48 Hours

I know I haven't posted in a while, so this is long over due. The truth is I have had a crazy, crazy week. 

School was back in session on Monday and I have a busy but cute group of kids. It was an unusually busy first week for me at school which required a lot of my time. 

Then on top of everything Elizabeth has been fighting a cough for 2 weeks. I took her to Patient First last week because I wanted to make sure her lungs sounded okay. The doctor there who obviously knew nothing about preemies and children, barely spent any time listening to her lungs, and just dismissed it as just a cold and sent us on our way without antibiotics.

We did what we normally do-

Humidifier, Vicks plug-in and Vicks on the feet. We also started her on both of her emergency inhalers we have for her when she gets sick-Flovent and Albuterol. 

She continued to cough at night and a little during the day, but it seemed like she was getting a little better. Then on Thursday night, I noticed that she felt warm so I took her temp. It was 100.5, so I gave her some Tylenol to bring her temp down. I checked her throughout the night and continued the Tylenol every 4 hours and I also alternated with Motrin. About 5:30 I took her temp again and it actually went up even with the meds to 101.7. She then threw-up on the living room carpet. 

Well, I had a decision to make.  It was 3 hours until the pediatrician's office was going to open and there was no guarantee I would get an early sick appointment, so I made the decision to take her to the ER. I immediately texted my teammates  at school and called my boss to let her know I was headed to the ER. 

I told the ER doc that she has been fighting this cough for 2 weeks and that now she was running a fever. I also went over her extensive medical history and explain that she did have chronic lung disease due to her prematurity.  He too didn't seem to know much about preemies with lung disease (nothing new for us) because he too didn't prescribe an antibiotic even though I pushed for one. I was pretty mad when we left. The ER doctor said she had bronchitis. Well, whenever an adult has bronchitis they get meds, so I left there upset. Luckily my grandmother was able to watch Liz so I could go into work late.

Saturday morning I went ahead and called the pediatrician office and got her a sick appointment. She was still running a fever around 100. - something even with regular meds. Her pediatrician listened to her lungs and they of course sounded "junky"and she even said that since her body has been fighting it off for 2 weeks, it was clear at this point she can't shake it. She prescribed her an antibiotic! Yay! Finally!

After the appointment I decided to take the girls to my mom's house so Dan could shampoo the carpet since Elizabeth threw-up on it the morning before. We gave Liz the first dose of antibiotics and I continued to give her Tylenol and also Motrin, alternating them. 

Around 1:30 Liz started to look very pale and I took her temp under her arm and it was 103 and still going up. Under the arm is 1 degree cooler, so it was really 104 and going up. Scared me to death!

My mom and I immediately ran and put her in the bath to help bring her temp down. After 20 minutes in the bath, her temp only went down to 103 and she still looked very pale and her eyes looked glasses. We made the decision to call 911. An ambulance came and got her and immediately took her to the ER. Yes, the ER again- we were just there the day before.  I toed the ambulance, which made my stomach turn from all the bumps. Elizabeth cried the whole way. I couldn't sit close enough to calm her down and watching her cry without a way to comfort her was a completely miserable feeling. I wanted to cry too. 

When we arrived to the ER a nurse there even said "They were here yesterday." Umm... Yeah we were! Now find out what's wrong! 

We were there for about 4 hours and they gave her a higher dose of Tylenol and Motrin and her temp finally came down. The ER doc (who was different from the day before) said that she felt that the antibiotic really just needed time to work. We were discharged and able to go home. I checked her temp all throughout the night and we were instructed to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 2 hours. 

Today Elizabeth is finally feeling better and her temp is staying under 100. :) thank God. 

This leads me to my final point of the day-

I knew that she needed an antibiotic and I wish I would have threw more of a fit with the first ER doc or even took her to the pediatrician the same day instead of waiting until the next day. I learned a lesson this weekend. Go with your instincts moms! You know what's best for your child. 

I'm just happy she's feeling better!