taking medicine).
It was traumatic. I cried when he did! We were so tired. Partly because Hadley decided she'd get up any time Collins was asleep. I guess she wanted part of the action. Ugh...
On Tuesday morning we went to the pediatrician to let Beth look at him. He felt terrible:
During this visit, since there was now a source (throat/tonsils), and it was definitely not strep or mono per the lab results, Beth gave him a shot of Decadron to shrink the swelling. He had to have two sticks, one in each leg, because it was too much medicine for one shot. We also got a prescription for oral Prednisone for 10 days, and they told us to stop the antibiotic because it wasn't anything bacterial. (We decided to finish it anyway. Don't tell.)
The shot made a world of difference. He napped from 12:30-5:30 that afternoon and I was able to nap, too. Jake and Hadley got home around 2:30 because school closed due to icy/snowy weather. Ha. What a week! Jake let me finish napping even though we were all home.
That night Collins didn't sleep well because of the steroid shot. He was up at least two times, and still fought us on the medicine taking. Hadley was up a lot that night too. Again, wanting to join in on the fun I guess.
Collins did not run fever at all on Wednesday, even without any medicine! He stayed with Nana Wilda and Papa Joe that day and got some good rest:
He was able to go to his school Valentine's party on Friday and had fun. We are so very thankful he is okay now. We're supposed to follow up with the ENT again after he's totally well. We are thinking/hoping he will decide to remove Collins' tonsils.
Collins is making up for lost time with his appetite. He ate breakfast about five times yesterday.
The Decadron and Prednisone are usually the recognized heroes in situations like these, but I know for sure the real healing came from all the prayers going up for our sweet boy. My family, friends, Sunday School class, parents' church, aunt's church, grandparents' church, sister, etc. were praying for him. God is good!
The next day, we took Hadley to preschool and Collins and I went to Target for some over-the-counter medicines. We then went to Krispy Kreme because he was hungry and we thought it would be fun. We played at home the rest of the day. Had a good lunch, good nap, etc.
Collins still had fever on Saturday, so Jake took him to Med Center. They tested for flu, RSV, and strep. All negative, but gave him an antibiotic anyway just in case. They said to not fill it unless he didn't get better. We filled it Sunday morning.
By Sunday, February 9th, Collins' temp was 105.6 when he woke up from his nap. No other symptoms, but we went to the ER anyway. Jake took him and I packed a bag for Hadley and took her to Nana Wilda's. Then I went to the ER to be with my baby boy. This is how he felt at the hospital:
 |
| Had to get stuck twice for lab work, but was so big! Didn't even cry! |
 |
| Eating Cheetos, crackers, M&Ms... |
We went home later that night because the only thing that was determined was that he had fever. His second rapid strep test was negative, chest x-ray looked good, etc. Possibly a virus of some sort. They said to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every three hours, which we'd been doing already except for during the night. We were relieved to know nothing else was wrong, but were waiting on lab results for the other strep test and anything else that showed up.
I set my phone to wake him up at 10:30pm to give the next dose of medicine, but somehow didn't hear the alarm. He woke up at 12:30 and was burning up...105 again. We put cool cloths on his arms and forehead and it cooled it down pretty quickly. I felt horrible.
The next morning, Monday the 10th, Jake took Hadley to preschool and I waited for Collins to wake up. When he did, his temp was 104. He also had a little blood tinged spit and his nose was bleeding (dried blood; hindsight, not a big deal. But it scared me). I didn't know what else to do, so I put him in the car and we went back to the ER. On the way there Collins told me a building was moving. Jake met us there after dropping off Hadley.
This time the pediatrician (not our regular one, but one in the same practice) decided to test for mono. They didn't have to collect more blood, thank goodness, because they had an extra tube left from the day before. During this ER visit, Collins still acted pretty normal. His temp came down and he still had an appetite. They couldn't find anything as the source.
After getting home from the ER the second time, Collins started complaining about his throat hurting. He quickly went from feeling okay and having an appetite to feeling rough and not wanting to eat or drink anything. They had looked at his tonsils and noted they were huge, but they are always huge; even the ENT told us that after a visit once. It became VERY difficult to give Collins his medicine because he said it hurt so bad. We were worried about dehydration, but he drank just enough to stay in the clear. We had to hold him down and force medicine in his mouth (he's usually great about taking medicine).
It was traumatic. I cried when he did! We were so tired. Partly because Hadley decided she'd get up any time Collins was asleep. I guess she wanted part of the action. Ugh...
On Tuesday morning we went to the pediatrician to let Beth look at him. He felt terrible:
 |
| Took Hadley with us since she'd been pulling on her ear a little, but she checked out just fine! |
During this visit, since there was now a source (throat/tonsils), and it was definitely not strep or mono per the lab results, Beth gave him a shot of Decadron to shrink the swelling. He had to have two sticks, one in each leg, because it was too much medicine for one shot. We also got a prescription for oral Prednisone for 10 days, and they told us to stop the antibiotic because it wasn't anything bacterial. (We decided to finish it anyway. Don't tell.)
The shot made a world of difference. He napped from 12:30-5:30 that afternoon and I was able to nap, too. Jake and Hadley got home around 2:30 because school closed due to icy/snowy weather. Ha. What a week! Jake let me finish napping even though we were all home.
That night Collins didn't sleep well because of the steroid shot. He was up at least two times, and still fought us on the medicine taking. Hadley was up a lot that night too. Again, wanting to join in on the fun I guess.
Collins did not run fever at all on Wednesday, even without any medicine! He stayed with Nana Wilda and Papa Joe that day and got some good rest:
He was able to go to his school Valentine's party on Friday and had fun. We are so very thankful he is okay now. We're supposed to follow up with the ENT again after he's totally well. We are thinking/hoping he will decide to remove Collins' tonsils.
Collins is making up for lost time with his appetite. He ate breakfast about five times yesterday.
The Decadron and Prednisone are usually the recognized heroes in situations like these, but I know for sure the real healing came from all the prayers going up for our sweet boy. My family, friends, Sunday School class, parents' church, aunt's church, grandparents' church, sister, etc. were praying for him. God is good!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Snow Day!
By the looks of these pictures, we enjoyed a wonderful day at home today, frolicking in the snow!
Except that's not how it happened.
We started out at preschool and work like any old day. Finally got the email from UA that we were closing a little before 11am. Picked up both kids, but totally didn't think about taking a bottle, formula, or diapers with me for the car ride. Thankfully, I didn't need any of those things and Hadley (God bless her) slept most of the way home.
But what if we had needed it? What if I hadn't had a full tank of gas? I prayed (and stressed) the whole way home wondering if I would have to get out of my car and walk with my two babies to some stranger's house or something. Some of my friends actually had to do that. Wow.
It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get home. And I complained about that until I later realized that people were in their cars for 4 and 6 hours. Wow again.
We saw at least six ambulances, a few cars sliding, and literally didn't go over 5 mph the whole way. Alabama is not equipped to handle this kind of weather. That is not a complaint about our city personnel, it's a complaint about the stinkin' weather.
I mentioned I prayed a lot and even got Collins to pray for us several times. God answered our prayers. He is so good to us. We even came home to a warm house. Very, very thankful for these blessings.
Jake has been out of town and will come home tomorrow. Right now the roads between here and there are closed. Praying for him to have a safe, and hopefully pretty quick, trip home. Really scary stuff.
I am ready for summer.
I did manage to get some good pictures of Collins playing by himself while Hadley screamed, still in her car seat. You do what ya gotta do. Hoping tomorrow's snow day will be a little less eventful!
Except that's not how it happened.
We started out at preschool and work like any old day. Finally got the email from UA that we were closing a little before 11am. Picked up both kids, but totally didn't think about taking a bottle, formula, or diapers with me for the car ride. Thankfully, I didn't need any of those things and Hadley (God bless her) slept most of the way home.
But what if we had needed it? What if I hadn't had a full tank of gas? I prayed (and stressed) the whole way home wondering if I would have to get out of my car and walk with my two babies to some stranger's house or something. Some of my friends actually had to do that. Wow.
It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get home. And I complained about that until I later realized that people were in their cars for 4 and 6 hours. Wow again.
We saw at least six ambulances, a few cars sliding, and literally didn't go over 5 mph the whole way. Alabama is not equipped to handle this kind of weather. That is not a complaint about our city personnel, it's a complaint about the stinkin' weather.
I mentioned I prayed a lot and even got Collins to pray for us several times. God answered our prayers. He is so good to us. We even came home to a warm house. Very, very thankful for these blessings.
Jake has been out of town and will come home tomorrow. Right now the roads between here and there are closed. Praying for him to have a safe, and hopefully pretty quick, trip home. Really scary stuff.
I am ready for summer.
I did manage to get some good pictures of Collins playing by himself while Hadley screamed, still in her car seat. You do what ya gotta do. Hoping tomorrow's snow day will be a little less eventful!
 |
| Making snow ice cream! I had already promised, so it had to happen even though the snow had stopped falling. I picked out a lot of grass and straw. It may kill us, but it tastes pretty good. Even Hadley had a tiny taste! |
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