ER Visit

We had a not-so-fun-filled-day today.


Rosalyn never really got better after going to the doctor and starting antibiotics. The infection on her leg improved markedly and she did seem to feel better at times and her fever went down after getting Tylenol and Motrin around the clock (only to spike up again after about 5-6 hours). Her decreased appetite continued along with being lethargic and not herself in general. Each day she seemed to get a little sicker with brief moments of seeming like she may be getting better.


Yesterday, along with the ever present fever, she developed what looked a little bit like pink eye and she vomited. She has also had a light rash at times. One look at her and it was obvious she was miserable. I decided to wait it out one more night...it was a loooong night, believe me. She was up for much of the night, but finally fell into a fitful sleep.


When we got up this morning, she was burning up with a 104 degree fever and was totally lethargic and nearly limp laying on me. She refused to eat or drink, much less take any medication. Her breathing seemed a little labored to me and her heartrate was 190 (about double what it should be). I tried not to freak out too much, because I know that sick, feverish babies do usually have high rate and labored respirations...but it is different when it is your baby!


I immediately called the doctor and told her Rosalyn's symptoms. She was very concerned and instructed us to go to the Texas Children's ER to be seen right away. My mom and dad came over to help me take her. Jason works nights, so I convinced him I could handle it because he needed to sleep.


We arrived at the TCH ER and we were quickly seen. Her vital signs were the same at the ER as at home. Our nurse immediately gave her more Tylenol and the doctor ordered some tests...blood count and cultures, urine analysis and cultures, and nasal/throat swab for a Adenovirus (basically, a respiratory virus). Thankfully, the nurse that was taking care of Rosalyn was wonderful...she quickly and easily did the blood draw, throat/nose swab, and catheterization...seriously took her just a couple of minutes to do all three things. Poor Ros did not like it one bit, but her nurse made it as quick and easy as humanly possible. I held her little face in my hands and sang to her through the whole process while she cried. Once it was over, she quickly forgot and it was as if it never even happened.


Finally, the test results came back...urine test was ok, blood test was mostly ok but white count was high, Adenovirus test was positive. So, Adenovirus (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/80926/what_is_an_adenoviral_infection.html?cat=5) is the culprit. I had already "diagnosed" her with a respiratory virus of some sort, but I always think it is better to be safe than sorry, so a hospital visit was necessary. Adenovirus is a virus that often affects little kids and it can range from very mild to severe. It can cause ear infections, pink eye, rashes, extremely sore throat, nasal symptoms, respiratory symptoms, diarrhea/vomiting, and high fevers. She basically has had all of those symptoms...poor girl! Since it is a virus, there isn't much we can do other than push lots of fluids and reduce her symptoms by giving tylenol/motrin/benadryl. After her heartrate was down a little (to 130) and her temperature was down, we were allowed to go home. Thank goodness! We were SO ready to get home.


Adenovirus is extremely contagious, so I hope we haven't infected anyone else. Virtually all kids get it at least once within the first few years of life.


Every 6 hours, I am giving her 1 teaspoon of antibiotic (have to continue because of her leg infection), 1 teaspoon of Benadryl, 1 teaspoon of Motrin, and 1 teaspoon of Tylenol.


She is in bed asleep...praying she will stay asleep because she needs it!


Hopefully she will be feeling lots better in the next few days!