All the Drama!

I brought Abby home from the hospital a few hours ago. Many of you knew she was there (and I thank you for your phone calls and prayers) and the rest of you probably won't be surprised to hear it because over the course of my children's lives you have undoubtedly come to the same conclusion that I have - as gorgeous as they may be... my children have ridiculously weak immune systems.

Runny noses are too simple for my kids - when they get sick, they get really sick. It all started when Drew was 10 months old. One ear infection turned to double ear infections with no relief for over 6 months! Next came repeated cases of croup, and finally last September we pulled him through the 6 week long illness (with a 3 day outpatient hospitalization) that resulted in an extremely resistant ear infection, RSV, and bacterial pneumonia. Ever since then, he has had several respiratory infections that led his doctor (just this past week) to finally declare that the poor child has asthma and this will continue to be an uphill battle.

And then there is Abby - never has had a single ear infection or anything similar to Drew's experiences. Whenever she gets sick, she spikes a fever, vomits for a few days and ends up dehydrated and in the hospital for IV fluids. Every stinkin' time. This was the third time, and it was definitely the worst so far - here's the story...

Her fever was 104.5 Sunday night and I was up with her all night. Monday morning was rough (I'll spare you all the gory details) but a trip to the pediatrician revealed nothing more than a stomach virus. She was feeling better Monday afternoon and then slept through the night. Tuesday morning she was much worse and couldn't hold anything down, so the doctor sent us to a pediatric clinic so she could get some fluids and get back to normal. Or so we thought...

The doctor came in and said that her labs revealed extreme dehydration (everything was abnormal) and she would have to be admitted to the hospital. We were there for about 4 hours while we waited for a bed to become available, and I commenced calling everyone I could think of to get the word out and the prayers going. I was very scared all of a sudden - I hadn't been all that worried, and now to find out she was so very sick - my heart just broke for her little body.

We finally got the hospital around 9 or so - I really can't remember, and my sweet, sweet friend Kari was already sitting in the waiting room with Krispy Kreme donuts. I felt so awful she had made the trip, but it really was great to have her there while we were being admitted. She said all the right things and made a fuss over Abby who, thankfully, quickly fell asleep in my arms. While Abby slept, we had time for some "girl talk" and now, as I look back, it probably really saved me because I would have felt so alone and scared for my little girl, but instead I had one of my best mommy friends there to keep me a little distracted - it just made the whole thing a little less scary and I know that was her intention from the start. What would any of us do without our girlfriends? Mine have saved me on countless occasions...

Abby slept peacefully, however, they came at 3am to tell me that her new lab tests still revealed severe dehydration and they were going to take us now (at 3am) for a CAT scan to rule out anything crazy. Abby was an angel, she was very cooperative (even though we had woken her from a deep sleep) and she didn't even cry when I put her on the exam table. She was so scared - I could see it in her huge eyes staring at me, but she never once cried. The lady told her she had to stay very still, and that little child never moved a muscle! Her eyes never left mine though - she was so brave - and that machine was pretty scary to me. The lab tech said she did better than most adults. We were back in our room by 4:30 and she slept until they came to check her vitals. Then she was MAD and she threw a complete tantrum. I really didn't blame her - everyone kept waking her up to poke and prod her. How do you explain that to a 2 year old?

Anyway, they got lots of fluid in her and by mid-morning she was feeling much better. A lady named Michelle came in for some "music therapy" and Abby loved her own private concert complete with puppets and musical instruments. Michelle played the guitar and sang, and it really seemed to lift Abby's spirits. We spent the rest of the day watching movies and she got better and better as she started eating and drinking on her own. The results of the CAT scan were normal (Praise God!) and the latest lab results were flawless - everything was finally back to normal. They wanted us to hang around for observation so we watched lots of movies and my brother and sister brought me lunch (thank you!) and spent some time with Abby. They finally discharged us around 5:30 or so and we hurried home to Daddy and Drew who were thrilled to see Abby!

It was such a relief when she started feeling better. I felt so helpless when she wasn't feeling well and it all must have been so scary for her - the hospital, the IV, the nurses, and the dreaded CAT scan. She really handled it all very well though - she is such a trooper, this little one.

It just ended up being a virus, but they had me scared for awhile that it could be something more since this same cycle of dehydration keeps repeating itself.

But, it seems that this is just the way my kids are - if they are going to get sick, they are going to make sure that we really know it! I guess I'll just have to keep making that plastic bubble I want them to live in bigger and bigger...