I thought after the week we had last week, everyone could probably use a "little man" fix. By the way, his white blood cell count was right where it needed to be on Wednesday. The doctor is ruling it a virus.
So, here you go. Samuel in living color…full-headed, happy, trying to roll over, and suck on his toes.
What a week. I want to document it for you, but also for me. Although I can honestly say that I will not soon forget the emotion or the fear.
Wednesday morning:
Samuel was still not doing better, after the antibiotic shot the day before. His fever was still high and he was miserable. The doctor did another CBC (complete blood count) and his white blood cell count was up from 28 to 30…heading in the wrong direction. There was no visible signs of infection. The concern at that point was meningitis. She had a nurse walk us down to the ER, where they did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap…checking for meningitis), tried to get an IV started unsuccessfully, and did a chest x-ray (checking for pneumonia). The doctor had told me that if the meningitis came back positive, they would transfer us to Children’s Hospital in Dallas. It came back negative. We were relieved. The chest x-ray came back clear. We were relieved. They gave him another round of the antibiotic shot. That time in the ER was probably the worst. My mom came and met me before Derek got there from work. During the spinal tap, the doctor encouraged us to wait in the hall, which we did reluctantly. My mom and I stood outside the door and cried together. It was awful.
They took us up to the pediatric floor, which was quite something…painted like a village, with each room separately and uniquely decorated/painted. That night was absolutely miserable. The baby would not let us lie him down. And was inconsolable. Derek went back home to spend the night with the boys. And I spent much of the night rocking Samuel and walking the halls, talking to nurses. More tests had been ordered (a nurse came in after I had worked for over an hour getting him to fall asleep, and said she was going to have to spray saline solution up his nose and take a sample of mucous…lovely). I think I got 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep that night, and not at the same time.
More blood work was ordered on Thurs morning. His white blood cell count was down to 17, moving this time in the right direction. An infectious disease doctor came to look at him. And noticed that he wasn’t moving or using his right leg. The pediatrician came to check too, and decided to order an MRI to rule out infection in his bones/joints. So a pediatric anesthesiologist came to do an IV (we were hesitant after having such a bad experience with that the day before). It took him two times to get one, because his veins were "flat" (dehydrated). But he was much more skilled than the nurses in the ER, for sure. They gave him more fluids, more antibiotics and sedation thru the IV. The MRI took about 40 minutes. It came back clear as well, with the exception of some inflammation and fluid from the antibiotic shot, which explains his lack of use in that leg.
We were able to bring him home last night after finishing his IV fluids.
We STILL do not know what caused his WBC count to spike. We don’t know why/how he got so sick. They believe that it is unrelated to his bout with chicken pox the week before. It might be something called an adenovirus, which resembles a bacterial infection in nature. So far his blood cultures are not growing bacteria, to indicate an actual infection.
So…
We are home. His fever is gone. His fontanel (soft spot) is sunken, which indicates dehydration (and is also a result of them taking spinal fluid). But he is starting to play and "talk" to us a little and has even smiled a few times today (boy, I missed that smile!).
Yesterday, during the MRI I found the chapel and was all by myself. I am grateful for prayer. It is the only thing that I could rely on. It was the only thing that made me sane thru this week. I am grateful that all of you were praying. I know it helps.
I have more to say about it all, but need to go tend to Sam. More later…
Here are some pictures.
I have a few minutes to post after a very long night. Derek and I probably only got 3-4 hours of sleep, and not at the same time. We can’t get Sam’s fever to break, even with Tylenol every 4 hours. He just whimpered and cried all night, falling asleep on our chest every once in a while. I’ve never seen a baby so miserable. Talked to the on-call physician at 4:30 am. Still waiting to see if the strong antibiotic will kick in. I’m so worried about him and just want to cry for him. Will keep everyone posted.
There is always something to smile about though.
This little face greets me with a smile every morning…
He’s running a high fever. Whimpers. Won’t smile at us. Just stares, and cries, and sleeps. Took him to the doctor this afternoon. Ears are good. Throat is fine. Lungs sound good. She wants to do bloodwork.
Two hours later we walk out with an exhausted little 4-month old, an exhausted 4-year old, and an exhausted mommy. They had to poke, prod and prick way too much for my liking. Couldn’t find a vein. Couldn’t get any urine from the catheter. Had to try again. No fun.
His white blood cell should be between 4 and 10. It’s 28.
He got an antibiotic shot.
We go back tomorrow afternoon to do more bloodwork. Hoping that number will have dropped.
In the meantime, we’re cuddling our baby. Putting our big boys to bed. And trying to recuperate from a very hard day.
I am busy gearing up for summer (starts Friday!). I bought $40 worth of art projects for the boys…anything to keep them entertained.
We’ve got golf camp, swim lessons, and soccer camp.
A trip to Hilton Head Island, Austin, Colorado and Utah planned.
Swimming at the community pool.
Museum trips planned (especially excited about THIS one).
Blueberry picking HERE.
And my personal favorite, bi-monthly trips to the library. I found THIS list of 100 must-read children’s books. We already owned 21. And have recently borrowed 6 more. Our goal is to get through all 100 by the end of summer.
Ready, set…GO!
Saw hub-bub about this article on the news, and I completely disagree with this woman’s point of view. I respect her right to share it though:
I think any one with moderate intelligence would tell you that their children are, in fact, witty, funny, entertaining and entirely interesting. I will agree that some of the chores that children inevitably create can be monotonous and, at times, boring. But the subjects themselves are anything BUT boring. After reading the article, you will probably conclude, as I did, that this woman didn’t spend enough time with them to know.
My boys just got back from a Father/Son Campout. They are filthy dirty and HAPPY. Derek seems more relaxed than I’ve seen him in weeks. I love what dirt, fire, and fishing can do for males.
Samuel is officially POX-free. We lovingly call him poxy-woxy. He is an all-around delightful baby…cooing and grinning all the time. An 8-year old neighbor was over yesterday and said, "I’ve never seen a baby smile that much!" And he is sleeping 7-8 hours at night, with a regular bedtime at 9 pm sharp. That puts us up a little early for my liking, but I am not complaining (this is me not complaining).
Pox recovery, for me, will take a while longer. The house is a mess and I’m exhausted. But the boys are happy, and that’s all I need…at least, for now!
IT IS CHICKEN POX AFTER ALL!
This morning, after blogging, I talked to my neighbor who’s 10 year old son had been misdiagnosed by the same urgent care doctor a few weeks ago. So I decided to visit with our pediatrician, who I’ve seen for 5 years. And lo and behold, she confirmed that it’s DEFINITELY chicken pox and a full-blown case, to boot.
So sad about it…
And she had all of her nurses come look at it because with children being vaccinated at 12 months now, they rarely see cases of pox anymore. Go figure. She told me to plan on 10 days of this. And it’s VERY contagious (airborne). This should be fun.
Derek leaves for California tomorrow…perfect timing.
Well, it’s not really chicken pox, but it looks like it. And we were afraid it was.
Friday night we sat outside and enjoyed visiting with our neighbors, watching the kids ride bikes, blow bubbles and run around. The weather was IDEAL. The grass was green…It was lovely. After dark, we came in and found that we had all been bitten by mosquitoes. Even the baby had 4 or 5 bites on his head. I was so sad…I hated that he had been bitten. The next day we started counting more bites…by Sat evening we had seen 10 on his little body. I felt terrible (there goes my "Mother of the Year" award!).
Sunday we got up and went to church and I spotted more. And by the time I got home and did a body check, he had 26+ "bites". On his knuckles, his belly, his bum, his head, his ear, etc. It was awful!
I decided to take him to urgent care and the pediatrician thinks it’s an allergic reaction to the initial 4-5 bites from Friday night. So he’s on Benadryl. Poor baby…I feel terrible.
Spending Mother’s Day at the Urgent Care is all too fitting for a mother of boys, don’t you think?
Saturday morning, I was jarred awake by shouts of "Good Morning!" and breakfast in bed.
A paper crown (to be "queen") colored by Jacob.
Paper flowers made by Caleb in a glass vase.
An omelette and blueberry pancakes on a child’s TV tray.
Fruit skillfully adorning the plate.
Orange juice in a crystal glass.
And big smiles because they were all (including Derek) so proud of themselves.
And I thought to myself, "It does NOT get any better than this." It was PERFECT in every way.
I felt so HAPPY to be a mom yesterday. Grateful for the opportunity. For the 3 gorgeous little boys that I’ve been blessed with. For the chance to share it with Derek, who is my best friend. And so very proud to come from a long line of nurturing and gracious mothers and women. Especially my own mother, who I marvel at.
Playing "house" and being a mother was my dream. And it came true. And it’s better than I imagined. Harder than I imagined. More rewarding than I imagined.
What a life!
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