Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

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Henry is in the pediatric intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I know a lot of you know some details thanks to the glory of facebook and we appreciate letting so many of you know because there are tons of you praying for him...and we appreciate it. He is currently stable and I 'm resting quite a bit easier, but he's still really, really sick.
Here's the rest of the details (please bear w/ me if my spelling is off....it's 2 AM and it's been a super long last 24 hours)

Henry started having diarrhea Friday morning, two times. Then, he started puking. He puked 3 times during the day, but continued to run around and play in between being sick. Eddie and I were having our fabulous day at the Ozarks. My mom was with him.

He puked 5 more times during the night and had more diarrhea. In addition, he was puny and didn't want to be put down. My mom called us to come home from the Ozarks around 645 AM.

This is were things continued to spiral down. I can't even tell you exactly how many times he puked between Saturday AM and Sunday AM. Probably 10 more ish.....in addition he add TONS of diarrhea. I was writing down every poop, every vomit, and every cc of fluid we got in him (which wasn't much and nothing stayed down).

Finally, around 730 AM, after Henry vomited two mores, I called my pediatrician and headed to the ER. At this point we were going on 48 hours of continuous diarrhea and vomiting. We were at the St. Louis Children's Hospital by 845 AM and seen right away. Initially, they told us they would give him some IV fluids and send him on his way, but then they decided he needed a nebulizer treatment (he had started coughing the night before). Then, they noticed he had an ear infection (even though he was on his 2nd antibiotic to treat that very same ear infection). Then, his blood sugars became unstable 61-81-53....THEN, he started having a crazy amount of diapers 12 super soaking ones in less then 2 hours. And, he was extremely lethargic. He didn't even pay attention when they put his IV in. So, they decided to admit him.

We got to 7E around 230 pm and he seemed to be doing better. They were giving him IV anti-nausea medication, but the pooping continued. Literally, he was losing anywhere from 200-650 cc per hour in poop and he threw up a few more times and suddenly, the IV fluids they were giving him couldn't keep up w/ the volume he was pooping/vomiting. He got super sick super quickly. He was a horrible skin color (was really mottled), blue lips, and was shaking uncontrollably. He was so irritable, he was unconsolable. His pulse and blood pressure went up. His temp went up. His oxygen saturation went down. They said he was in shock and wanted him in ICU.

So, here we are. We got here around 9 pm and he seems to be stabilizing. He has 2 IV's in. Cardiac monitors on. Catheter in. He has had an abdominal xray (to rule out an intestinal blockage), blood cultures, lots of blood sugars, labs, numerous meds, numerous nebulizer treatments. And, his ear is now leaking pus, so he's on IV antibiotics, too. He has one on one nursing care and is getting lots of attention. EVERYONE, of course, remarks on how beautiful he is and WOW! check out those eyelashes :)). His poop, finally, around 2 AM seems to be slowing down. They had even stopped putting a diaper on him for awhile and just stacked pads under him, because it was literally rolling out of him. He's getting one IV of maintenance fluids and the other IV is replacing the fluids he loses (by pooping or diarrhea) every hour.

They suspect that he has the rotavirus, although we won't have the tests back until tomorrow. They are also testing for c diff, an abdominal blockage, and other GI bugs. If it's the rotavirus, as they suspect, they can't give him medicine to stop it. They can only wait as it runs it's course and keep him stable.

I asked the attending doc, how many rotavirus kids end up in the ICU every year...this is a super busy, high acuity hospital. 1 or 2 she says. Aren't we lucky?

We were going to head back to Bville tomorrow. Not going to happen. For now, I'm praying that we can leave the ICU by sometime tomorrow and maybe leave the hospital by later this week. I don't know....that might be pressing our luck.

The ICU is a tough place for mommies and daddies, too. Because of the high acuity of the kiddos here, there are no niceties for moms and dads. (all private rooms, though). We are sitting in bolt upright chairs and the RN is in here continuously. Don't get me wrong....I want him to be looked after like that, but we're tired. And, St. Louis Children's Hospital is a wonderful, wonderful hospital. It's currently ranked as the #5 best Children's Hospital in the country. And, when I get a chance, I'll share some of the cool things about it (including the Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut in the cafeteria. YUM!).

What can you do? Continue to pray for a speedy recovery. On second thought, it doesn't even have to be speedy. Just a recovery, please. I believe in the power of prayer.

Back to the ville...

We had to come home. My mom tried really, really hard to keep from calling us, but Henry puked 5+ times during the night and when he wasn't puking he was having diarrhea. She needed reinforcements. She called at 645 AM. We were back by 1145 AM. And, we had a wonderful 24 hours. Maybe next year...sigh....

Henry is still quite sick. Continues to puke. Continues to have diarrhea. Now, more then 24 hours later. He needs to turn the corner quickly here.....

Today

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I know that I am behind on my posts.

Excuses? I'm having soooo much fun and not a lot of down time. I will go back and tell you more.

But, l'm going to start w/ today. Now.

I'm in the Ozarks. On the lake. Southern Missouri. With our super good friends, Amy and Jeff. Amy and Jeff have been our dear friends since high school. 16 years worth. We went to proms together.

Today, we are in the Ozarks together. Amy's mom and dad have a beautiful condo (on the water) here and my mom graciously offered to babysit for a birthday present. We left Thursday evening and are not planning on coming back until Sunday evening. That's a lot of time together. Alone. It's quiet. Gloriously quiet.

We went out to breakfast today and in between shopped at the outlet malls and other stores. Went out to dinner and now we are lazily lounging on the couch watching the Blues game. Quiet. Gloriously quiet.

But, just to throw a slight wrench in our plans: Henry is puking. My mom called this afternoon to share that news with me. It's 11 pm now and he's puked 5 times and had numerous bouts of diarrhea. I know that she doesn't want us to come home, but if he continues to puke we are probably going to have to come home early.....sucks.
At least we have today.

This photo was taken at our dinner location, the Horny Toad.

Amy and Jeff

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Our partners in crime....

Dinner

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Dinner at the Horny Toad w/ Amy and Jeff. Yummy.

Turning 33....

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I turned 33 during our visit to Eville. It was the first time in a long time that I've been surrounded by family on my birthday. It was wonderful.

What we've been up to....

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Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been super busy, but in a great kind of way. Owen complained about his neck again Sunday and I was frantic. I spoke w/ the ENT in length on Monday and he gave me options: readmit him for another 24 hours of antibiotics, more steroids, repeat the cat scan, or wait. I opted for the wait option and I'm glad we did. He has never complained again. YIPEE!!! Hopefully, we are on the mend. All three kids are on antibiotics and for now, healthy. We are still planning on making the trek to Eville on Saturday (after AM soccer games) and are hoping to be there in time for Easter Sunday. I have spent a lot of the week packing, getting ready, and catching up on laundry. We're excited. See the rest of the posts to see what else we've done in the last few days.

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Isn't this the cutest little baby fingers and fist you ever did see?

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Enjoying some black olives w/ brother.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

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We participated in the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt last weekend. Henry didn't much get it and was completely frightened by the Easter Bunny (who made a special appearance), but the big boys sure loved the candy and the neighborhood Easter parade.

Going for a ride.

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Henry lays down on a blanket and screams until someone pulls him. Happy. Content. Going for a ride. I love how he lays on his back.

Clean clothes, again :)

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LOVE my new front loader washing machine. I'll keep track again of how many loads I do soon, because this new baby holds much bigger loads.

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Right before we went home...doesn't he look GOOD?

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Owen watched soccer on you tube at the hospital.

Waiting for our luck to change....

I came home from the hospital Friday night and was greeted w/ at least 10 loads of laundry. As I was tackling them on Saturday, my washing machine broke. It was 9 years old and has lived a long, full life...but seriously, did it have to go NOW??? I'm spending my Sunday searching for a new washing machine.

And, Owen started complaining about his ear hurting again last night (rating his pain at a 5/6 out of 10....he does the pain scale expertly now. He did it a kajillion times at the hospital). On the left side. The side w/ the infection. That was one of his original complaints. He never had an ear infection. It just hurt from all the swelling. Today he rates it a a 2/10. Better, but still he was at a 0/10 the day he left the hospital and all day yesterday until the evening when it started hurting. I hope this doesn't mean that the oral antibiotics they sent him home on aren't going to be strong enough. UGH!

Much improved!!

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Owen is feeling so much better today. As of this morning they said he would still be in here 48 hours, but he's doing SO well that they are now saying he can go home tonight after he's had a full 24 hours of antibiotics! Yipee! His ENT said and I quote, "Yesterday, he looked way too sick to be in my office. This afternoon, he looks way too healthy to be in the hospital." :)
Owen's first thought after he heard he might go home this evening was, "great! I can play soccer tomorrow." I asked the ENT (because I knew he wouldn't be happy if I told him no.") and the ENT told him he had to have limited physical activity for one week. Hopefully, this means we will still be able to make the trek to St. Louis next Saturday.
I'm still a little nervous that the swelling and pain is going to come back off the IV antibiotics and steroids BUT if it does, I'll know what to do. I won't wait so long to get him treatment next time.
Next time, I'll listen to him more. I'll listen when he says he's hurting really, really badly and not just assume that he's being overly dramatic (as most of you know...he has a tendency to do sometime). Owen is one tough little guy. Do you know he NEVER cries when he gets shots? And, when they put his IV in yesterday and did blood work, he didn't flinch (I have MOMS who cry when I put IV's in them....seriously.) He watched the whole thing and asked questions. When they put the tubed camera down his nose and into the back of his throat, he didn't cry. He watched it on TV. He is a tough cookie. Knowing this, I should have known he wasn't "embellishing" his pain. Next time, I'll know.

Swelling

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Not sure if you can see the swelling in Owen's jaw line or not on his left side from this photo, but it's there. This photo was taken this AM when the swelling was already much improved.

Owen update

To make a long story short, Owen's in the hospital. I have my laptop and we're getting ready to turn in for the night, but I'll give you the story as I can in the time that I have.

As I said yesterday (I think I posted this, right? My days are completely jumbled after the last 24 hours), Owen's been complaining about neck pain since Saturday. Yesterday, at the pediatrician he was diagnosed w/ strep throat and started on antibiotics. Our night went down hill around 830 pm when hell froze over at the Bauer house. Owen said (I repeat, OWEN said this), "I just want to go to bed. PLEASE...let me go to bed." Owen has never, never uttered those words before. Not under any circumstance. I should have known how bad he was then. But, I didn't. He went to bed. A half hour to forty five minutes later, he woke up screaming that his neck hurt SO bad. He complained of a headache, too. He had Motrin and Tylenol in him and for the next 5 hours he slept for 5-15 minutes before he would wake up screaming about his neck and head. At 130 AM, I finally called our pediatrician and spoke to the on-call/triage nurse who said to take him to the ER. Owen and I drove to the ER around 2 AM at which point he seemed to perk up a bit. We got there and I said, "You seem like you are feeling a bit better. Maybe we should go home." He said, "OK" and we turned around and went home. Crazy, I know. HELLO??? What was I thinking??? Anyway, he slept off and on from about 3-7 AM and we were at the pediatrician at 10 this AM.

She thought he had a peritonsillar abscess and said his left tonsil looked much worse then yesterday. In the meantime, he is now throwing up in her office, can't swallow, and hasn't had anything by mouth since 1 AM (because he can't swallow). She called our ENT who was in surgery and she didn't think Owen could wait for him, so she was going to call an ambulance and send him in. But then the ENT said that he could see Owen at 1230, so we went to his office where the ENT decided he needed to be admitted to the hospital. He called the hospital to direct admit him, so we wouldn't have to go through the ER and was told that the hospital and the pediatric unit was on diversion. (Not accepting new patients). So, we sat in his office for an hour and a half (where he continued to puke) and finally, the ENT said he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to go to the ER for treatment until the hopsital could admit him. He suspected that Owen had a deep tissue abscess, not a peritonsillar abscess. He said best case scenario: no abscess, IV antibiotics, IV steroids, IV Morphine, rapid improvement and discharge in 2-3 days. Worst case scenario: deep tissue abscess, surgery in 48 hours, and w/ improvement discharge in one week.

So, we went to the ER where Owen had a CT scan, lab work, blood cultures, IV Morphine, IV antibiotics, and IV steroids.

We are know in our comfy hospital bed on 5M at Crouse. The IV Morphine has made Owen feel a LOT better. His CT scan showed lots of swelling, but no abscess (good news). Bad news: his labs were way off and his airway is in danger because he has such an extreme amount of swelling. So, the plan is for him to get 24 hours of IV steroids (to reduce the swelling) and IV antibiotics for 48 hours. If he's still not feeling better and spiking a temp (did I mention that he has a fever, too?) and his labs continue to be off, they will repeat the CT scan on Saturday, because it's possible that after the swelling is reduced they will be able to see an abscess OR an abscess is just beginning to form. For now they are saying he has a cellulitis.


I'll blog more as I can.

OH....Owen wants me to tell you that the RN told us today that the moral of the story is: 95% of people who drive to the ER and then turn around will be back within 24 hours. Good to know.

Back to the pediatrician AGAIN!

As if two visits to the doctor and two dental appointments weren't enough for the week (it is, after all, only Wednesday), I had to take Owen to the pediatrician today. His been complaining about his neck hurting since Saturday. I thought he might have pulled a muscle playing soccer, but he continued to complain and I've been feeding him Motrin around the clock. So, today I finally took him in and he has strep throat. But, the best part is that while we were there, Henry puked! I want to cry.

I did have one really great moment yesterday...

when I LMAO!!! Here's the story: I've been taking a step class at the gym that is an absolute killer. The instructor is ALL energy and ALL business. She dances around the step doing mambo, sasheying, etc, etc.....it's very confusing BUT a lot of calories are burned in the process. So, Eddie's been working out at AB a lot. In fact, he's down 20 pounds and he decided to join my gym because everytime he ends up going to the brewery to work out they find him and he ends up fixing things and doing work. Anyway, I had a step class last night and he decided to go with me.....TO MY STEP CLASS. I thought for certain he would back off once he walked into the class with 20 women in lycra and spandex. But, nope, he didn't back down. And, I proceeded to LMAO for the next hour. Shockingly, he hung in for the whole full hour and danced around the step semi-appropriately. But, it REALLY got funny when the girls started clapping w/ the music and he totally go into it, clapping along. Or, when the instructor yelled, "how's it going?" and he yelled along with the other girls , "woo-hoo!". It was absolutely, too-die for HYSTERICAL!
Side note: he wants to go back and do it again :)