Callie on Monday, the day after our hospital visit, with a special treat from Granny GreatIt all started Saturday afternoon. Callie didn't want to go down for quiet time and was really fussy about it. When quiet time was over (and she'd been crying for most of it), she felt really hot to me. I took her temperature and it was 100 degrees, but I reassured myself that it was mainly because she'd been so worked up. I said that I'd take it again later and I was sure it was going to be lower. So we went outside to walk and instead of playing, Callie just sat on the porch, which is just not like her at all. So we took her in, gave her a bath, and got ready for bed. I took her temperature again and it was a little higher than her normal at 98 degrees. But no big deal, right?
It was 1:15 am when Callie came out of her room crying and felt like she was on fire. We took her temperature again and it was 102.9 degrees. We started tylenol and Philip slept on her floor next to her for the rest of the night. I didn't sleep very well, but we were trying to keep Gabe and Callie separated as much as possible so I had to stay in our room.
Sunday we were supposed to head to Springfield to a birthday party for one of our dear family friends, but Callie's fever continued to go up and down ranging from 100 to 103 so we had to pass on the festivities. Callie was lethargic and didn't want to eat or drink very much at all and occasionally would start shaking uncontrollably. At 2:40, I got my highest reading yet at 104.1. I decided it was time to consult with someone with more medical experience than me so I called a Prompt Care. The nurse there told me that since I was taking her temperature in her armpit, they add a degree so her actual temperature was probably more like 105 and at 105 they recommend going straight to the hospital.
So by 3:30 (we had to get some things around and settled), we were off to the emergency room even though Callie's temperature had come back down in the meantime with some motrin. We arrived at the hospital, they took us into a pre-screening room, and a nurse was with us shortly. She did the first work up and soon a doctor came in to see Callie. She said that, unfortunately, she saw no obvious infection in her ears or throat so we were going to have to get a room in the ER. Over the next few hours, Callie had an IV put in and bodily fluids taken for testing. She was a brave little girl and though she was not happy about the things the nurses had to do, she did not fight it too much, just cried a lot and said "Ow, ow ow ow!" Mommy and Daddy tried to put on a brave face for Callie (and managed to for the most part through lots of silent prayers), but for the most part I just wanted to cry and scream and tell them to stop hurting her . . .
Mimi and Grandpa came to the hospital to help with Callie and Gabriel while we had to deal with waiting for the doctors and nurses and tests. Callie's fever once again spiked in the hospital and she started shaking more violently than she had at home. She then vomited and we called the nurse in. Even though she was shaking because she was cold, we had to take her clothes off down to her diaper and place cool, wet clothes under her armpits and over her head. Callie also had to take a dose of tylenol in a non-traditional way since they weren't sure at that point if she'd be able to keep it down, which she was not very happy about at all.
Her temperature came down a little and she stopped shaking. The doctor finally came back and said that the tests had revealed that she had a UTI. He gave us his recommendations, told us to call our family doctor on Tuesday, and said that as soon as they were comfortable with the level her temperature was at, we would be able to go home. It took another hour or so before her temperature was lowered to about 100 degrees and we were discharged at 11:00 pm.
We then had to go to a 24-hour Walgreens to get her medications and some more motrin. Needless to say, when we finally walked in the door around midnight, we were all exhausted.
On Monday, Callie's temperature continued to go up and down, but it was well within control with the cycle of tylenol and motrin. She was much more like herself throughout the day, playing and laughing, and talking -- my baby girl was back!
Today, we called our family doctor for a follow-up and he asked us to come in. I went in thinking the he was just going to make sure everything was going ok, temperature check, visual inspection, etc . . . but unfortunately, we got some more bad news. Recent recommendations in the medical world say that any child under 3 who has a bladder infection needs to be worked up for a more serious condition where the sphincter in the bladder doesn't work properly. This means that the child is more prone to kidney infections if they get a bladder infection which can lead to very serious problems, including possible kidney failure (very unlikely, but still a possibility). So, we're going to have to go back to the hospital for some more uncomfortable tests to see if Callie has this condition. If it turns out that she does, it's possible that she's going to need "minor" surgery to correct the problem.
I'm trying really hard to see this as a true blessing that we live in a time when they know about and can fix these things before we do have a serious problem on our hands. It's hard to know that I'm going to have to take Callie and make her endure more of these tests when she doesn't understand completely that we're trying to help her. Just taking her back to our doctor today was a battle because she was scared to go back to the room. I just need to keep praying that God holds my little girl and comforts her through these next tests and if she needs the surgery that He comforts all of us.
Please be praying for Callie and the doctors and these tests that we have to do. I will try to keep everyone updated on the progress and the decisions that are made. Thank you!
We hope everyone has a wonderful week! God bless you and yours as I know He has blessed our family!
Comments