Sick Baby

So I know my blogging went downhill once we reached Australia.  My excuse is that Erwin was a computer hog and I was busy with Nathanh.  Anyways, I do have some great photos that I will backdate post over the next little while as I like to use the blog as a way of recording my own memories. 

We have been home almost a week now and Nathanh has been one very sick little boy.  The Wednesday night before we left Australia - we left on the Friday - Nathanh woke up feeling very warm.  We didn't have a thermometer at the time but we both agreed he was very hot and gave him some baby Advil.  It seemed to do the trick and his temperature went down.  However Thursday afternoon it returned.  I asked Erwin's sister to borrow a thermometer and his temperature was 40.2 C.  So I gave him more baby Advil and his temperature returned to normal.  Friday was much the same, he'd get a temperature, although never as high as the 40.2 C since we were checking it every couple of hours, we'd give him the baby Advil the temperature would come down.  He was also coughing quite a bit.  By the time we were leaving Friday night Nathanh was very tired and very clingy (to me). 

During the flights home he was eating and drinking less and less and his temperature needed to be brought down with the baby Advil again.   He slept almost the whole way back - 26 hours with stop overs.  Needless to say we were getting increasingly worried about him.  Once we were home we all had a nap and we tried to give Nathanh a bottle and dinner, which he barely ate.  So by 8:00 Saturday evening, knowing that our family doctor would not be in until Tuesday, we headed to Emergency. 

At the hospital, after a chest x-ray, we were told that he had a viral bronchial condition and they prescribed an inhaler for him to help open up his airway and treat the cough.  We got home around midnight, gave Nathanh his first dose and went to bed.  We were to administer the inhaler every 6 hours and we were still controlling his fever with baby Advil.  After 3 treatments, Nathanh not only didn't seem any better he was worse.  He was completely lethargic and slept all the time unless we woke him up for meals or bottles and even then he was barely eating and he started refusing his bottles altogether. 

So at 5:00 in the afternoon on Sunday we headed back to Emergency.  We purposely went then because he was due for his inhaler treatment and baby Advil at 6:00 so we thought they would get a better idea about how bad he was doing before the medication.  When I went in this time, Nathanh's curiosity about a new place and new people didn't even peek...anyone knowing Nathanh knows this is unheard of.  We were registered, through triage and into Pediatric Emergency within eight minutes max.  Fortunately the same doctor that we had seen the previous night was there and I caught his eye on the way in and let him know we were back.  He immediate read the notes from the triage nurse and came over.  He quickly realised that Nathanh was having trouble breathing, was completely dehydrated, and had a temperature of 39.2 C.   Everything happened very quickly then.  There were about four people around us.  The doctor was spouting out tests that he wanted run, a nurse was working at getting an IV into him and blood tests, a urine sample and another chest x-ray were ordered.  All of this was done within 10 minutes of arriving at the hospital - it is good to know they really do prioritize when necessary.

Although Nathanh cried a bit when the IV was put in, honestly he just had no energy so he slept most of the time.  His temperature continued to go down when Tylenol was given but went up again after a couple of hours.  We were in Emergency for about 7 hours waiting for the IV to rehydrate him.  His veins are very small and they were afraid to turn the speed of the drip up too much for fear of bursting the vein.  Anyways, with very little improvement noted by midnight the doctor asked for another pediatrician to come for a consult.  And at about 2:00am the second pediatrician decided that Nathanh was not able to keep his fluids up on his own at this point and should be admitted to the hospital.  By 4:00am we were in our room in the Pediatric Ward.

In Emergency, just after getting his IV.  Nathanh slept most of the time.

In Emergency - we had to prop his arm up with his water bottle to keep the position of the IV just so.  If it moved even a little bit the flow monitor alarm would sound.  He looks so much better after just a few hours of the IV to rehydrate him.

Monday was much the same.  Nathanh slept most of the time, kept needing Tylenol for his fever and would not eat or drink.  Late Monday, we were told that there had been a discrepancy between the two chest x-rays taken and that Nathanh's lower left lung showed signs of pneumonia on the second one.  So an antibiotic was prescribed.  They really don't like giving antibiotics at this young age but really nothing else was working and Nathanh was not able to fight the infection on his own.

In the hospital room - Nathanh still looking very tired. 

Nathanh stopped getting fevers early Wednesday morning and was slowly starting to stay awake for short periods of time.  He had been placed in isolation so I think he was under stimulated and was partially sleeping out of boredom.  The nights were very long and Nathanh was constantly being woken up by nurses, his IV alarm or code red and blue announcements in the hallway.

We knew he was doing a little better when he started to stand up.

And when he started to play with all of the wires and tubing attached to him.  This one monitored his heartbeat and O2 levels.  It was quite funny when he noticed the probe on his big toe.  His big toe glowed red and he was quite intrigued by it!

Finally a smile!  You can see my little bed in the background.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to use it very much.  Every time I got Nathanh to sleep I would have to put the side of the crib up and that would wake him so I'd have to start the whole process over.


The doctor had said that there would come a time when I felt I could do just as much for him at home as they were in the hospital and that was when it was time to go.  He was right.  By Thursday morning I was ready to leave.  Nathanh obviously HATES hospital food so he wouldn't eat it and the fluids in the IV had been turned down very low to try to stimulate his appetite, so he wasn't getting anything from the IV anymore.  The sleepless nights were taking their toll on both of us.  And I could continue the medication at home.  So I packed everything up and waited for the doctor to come by during his morning rounds.  He laughed and asked who was more ready to go home me or Nathanh, but was fine with discharging Nathanh so we made it home in time for 10:30 bottle and nap!

Nathanh is still very weak.  We really see a difference in his walking.  He is quite unsteady again and will choose to crawl some of the time.  He had almost all of his bottles today (16 of his usual 18 ounces) and is eating more - although not nearly what he usually eats.  His sleeping is very restless and at times he is so tired he just puts his head down on me.  He even fell asleep in his high chair at lunch!  But all in all he is slowly improving and his fever has not returned so that is good.  I think he will just take a couple of weeks getting his full strength and appetite back.  I have also given Nathanh strict instructions that I do not want to have another visit to Emergency for a VERY long time...it is just too scary for mommy!