Almost Made It!

Other than a common cold, Connor almost made it through his first year without any major illness. However, on Friday (11 months old, to the day!) that all changed. Daddy got the call from Andrea at about 12:30 Friday afternoon. Connor had just thrown up. We knew it was going to be a possibility. Andrea’s son, Evan, began having flu-like symptoms about a week before. But since a little over a week had passed, we thought we were in the clear. So Daddy picked Connor up from daycare and took him home. After he had another episode in his crib and Daddy gave him an outfit change, I arrived home around 4:00. Usually bright eyed and bushy tailed, Connor tends to squeal when I come home from work, then crawl as fast as he can to where I’m standing. However, when I walked through the door Friday afternoon, I saw the poor babe lounged on Daddy’s lap in front of the TV. He didn’t even move his head to look at me, just his eyes. Just as Daddy was explaining what signs to look for when the Connor volcano was about to erupt, Connor showed me firsthand. First, a cry. Then, a gag. Daddy and I rushed him towards the bathroom, but didn’t make it quite in time. Luckily hardwood floors are easy to clean. Daddy said his goodbyes and went off to work, while I trekked upstairs for an outfit change for both Connor and myself. He had several more eruptions, but we set up a system so it wasn’t so messy each time. The system involved a big stock pot, a bib, and a washcloth. Basic stuff. However, mass chaos broke out a little after 6:00. The Kaiser nurse was calling me back at the same time Connor was gripping the sides of the stock pot. Then the front door bell rang. Aunt Tin to the rescue! She took Connor so I could concentrate on what the nurse was telling me to do. Connor was so exhausted. He kept falling asleep, but would awaken abruptly for another eruption. At around 10:00, I became concerned because he wasn’t keeping anything down, so I put in another call to Kaiser. At 11:30, a nurse finally called back. However, she wanted to have a doctor follow up with me. By the time the doctor called back at midnight, Connor was asleep on the floor next to our bed. The doctor told us to let him sleep until 1:00, then try giving him liquids again. About 12:45, Connor woke up with dry heaves. Poor thing. I decided to wait a while longer before attempting the liquids again. At 2:00, I started in on the liquids, holding Connor in my arms and giving him a teaspoon of Pedialyte every five minutes. He didn't even open his eyes when I put the syringe in his mouth. He just opened his mouth and swallowed the Pedialyte like a good little boy. However, at 2:45, he erupted for what turned out to be the last time. I decided to give his tummy a rest and didn't attempt liquids again until 5:30. That happened to be the time that I heard him wake up and looked down at him in time to see him crawling in a mad dash towards our open bedroom door. I gave him a little juice, then tried laying him down again. He wasn't having it though, insisting on sleeping in our bed. So, I caved. The rest of the day was pretty low key. He seemed to start feeling better, actually drinking some Pedialyte and chicken broth mid-morning. Mid-afternoon, however, he started refusing anything offered to him. I started getting concerned. He was so lethargic and had no energy whatsoever. He even stopped being fussy. I had been debating for some time whether or not to take him into Urgent Care. I finally gave in to my maternal instincts. I called Daddy at work to see what he thought, and he agreed I should go ahead and take him in. We arrived just before 8:00 p.m. They called us back at 8:30 p.m. Then Connor and I sat in a very warm room for almost an hour before the doctor made her appearance. Connor was not too happy in that hour. He was already warm due to a fever, but the temperature in the room made it even worse. The doctor finally checked him out and found that he had liquid in his ears. It wasn't a clear liquid, but it wasn't to the point that it was an actual ear infection. She opted to steer clear of antibiotics which can aggravate touchy stomachs. Since it wasn't an infection, she thought it might just work itself out. She thought maybe the liquid in his ears was causing pain, which in turn made him not want to drink. So, we tried numbing drops in each ear. After a bit, we tried giving him a bottle again. No luck. We had arrived at the last resort . . . an IV. Boy, he was not a happy camper. They also put a bag on him to collect a urine sample so they could run some other tests. The doctor said it's normal to do one bolus (bolus: a dose of a substance (as a drug) given intravenously, specifically a large dose given for the purpose of rapidly achieving the needed therapeutic concentration in the bloodstream), but they may have to do two. Daddy showed up sometime during the first bolus. Connor had finally fallen asleep for a catnap, he was so worn out! (I realize the picture's not too clear, but A) it was taken with a camera phone, and B) we had turned off the lights to help him sleep.) There was no urine sample for them to use after the first bolus, so they started a second. Even with all the liquid they had given him, he still hadn't left them a urine sample after two, so they ended up doing three boluses. He ended up receiving more than 1/2 liter of saline, and still, no urine sample. So to traumatize the boy even more, they ended up taking a sample by catheter. Even then, they weren't able to get much. Just goes to show just how dehydrated he really was! We finally ended up leaving Kaiser at almost 1:00 a.m. The rehydration did him good. He went right to sleep once we got home, and didn't wake up until 11:00. He fussed when he woke up, but once he had a bottle in his mouth, he was fine. Well, at least until he drained that bottle. He ended up drinking three bottles, then went back to sleep. So went the day. He's still feeling miserable, but at least is able to keep things down now. We hope we're on the downside of the punies. As Daddy told the nurse at Kaiser, the best thing about having such a happy baby is knowing something is wrong when they're not happy. Get well soon, babe!