This week has gone nothing like I anticipated. Last week, we were at the ER and then the doctor's office and almost admitted because the baby was so sick with a fever. It had gone from a sinus infection to probably a virus. And he got basically better. He still had fever, but we could get him to drink and produce wet diapers, so he never got admitted.
On Wednesday, I took him to the doctor for what was supposed to be a well-baby visit. But the night before, he had spike another temperature. So the doctor turned our visit to a sick visit. I didn't think a lot about it until we started discussing his symptoms and her demeanor changed. She told me that there was a disease called Kawasaki disease that came when children had a fever for more than five days. But there were a lot of other symptoms that we hadn't seen.
The strange thing, probably of God to help me not overreact, was that I Had seen a lot of this during my days of working at Nemours Children's Clinic. So I knew exactly what it was, how it was treated, ect.
The doctor sent us to the lab for blood work and then allowed us to go home. She said she would call if the labs were abnormal and then we would have to be admitted. I honestly thought that there wouldn't be an issue and that we would be home and going about business as usual.
Then... the phone rang. It was the doctor, his labs were abnormal. Not all of them, but enough. So I packed up and we went to the hospital. The treatment for this disease is an IV medicine called IVIG. It runs for twelve hours. And they have to intensely monitor the child during that time.
We got to the hospital at 7:30 pm. Finally by 10:30 they had put his IV in (twice because they messed up the first one - not easy on mommy or baby). Then by about 11 pm he started his medicine. He slept fairly well that night because they had pre-medicated with Benadryl. I, on the other hand, slept not at all because they came in so much. The medicine could cause high blood pressure so they had to be very, very careful.
Thankfully, that IV was done about 11 in the morning. And he had an echocardiogram of his heart because the premise of this disease is that it dilates the vessel in the body and can cause aneurysms which could lead to cardiac arrest, blood clots, ect. We saw the cardiologist, one of my personal favorites who I worked with again at Nemours. She was very reassuring and even hugged me, which I needed by that point. And we also saw the rheumatologist who told me that baby would have to be watched for a few days in the hospital because of the possibility of more fevers, in which case he would need more IV meds.
Baby really was feeling fairly well throughout this time, until Thursday night. He was drinking a bottle and started projectile vomiting. It was horrible. I have never seen anything like it. And he was inconsolable. We actually had another episode in the night of inconsolability about 2 am. It turns out that they were giving him 650 - 700 milligrams of aspirin - to thin his blood to stop the blood clots and it was eating away his stomach lining, causing the vomiting and pain. It was a horrible night for me, seeing him so sick and hurting so badly.
On Friday, they took more blood to check his counts. And unfortunately, they weren't much better. The doctor said we would have to continue to be monitored. And because of the vomiting we did a strict count of his liquids and they measured the weight of his diapers.
I was able to come home for a while on Friday while Daniel stayed with the baby. When I got back, I was prepared to stay another night, but the doctor called me and said that they had decided to release us. She said they had decided the risk of him picking up more germs was higher than the benefits of staying.
I have never been so relieved to not have to spend the night! We were all exhausted. And Austin was so confused as to why we weren't home, what was wrong with brother, ect. He needed us home. I have been sick myself with a high fever this whole time, so I was totally wiped out physically, emotionally, ect. Daniel has been holding us all together while sick himself, so he was beyond tired as well. We all just needed to be together!
So last night, about 8:30, we brought baby home! We do have to continue with a low dose baby aspirin for a few weeks, we have to watch his temperature, we can't take him anywhere to risk illness, and he will be monitored with more heart tests for a few weeks to make sure there are no residual issues.
But all in all, we are home together, the baby is going to be fine in a few weeks, we all slept well over twelve hours last night, we have found that we have a huge support system in friends here. And most of all, we are thankful to have a God who heals and who cares for even our emotional needs!
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us. Please don't stop as we continue to pray for baby's recovery. I am coming off the adrenaline rush and am quite tired and feeling rough too. But we are home, and we are fine! I am thankful!
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