Thursday, January 27, 2011

my sick little girl (and the scariest night...ever)

hannah has pretty much been sick since Christmas- I dont think any of that ever cleared up. Definitely not her ears (I cant wait for tubes!) she pretty much has fluid build up all the time. So they sent her home from daycare Tuesday with a fever- I took her to the doc to make sure nothing else was going on (besides the ear infections she had on her birthday) and he just changed her antibiotic to a stronger one to hopefully clear these up. Jeremy and Hannah had a "take your daughter to work day" on Wednesday (I was in Lex for work and Jeremy had to stay home with her because she couldn't go back to daycare).
Jeremy's future golfer!


So on my way home from Lex I got an email from daycare saying there were 6 confirmed cases of RSV. Of course there were. And because its highly contagious I thought we should be extra careful and take her back to the doctor. (I swear one of those doctors has taken a nice vacation on my dime!) Anyways- we take her late Wednesday night and sure enough- RSV! She tested positive for it. This poor baby was pitiful. They say the average number of breaths a baby takes per minute is 20- she was up to 70. SCARY! Her oxygen was good so they didnt see a need to admit her. We did get our very own nebulizer. Never thought Id own one of those! Anyways- we get her home- put her to bed and she is just uncomfortable, tossing and turning all night. She was breathing rapidly, hot, cold, crying, etc. Just not a good night. So about 3:45 she really woke up crying- so Jeremy goes downstairs to get ibuprofen (she was BURNING UP!) and the nebulizer. Hannah was crying so I picked her up and then it happened. She started having a seizure. I dont have words to describe that moment (besides pure torture). She was stiff, had her fists clenched and was just convusling- shaking, grunting and not moving her eyes. I screamed for Jeremy- he called 911 and we just waited. It felt like forever. But watching your baby lay in front of you having a seizure and there is not one thing you can do is torture. Seriously traumatic. I was like a frantic maniac- running up and down the stairs waiting on the ambulance. It felt like forever but it was almost 15 minutes. I think Hannah's seizure was between 2 and 3 minutes. The 911 responder basically said we had to let her finish the seizure and then lay her on her side. I cant even explain my emotions. I now know how I handle a serious situation and well- it isn't very good. Jeremy is just incredible. Calm, patient and everything I wasn't. Thank God for him.
Once they finally got there- the firetruck and the ambulance- like 6 big ol guys standing around our tiny little girl- we took her temp and it was 105. Whoa. Her oxygen level was as low as 77 at one point. Way to low. Needless to say she is just screaming the whole time. I cant imagine the confusion going on her head. So we get her in the ambulance and head to Kosairs. That place is great- They were so great to her and really made us comfortable. Long story short (well not really!) but turns out her seizure was obviously from her fever spiking so high so fast. They did a chest xray and some other tests and it turns out she has pnuemonia too. POOR BABY! I mean she was poked and prodded in every way possible and she was stronger than me. They did a finger prick to check her blood sugar- she slept right through it. Ok- I cried!! She is one tough cookie. We were both a wreck. It was really tough on us but she was so strong. Seriously- stronger than me. Im sure you can imagine the thoughts going through my head as I watched her lay there so helpless. So 3 hours later they released her and we headed straight to her pediatrician- again. Basically the pneumonia and RSV are viral and she cant take anything for it. We have to wait it out- as long as she is drinking ok and doing breathing treatments she will be ok. She has been so tired today- but I dont blame her. She is coming back around and back to herself. We all just plan on laying low and letting her get better. We have to move her birthday party but thats OK. She will be completely healthy for it and maybe she will even eat cake!!
I am just so thankful for such a strong daughter- she amazed me! My husband who was so calm when I couldn't be, the doctors and nurses who helped take care of her,friends and family who are so caring and came to our rescue and most importantly that everything is ok. I know that this is somewhat common and things could be a lot worse. So I am just thankful my baby is home with us tonight. It was so scary but now I know what to do in a situation like that. And she is now on tylenol and ibuprofen around the clock! I don't want to take the chance of her fever getting that high.
So between a sick baby, snow days and work meetings... this week has been far from normal. I am ready to get back to our daily routine! (even though I loved being home with her today!)
Here are some pictures of our poor little baby all hooked up!
we grabbed her bunny in all the madness- she loves this thing!

We will all be tucked in for the night shortly- we all need a good nights sleep!

3 comments:

The Templeton's said...

Oh my gosh Elizabeth! My heart about broke when I read this story, I am SO sorry you all have been thru all of this but I am SO glad that Hannah is Ok! You poor thing, you have had way too much going on! Keep us updated and we will be praying for her!

{Amanda G} said...

I am so sorry! This breaks my heart! Karter had the same thing happen when he was about 14 months old. It was called a febrile seizure and now we just have to really stay on top of his fevers. I am so sad that she is so sick. I lover her too much for her to have so much pain. I hope she gets better soon!

Maci's Mama said...

I know this is an old post but O.M.G :( I seriously can't even begin to imagine how SCARY that would be!!! Glad this happened months ago and I know she is feeling much better. Honestly, you keep talking about strength and just getting through that proves you are a strong mom. I am sure you were MUCH stronger than you give yourself credit for :)