Saturday Night Live... ER style

Just Friday an article was plastered all over local papers and new stations about the rise in RSV cases this week. It's that time of year, where RSV reeks havoc on babies and little ones and kids under 12 are restricted from the hospitals. They said something like there is a normal 1600 cases every year, and so far 1300 cases have been identified. It is obvious to me this year will be a huge outbreak of it... seeing as how 64% of that 1300 was in the last week!

Oh yeah, my point. To go back a bit, Gabriella does this throat clearing thing. After some research in both anatomy and symptoms of RCM, I found this to be a 'normal' tick for her condition due to the back up of blood flow from the stiff heart. She started a cough last Tuesday which at first I attributed to this tick she has. By Thursday she started fevers. Come Saturday, I couldn't keep her fevers under control and her cough was constant. I feared the stress it was putting on her heart. My amazing and near-Godly pediatrician took a bit out of his evening to talk to me and suggest I take her to the ER. He even called ahead to tell them to not let Gabriella sit with the cooties in the waiting room.

(Can I stop for a moment and say I'm NOT that mom... I don't go to the ER for anything unless it involves gaping wounds, missing limbs or convulsions. In the 5 years I have been a mom, we had been there once when Gabriella had 105 fevers and couldn't breathe, and it turned out to be croup. Makes sense now why her body took it so hard, she had a sickly heart... but anyways.)

So we headed to Cardon Childrens Saturday night...

When we got there, they were cleaning a room for her so sat us in the hallway outside the room to wait. I cased out the situation, the little girl before her had stepped on something and needed 4 stitches in her foot- so I knew the room wasn't just plastered for hours with RSV or another cootie. The downfall to sitting in the hallway was watching things go down in the room next to her where a 1 month old baby was being intubated for severe RSV. I was highly emotional, trying to not cry.... those poor parents. Later the nurse told me the cases they have seen have been so severe that day and they even had a 4m old breathing 96 times per minute! GEEZ!

They hooked her up to a Pulse-Oxcimeter. I've decided I need one for my house. The last time she was monitored for any length of time was when she had her stroke. She was my 100% baby, to everyones surprise! Well, she tends to run about 94% sitting up not coughing and 89% sleeping. They did a chest X-ray which was clear despite wheezing and decreased lung sounds. They did a strep swap to rule out that, which ticked her off. They drew blood from her arm, and she fought so hard she blew her own vein! Nurse Toni was so amazing and calm about it all... she got some blood out of the blown vein anyways! (Shout out to nurse Toni! I hope you check in on the blog!!) She then started an IV in her hand to get more blood and be prepared if she needed IV antibiotics. All her bloodwork came back normal. She had elevated liver enzymes but they said that's common with fevers and general illness, and she was slightly dehydrated due to the Lasix for her heart. They decided she had a chest cold.

That's right. We were in the ER until after 3am for a chest cold. So if this mom, who only takes kids missing limbs or convulsing to the ER, was in the ER with her 5yo and a chest cold, it can paint the picture of how hard that ridiculous cold was on her body. Her special heart can barely tolerate keeping HER going, let alone fight illness as well. I'm sure this is just a preview of the Immunosuppressed lifestyle she will have!

So by today she is doing well. Her fevers have taken a hike, and her coughing has decreased. And as if I needed the comparison of a healthy vs. unhealthy kid, PJ is now sick! He has the same nasty cough, but is handling it so much better. Now that kid, he got ALL the strength. I wouldn't be surprised if they find his heart to be made of platinum muscle. Probably for a reason too, he has 2 tough women in his life. :)