I feel like I'm in an episode of House.
Here's what we know:
Monkey fell at school almost 2 weeks ago (2 weeks this Friday). We are unsure if she just fell on ice or if she was pushed on the slide or fell on the play structure on the playground at recess - we have received little pieces of information from her but are not able to tell if she's remembering a past incident or not. The office was not notified of any injury on that day and so far, no one seems to have witnessed it directly. She got home on Friday complaining her bum hurt and that she had fallen.
That Sunday her father took her to the hospital as she could barely walk, was crying all the time and was not acting normal. It was discovered that she had a fever that had been masked by the Tylenol she had been taking every 4-5 hours for the pain she was having. She was examined, Xrays were taken (which showed no fractures) and then she was sent home to rest and take it easy. She was prescribed Tylenol for the fever and pain as well as Omoxicillin (sp?) for a slight ear infection.
I had her home with me all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. She limped the entire time. Her fever returned as soon as the Tylenol wore off and she was just not herself - but there was no bruising from her fall. She also wasn't eating very much at all. By Wednesday she was able to maneuver around mostly on her own and had started to show interest in playing with toys again. So we figured she was improving...
We sent her to school Thursday. I received a call at lunch saying that Monkey was not acting herself. She was not participating in activities or engaging with her friends, she would not eat her lunch, and she had put her head on her desk and fallen asleep. When she got back to my house I put her down for a nap. She woke up screaming and complaining of pain in her neck. Her fever was high and she had difficulty walking again. I took her to the hospital. They did a urine test and 3 blood tests. After getting the results that her white blood count was within normal range, they switched her to Advil doses to combat the inflammation reading that came back - apparently common in young children if they had an infection present when injured. We went home.
Friday and Saturday she was mostly fine as long as she had a full dose of Advil in her. She would smile and laugh with her little sister, but not up to her usual self. She laid down a lot and complained of pain "in her bum" when the medication was wearing off. Her fever kept returning. Sunday with her father was more of the same - she would "play" with her cousins, but was not fully in the activities. She was still limping and complaining of pain and asked to go lay down at one point. But she wanted to go to school on Monday and again, we thought that she was slowly improving.
Monday was better at school. She was attempting to play at recess - although she fell again - but was reportedly alright. Her father received a call on his cell from the hospital in the early afternoon. They had received the results of the other blood tests and were looking to have Monkey come back in for a re-test to see how she compared. The person on the phone mentioned the possibility of a bone scan, but could not release much information as she wasn't the doctor. Her father picked her up from school and headed over to the hospital. At this point we thought it was only blood work and waiting. At 10pm he was told that the hospital wanted to keep her overnight and that an ultrasound was being scheduled for the morning. Her inflammation score was 68 - a normal range is in the 20's. And her white blood count was now raised.
The ultrasound yesterday showed fluid in her abdomen area and a surgeon was called in to consult. They started looking at her appendix. I arrived at the hospital at 3pm to be with her and let her father go home to rest. She was only cleared to eat anything at 6pm (a full 24 hours since her last meal) as the surgeon said that surgery would not be required and they didn't believe her appendix was the issue. Her IV dosage was lowered around 9pm and the questions continued from the pediatrician. It's now a process of elimination - but without the proper language from Monkey, we don't know 100% what happened and she can't describe the pain properly for the doctors. So they are looking for something, but they don't exactly know what. I got home around 2am this morning after her father returned to be with her for the night. She slept well and actually ate a full breakfast this morning - a big improvement.
She went for another ultrasound this morning. They keep checking for improvements. I was told last night that she will be tested over the next couple of days by different doctors. At least she is in the best place and can get the tests she requires relatively quickly. However, she is not reacting well to doctors at the moment - understandably! - and is crying and screaming when touched, making it harder to distinguish where pain is actually occurring. The bone scan to look for hairline fractures has been placed on the back burner for now as it is a pretty serious procedure. They are eliminating the other possibilities before subjecting her to that. She is able to walk on her own again mostly - although she still limps, but her fever is still consistently returning.
All we know is that she's not getting better. Her symptoms change and some days she's worse, but she's not improving much. She's being so brave through it all though! I'm just at a loss for the moment, she's in pain and I can't make it better. Hopefully they find out something today. She will be seen by a bone specialist and an infectious disease doctor shortly.
Monkey fell at school almost 2 weeks ago (2 weeks this Friday). We are unsure if she just fell on ice or if she was pushed on the slide or fell on the play structure on the playground at recess - we have received little pieces of information from her but are not able to tell if she's remembering a past incident or not. The office was not notified of any injury on that day and so far, no one seems to have witnessed it directly. She got home on Friday complaining her bum hurt and that she had fallen.
That Sunday her father took her to the hospital as she could barely walk, was crying all the time and was not acting normal. It was discovered that she had a fever that had been masked by the Tylenol she had been taking every 4-5 hours for the pain she was having. She was examined, Xrays were taken (which showed no fractures) and then she was sent home to rest and take it easy. She was prescribed Tylenol for the fever and pain as well as Omoxicillin (sp?) for a slight ear infection.
I had her home with me all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. She limped the entire time. Her fever returned as soon as the Tylenol wore off and she was just not herself - but there was no bruising from her fall. She also wasn't eating very much at all. By Wednesday she was able to maneuver around mostly on her own and had started to show interest in playing with toys again. So we figured she was improving...
We sent her to school Thursday. I received a call at lunch saying that Monkey was not acting herself. She was not participating in activities or engaging with her friends, she would not eat her lunch, and she had put her head on her desk and fallen asleep. When she got back to my house I put her down for a nap. She woke up screaming and complaining of pain in her neck. Her fever was high and she had difficulty walking again. I took her to the hospital. They did a urine test and 3 blood tests. After getting the results that her white blood count was within normal range, they switched her to Advil doses to combat the inflammation reading that came back - apparently common in young children if they had an infection present when injured. We went home.
Friday and Saturday she was mostly fine as long as she had a full dose of Advil in her. She would smile and laugh with her little sister, but not up to her usual self. She laid down a lot and complained of pain "in her bum" when the medication was wearing off. Her fever kept returning. Sunday with her father was more of the same - she would "play" with her cousins, but was not fully in the activities. She was still limping and complaining of pain and asked to go lay down at one point. But she wanted to go to school on Monday and again, we thought that she was slowly improving.
Monday was better at school. She was attempting to play at recess - although she fell again - but was reportedly alright. Her father received a call on his cell from the hospital in the early afternoon. They had received the results of the other blood tests and were looking to have Monkey come back in for a re-test to see how she compared. The person on the phone mentioned the possibility of a bone scan, but could not release much information as she wasn't the doctor. Her father picked her up from school and headed over to the hospital. At this point we thought it was only blood work and waiting. At 10pm he was told that the hospital wanted to keep her overnight and that an ultrasound was being scheduled for the morning. Her inflammation score was 68 - a normal range is in the 20's. And her white blood count was now raised.
The ultrasound yesterday showed fluid in her abdomen area and a surgeon was called in to consult. They started looking at her appendix. I arrived at the hospital at 3pm to be with her and let her father go home to rest. She was only cleared to eat anything at 6pm (a full 24 hours since her last meal) as the surgeon said that surgery would not be required and they didn't believe her appendix was the issue. Her IV dosage was lowered around 9pm and the questions continued from the pediatrician. It's now a process of elimination - but without the proper language from Monkey, we don't know 100% what happened and she can't describe the pain properly for the doctors. So they are looking for something, but they don't exactly know what. I got home around 2am this morning after her father returned to be with her for the night. She slept well and actually ate a full breakfast this morning - a big improvement.
She went for another ultrasound this morning. They keep checking for improvements. I was told last night that she will be tested over the next couple of days by different doctors. At least she is in the best place and can get the tests she requires relatively quickly. However, she is not reacting well to doctors at the moment - understandably! - and is crying and screaming when touched, making it harder to distinguish where pain is actually occurring. The bone scan to look for hairline fractures has been placed on the back burner for now as it is a pretty serious procedure. They are eliminating the other possibilities before subjecting her to that. She is able to walk on her own again mostly - although she still limps, but her fever is still consistently returning.
All we know is that she's not getting better. Her symptoms change and some days she's worse, but she's not improving much. She's being so brave through it all though! I'm just at a loss for the moment, she's in pain and I can't make it better. Hopefully they find out something today. She will be seen by a bone specialist and an infectious disease doctor shortly.
What is wrong with my baby?
So so sorry to hear she's sick. I'll be sending good thoughts her way and for the doctors to figure out what's going on to get her better asap!
ReplyDeleteOh geez, I'd seen some FB posts but didn't know exactly what was going on :( Your poor little girl! What a trooper. I sincerely hope the doctors find something soon. I'll keep you all in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry; I really hope she feels better quickly!
ReplyDelete