Henry's first trip to the ER.
He woke up with a mild bug bite on his knee Thursday morning. By that evening he had a fever of almost 103 and his leg was pretty swollen around the bite. We didn't think much of the swollen-ness (i think i just made that word up), because he's had the same reaction to mosquito bites. Well, by the middle of the night his leg was really swollen and it seemed tender to the touch and he couldn't sleep because of the fever and discomfort. Finally around 5 a.m. sleep came.
Friday morning he was a bundle of energy and his happy self. He still had a slight fever. Then, by naptime it had shot back up to over 103. The bite also looked terrible, red and splotchy, with a bit of blue discoloration and it was hot to the touch, but not as swollen as the night before. I come to my senses and call his doctor. The nurse tells me to take him to the ER if the fever and swelling don't come down. Okay. I find it a bit odd that she doesn't recommend bringing him to the doctor, but whatever. I give him some Motrin, then we spend the afternoon nursing his fever, watching The Sandlot, and then we nap.
When he wakes up the fever is still the same and so is the leg. We wait a short time for Matt to come home from work and then we discuss this apparently inevitable and dreaded trip to the ER. We decide that yes, we should go, and no, we are not overreacting. At this point the bug bite coupled with the fever has us worried and as we are discussing this Henry is not really putting much weight on his right foot (the leg with the bite - but this is only for a brief time). Oh! also at this point he is getting a rash on his chest. Now there's no question.
Of course we are not looking forward to spending our evening in the ER waiting room with a little one and to our pleasant surprise our hospital has a separate ER for pediatrics. There was no one in the waiting room! Including the time it took to fill out paperwork and wait for the nurse to see us we waited about 10 minutes or so. Woohoo! Henry's downfall came when the front desk nurse put an i.d. bracelet on his wrist. For some reason this set him off. It upset him so much, the poor guy. Luckily the nurse who was taking his vitals removed it and put one on my wrist instead. This helped tremendously.
So, the doctor comes in and does his doctorly thing. (he was very nice and informative and we didn't feel rushed out of the hospital). Then he informs us that Henry has cellulitis! I truly had no idea it could be anything like this. Why did I wait to take him to the doctor? Boy, did I feel like a bad mama.
I am not one to hesitate calling the doctor if I have a concern. I don't mind appearing to be that overly worried mother. If I am not sure about any symptoms or what steps I should take to alleviate those symptoms, I will call and ask. My main concern is that I am doing everything in my power to make sure my boy is feeling as good as he can be. In this circumstance I feel like I let him (and myself) down though. It was just such a strange thing. All his symptoms gradually showed themselves and he was acting like his normal happy self most of the time. And on top of this, it all occurred because of a bug bite. I never would have thought.
Anyway, everything is looking fine now. The bite looks much better and his temperature is finally back down to normal. We are just waiting, watching and medicating (and cuddling, lots and lots of cuddling).
Hope Henry gets well soon. Don't feel so bad about it. This is nothing you could have known. You went to the ER when you felt that it was necessary. How should you know that this was more serious that it appeared.
ReplyDeletePoor baby . . . poor you! I think that the ER is usually harder on the parents no matter what age. I am usually very hands off when it comes to the doctor's visits (seriously, what can they do for a cold - but my girls don't get that) so cut yourself some slack. Besides, it makes for great stories later on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the boost ladies! I was being a bit hard on myself, but it was kind of scary. Still nervous until it clears up completely, but have a bit more confidence now.
ReplyDeletei am the ER queen. my kids have logged 9 ER visits and 6 hospital stays in the pst 4 years. i don't abuse it, just have had the (dis)pleasure of having really unlucky kiddos when it comes to contagion and lung funk. asthma will keep you hopping.
ReplyDeletewhat you went through sounds terrible. and if i can shed any bit of advice to you it is this. what i have learned is to never let anyone (ER doctor, nurse, pediatrician) tell you that it isn't a big deal if you feel that it is. if you know your child is sick enough for immediately medical care, you make that happen. i punked out and let a doc tell me i was an overbearing first time mom while visiting tony's dad in dahlonega and had to learn the hard way that following my instinct is always my best bet. the "physician" at chestatee regional hospital (i tell you this so you will never go there, being in ga yourself) sent us packing without any help and angus nearly died during what we now know was a very serious asthma attack at 16 months old. we trusted him with our baby's care and he let us down and insulted us in one giant turd of so-called treatment.
you did well and you did the right thing. you waited the right amount of time before taking henry in. seriously, how many bugs carry cellulitis causing bacteria? that's rare and you did well, gonzomama.
dang typos.
ReplyDeleteyou know I have a friend that likes to remind me that they say doctors are 'practicing' for a reason. they don't know everything. this little remind always helps calm me down if I get frustrated with H's doctor.(who once incorrectly diagnosed him with mrsa without testing him for it, then prescribed an antibiotic) Needless to say we are on the hunt for a different doctor.
ReplyDeletethanks for the advice, i do believe you are right, and definitely have the experience to give it.