Alex spent his first Easter in the hospital.
Alex has had several ear infections since January. We brought him to urgent care last Monday after a very fussy night and found out he had yet another ear infection along with a sinus infection. The doctor put him on Omnicef, a very strong antibiotic, and for a few days Alex seemed to be improving. Thursday Alex was very sensitive to loud sounds at daycare, and they even noticed fluid coming out of his ear. We brought him back to urgent care that night, and the doctor said his ear was improving. So when he had a low-grade fever Saturday, I thought it was teething and kept giving him Tylenol. Unfortunately, the fever got worse in the evening, and at 12:30 a.m., when it still didn't improve despite the Tylenol, we went to ER. According the doctor there, Alex did have another ear infection. Bloodwork showed Alex had an elevated white blood count, and that's why he had to be admitted to the hospital.
The pediatric ward was very quiet, since there was only one other child in the wing. It was nicely decorated, with murals on the walls, a playroom, and a gameroom/gathering room. Alex's room had a fold-out bed so parents could stay in the room, and the staff even brought in lunch and dinner for us. But it still sucked having to be there, especially when it meant we couldn't celebrate Easter with Eugene's family. We did bring Alex his Easter basket, which had a couple of stuffed animals, a couple of books, and a couple of toys. At least he really liked the giant, colorful glowworm. None of us slept well, if at all, while we waited for the doctors in ER. Alex was so overtired he couldn't fall asleep; he screamed no matter what we did. He finally got some sleep in the afternoon, after we carried him around the hospital wing. He also didn't eat very well. His treatment was a pair of intramuscular injections of antibiotics. He got the first one in ER and the second one in the evening, when we were finally discharged. We've spent this afternoon in following up with more doctor visits. Alex may have to have surgery if the ear infections don't clear up, but we're going to try a couple of other things first. I also hope that if spring ever actually arrives, Alex will stop getting sick.
Oh Sandra, I am so sorry to hear he is not feeling well again. You and Eugene work so hard and are amazing parents in my eyes. I hope the two of you will get a chance to get a breather soon and little Alex gets well quickly.
ReplyDeleteA little girl in my class just got tubes in her ears a few weeks back. She was getting sick (ear infections and sinus infections almost every week)and the girls parents were exhausted and miserable. Mom had postponed getting tubes put in her baby's ears until she was 2 years old because she was afraid for her daughter to go through the procedure. We hear mom, dad and child are doing great the procedure was very easy for the little girl and her parents couldn't be happier to see her little girl feeling great for the first time in almost her two short years of life :) Keep us posted please.
Sandra and Eugene,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had such a bad Easter, and even more sorry little Alex was so sick. I hope he's feeling better now and you're all on a bit more of an even keel. It's been a long, hard, winter, but here comes the sun (hopefully)!
-Leengreenbean