Of E.R.s...

We are not having a great couple of weeks over here. Worst thing about them: the illness. Here is how it has gone:

On Wednesday evening, the Lone Star Baby escaped from me for a couple of steps when I was drying her off after her bath and slipped and fell, hitting her head. It did not really seem like a bad bonk...just the sort that are fairly common and, on the one hand, I was not worried about it. On the other hand, though, I had had a bad premonitory feeling all afternoon, so I was just jumpy about her well-being in general. I held her most of the rest of the evening and did not try to put her down in the bed until quite late. Around four hours after she had fallen, she woke up vomiting. I wiped her and I off and, even though the doctor on call did not seem too worried, took her to the E.R. because I was worried. We got to see the triage nurse right away and then had to wait for about two hours (pretty good) to see a doctor. This is the second E.R. trip I have made in my career as a parent but I have made several others as a sister and a social worker...I hate being there. Pacing and holding the Lone Star Baby in the waiting room, while she threw up at regular intervals, I felt deeply paranoid about the germs of the other kids there. I was afraid they would do my baby more harm than we would get good out of bringing her there and there did not seem to be any place to go that would be far enough away from them.

When we got into an exam room and saw the doctor, she said she thought it was probably a coincidence, that the baby looked fine and probably had a virus, not a head injury. She ordered a CT scan to be on the safe side, though. The CT scan was a little scary, with the technician wedging stuff all around the baby to keep her still, but it was over pretty fast. We then had to return to the exam room and await the results. The results were fine and the doctor said that while it was still possible that she could have a mild concussion, it was probably the vomiting-and-diarrhea virus that was going around. By that point, I was worried about dehydration because the baby had been throwing up every 15 minutes or so and still had a dry diaper. They said she was too young for that shot they always give (Finargan? I can say it but don't know how to spell it) to make them stop throwing up. They gave her a shot of something else that starts with a Z to help settle her stomach and told us we would need to wait about thirty minutes before we started trying some Pedialyte. The nurse said I could go back to the waiting area. Even though I felt pretty snotty saying it, I mentioned my fear of the germs and she very kindly directed me to the "family room" where we could wait alone instead. Even though I am sure that the "family room" is mainly a place where they send parents to wait for Child Protective Services, I was not fussy. It was an extreme relief to be there after the rest of the night. It had couches and little chairs and toys and books...it was comfortable and we could be alone. We rested and waited and I read a surprisingly good book called something like The Lining Things Up Book repeatedly to the Lone Star Baby. After we had waited awhile, the nurse brought a bottle of Pedialyte and a medicine syringe and instructed me to administer 5 mL every 3 minutes. I did so, with the Lone Star Baby fussing every second in between syringes until she could have more. When they saw that she had taken it and tolerated it okay, they sent us home, where we arrived a few minutes before Lone Star Pa's alarm went off to wake him up. I made him go get some Pedialyte and Pedialyte popsicles before he left and bathed the baby and myself and called work and her school to let them know that we would not be in. Then Lone Star Pa called his work to let them know that he would not be in until first period and took the Lone Star Girl to school while the Lone Star Baby and I went to sleep.

On Thursday, the Lone Star Baby only threw up twice but she started having tons of diarrhea, so I then felt sure, and relieved, that she had a virus and not a head injury. On Thursday night, the Lone Star Girl threw up. On Friday, the Lone Star Baby was much better but continued to have some diarrhea. The Lone Star Girl seemed totally fine so I let her go to her DI tournament on Saturday morning, thus exposing the whole team, because on Saturday night, she threw up a second time. She felt fine all day Sunday while the Lone Star Baby had a couple of more loose stools so I sent the Lone Star Girl to school on Monday while Lone Star Pa took a turn staying home from work with the Lone Star Baby...and the school called him to come and pick her up because she had thrown up again. So at this point, the Lone Star Baby was having about one loose stool per day and the Lone Star Girl was throwing up about once every other day. Lone Star Pa called the nurse at the girls' doctor's office to see if we should bring them in and she said no...that this bug was lasting mainly for seven days but sometimes as long as 14. Lovely. Lone Star Pa stayed home with them Tuesday. The Lone Star Girl felt just fine all day but threw up once last night. So. I am home with both of them today. Tonight will make a week that we have been dealing with this. Not fun. This illness has been the Lone Star Baby's first experience with vomiting and diarrhea and she does not like it. None of us do. I feel that there is a decent chance they will be able to go back to school tomorrow or Friday, and I am so, so grateful that the Lone Star Girl seems to have this bug in a very minor way and that the Lone Star Baby has gotten better everyday. Also that I am nursing because the charm of the Pedialyte wore off really fast and breastmilk has allowed me to keep the baby hydrated without more trips to the E.R. for I.V. fluids. What a week we have had, though! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!!