28-10-2009 - Swine Flu

My mood while writing this blog: Exhausted

So, last week two of my boys were sick, there is a lot of stuff going around the schools including but NOT limited to the swine flu. Well, over the weekend I started not feeling good and ended up staying home from work on Monday, (something I don't normally do). When I got up during the weee hours of Monday morning to run in and out of the bathroom, I noticed that each time Danielle had thrown up, something she never does. Well other then being fussy and throwing up now and then she seemed fine. Monday night she seems to have very mild diarrhea but I didn't worry. Around 2:30 Tuesday I received a call that she had diarrhea going pretty good now and had thrown up a few more times. She had also developed a cough and was sneezing. I called the doctor and left a message for the nurse to call me back. I wanted to make sure that she could have pedilight and to see how much she could have and if there was anything else I needed to do. Thats when it all started.

It took a couple hours for the nurse to call me back, and by then I was on my way to pick Danielle up from the sitter. The nurse asked me exactly what was going on and I said I thought maybe the flu but that I wanted to know about what to give her. The nurse said it sounded like swine flu and that can be very dangerous for a 6 week old baby. I was asked to hold while she talked to the doctor and I was then told to take her to the ER. They asked me exactly where I was and then instructed me what the closest hospital was ith a pediatric care unit was. After listening to everything the nurse had to say, I was sobbing at the thought that my little one was so sick and I had missed how serious it was. All I could think was that I might lose my little girl because I didn't take it serious enough. I picked her up and headed to the hospital. I called her dad and told him what was going on, crying the entire time.... I knew he wouldn't be coming to the hospital because he was sick and he was taking care of a very sick 7 year old at his house and I didn't want any more germs around her then needed. I told him to stay there and I would keep calling and letting him know what was going each step of the way. He assured me that everything would be fine and not to worry. Yeah, thats like telling a pregnant lady not to eat.

Well, at the hospital they rushed her back so as not to expose her to anymore germs. They checked her weight and temp and vitals. She had lost 3 ozs already, but no temp and she was very active. They decided to draw blood to run some tests and see how dehydrated she might be so they would know if an IV was needed. They finally got the needle in the vein in her arm after MANY attempts, but were only able to get a few small drops of blood, not enough for everything they wanted to do. The doctor said she wqas most concerned about checking for the dehydration, but the nurse explained he had already sent the blood for a culture instead. The doctor was annoyed, but explained they would have to take more blood. Thus the process of sticking her began again. I cried watching her struggle as they dug around in her little hand trying to poke the vein. Finally a small drop or two, then they starting running their fingers down her arm almost trying to push the blood out. She was so exhausted from screaming, I though she would pass out. Then the nurse decided to take the tube out of her instead of leaving it in for the IV. He said if she needed the IV they would just do it again. I said Like Hell...

Finally they handed Danielle back to me to comfort and soothe. I calmed her down and she feel asleep as soon as I started to nurse her. After hours in the hospital and all the poking and testing, they said she has a little bug and would be just fine. They told me not to worry but if she were to develope a fever, to bring her right back..... I was so relieved and so upset that she had to go through so much. I know the Swine flu can be very bad, but wow!! could we stop over-reacting. I think if you called the doctor and said you stubbed your toe, they would blame it on swine flu. I think people should be careful and cautious, but don't freak out and don't freak out others.

Good luck to everyone else. Remember to wash your hands.