Hospital Stay

Well, on Wednesday J took a turn for the worst. Fever, crying, and he stopped eating and drinking. Also, the nurse got his results from his bloodwork on Monday and his iron levels were really low. So he was admitted to the hospital for dehydration and stomatitis, on his mommy's 28th birthday :( His gums were really red and swollen, and very sensitive so he didn't want anything to touch his mouth. It was so sad to watch him in so much pain, but I felt relieved that he was getting fluids through the IV.

It is a chore, having an active toddler in the hospital for days with an IV! Once J got the fluids in him, the next day he was ready to get down and run and play. But I couldn't let him b/c he would get tangled in the IV. He would protest for a while, but it was always easy to get him to just lie in the bed with me and cuddle all day. That's how I knew he was still not 100% b/c normally J would freak out at the thought of lying still for days!! His blood work and body temp went back to normal pretty quickly but the Dr wanted to keep him in the hospital until he was able to eat and drink again. By Thursday night, he still hadn't eaten or drank anything and I was very discouraged. We prayed and prayed and Friday morning, J woke up and asked for juice. I hoped out of bed so fast before he changed his mind! He drank 4 oz without taking a breath! I was so very happy for him! He continued to drink through the day and I made sure the nurse knew this. He was discharged this evening, but not before we both were traumatized by the nurse who decided that he needed a new IV this morning. First, she wanted to try and start on in his foot so that his arms could get a break. Well she thought she found a good vein in his foot and went to insert the HUGE ADULT SIZED NEEDLE into my baby's foot. She missed, but continued to dig in his foot looking for the vein. My baby was SCREAMING. Crying like he'd never cried before. Gasping and screaming MOM MOM MOM MOM :( I told her to just take that out and put the IV in his other arm. So she tried the other arm and the same damn thing happens, she misses his vein and digs and digs, all while my baby is screaming his little head off. I was pissed off b/c he was finally feeling better and now she is putting him through more pain. He was trying to climb off the table to get to me. I started to get dizzy for some reason and I told her "Please just stop. Let's wait until the Dr gets here b/c he may not even need an IV anymore." Then I immediately had to sit on the bed and they had to hand J to me b/c I almost passed out. I think I had an anxiety attack from seeing him in so much pain. After that ordeal, I hugged him until he fell asleep and he slept for 3 solid hours. As soon as he woke up he asked for more juice! I knew then that I did the right thing by asking her to stop digging in my baby's arm b/c he didn't need another IV.

To all the mom's reading my blog, trust you motherly instincts. If a Dr tells you one thing but you feel that there is more wrong with your child, go with your gut. J started getting ill on Friday and we took him to the ER in Memphis with a 104 fever. He was basically given motrin and ignored b/c he wasn't "sick enough". Well had I listened to the nurses there who said just give motrin/tylenol and he'll get better, my baby would still be in pain and probably worse off. Maybe if they would have looked in his mouth on Friday night, he would have been treated sooner and possibly could have skipped all of the pain he went through. It's sad that many Drs and nurses don't put their heart into their jobs. Mommies, don't ever feel that you are over reacting. If you think something is wrong, call the Dr until you feel comfortable and your child gets the treatment he needs!!