ER Visits

I know, I know. I've been such a slacker this summer when it comes to blogging. I was just looking at some photos I've taken in the past few months and it reminded me of a couple visits we've made to the ER with Nathan.

Mother's Day was a long time ago, but it was all too eventful to forget. We celebrated with a picnic dinner at a nearby lake with my parents, the Pittmans, and the Cardenas crew. We had a great time, even though Nathan had a rash all over his trunk. (We thought it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin he was taking for an ear infection. His pediatrician had already switched his antibiotic to something else, but the rash remained). Nathan wanted to be held almost the entire time and he felt really warm, so I knew he wasn't feeling well, but he was still having fun.

Nathan still felt really warm when we got home that night, even though I'd given him some Tylenol at the lake. We took his temperature and it was over 103 degrees. Given the rash, coupled with the fever, I called the after-hours triage nurse. Based on my description of the rash, the nurse thought we should head straight for the ER. Unfortunately, it was already 9:00 and we had just put the boys down for bed, so we had to get everyone out of bed and ready to head to the hospital.

Mom and Dad met us at the hospital so they could bring Tyler back home. (I thank the Lord for them!) After about an hour and a half in the waiting room, we finally made it to an exam room where we waited quite a while longer. Thankfully, one of the nurses brought a toy for Nathan to keep him occupied. I know it's hard to feel sorry for him looking at these photos, but he definitely started melting down shortly after these were taken. As midnight came and went, he became slap-happy and then just really cranky.



The ER docs basically told us that the rash looked viral in nature, so we would just have to wait it out. The bad news was that his ears were still infected, even after switching meds, so they recommended giving him rocephin shots. Rocephin is a very potent antibiotic and it has to be administered three days in a row. The first dosage had to be split into 2 separate syringes due tot he amount, so poor little Nate had to have a shot in each leg. Apparently these shots are very painful, so to make the process a tiny bit easier on him, the shots were given simultaneously by 2 nurses. It was awful watching him go through that. Once he calmed down after the shots, he finally fell asleep as I held him.

We had to wait another half-hour before we could be discharged in case he had a reaction to the shots, so it was about 1:15 am by the time we got to leave. It was an exhausting ordeal and one which I'm glad is behind us. Nathan did get the 2 remaining rocephin shots at his ped's office in the following two days and the ear infection did clear up. All the doctors we saw at his ped's office and in the ER were surprised that his very first ear infection was such a stubborn one. The rash took a couple weeks to fade completely, and we're still not exactly sure what caused it, but we're grateful that it finally went away.

5 days later

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Our second visit to the ER was another adventure. It was June 9th, just shy of one-month after our first visit. That was day we found out that Nathan has a peanut allergy.

I'd given Nathan a couple bites of crust from Tyler's PB&J sandwich at lunch, and I knew something was wrong when he woke up twice during his normal naptime. When I got him from his crib, he had little hives on his face, arms and legs, and his belly was one big hive. I've never seen anything like it. It was seriously just one big red patch.

I immediately called his pediatrician who said they wanted to see him right away. Pretty much as soon as the ped saw Nathan's belly, he said we should call 911. Nathan wasn't in respiratory distress at the time, but the doctor said we were still within the 4-6 hour window during which a second phase reaction (usually respiratory distress) could occur. He wanted to make sure we made it to the ER safely, which was the reason for calling an ambulance. If Nathan's airways were to start closing on the way, the paramedics could administer the epi en route.

At the doctor's office - big red belly

The good news is that we never had to give him the epi. The hives had been getting larger until we got to the ER where they finally started to subside. Nathan and I only had to stay in the ER for about an hour and a half, and Tim met us there. When Tim told Tyler about the ambulance, Tyler was a little jealous that Nathan got to ride in an ambulance with Mommy. He told Daddy, "I not ride in an ambulance before. I want to ride in an ambulance." Tim had to explain that only people who are really sick or hurt have to ride in an ambulance, to which Tyler responded with, "Okay." I'm not sure if he really understood, but he seemed to get it.

Back in the hospital gown

So, we are now that family that reads the allergen label on everything and carries an epi pen everywhere. We have an appointment in September with an allergist to confirm the allergy, but until then, we are definitely steering Nathan clear of peanuts.

It was a whirlwind month with Nathan with those 2 visits to the ER, but through it all I had a sense of peace. It never ceases to amaze me how God gives us strength and clarity of mind when we truly need it.