It started out with a lack of appetite Friday dinner. By bedtime, he had a major laosai, followed by 2 rounds of vomiting. Saturday morning, we brought him to the pedi, and he threw up couple of times in the car despite not having any food intake. We were sent home after an anti-vomit jab, and asked to monitor closely. Matt was mightily thirsty, and fought with us for water and Hydralite. After one hour, he threw up all the fluids he consumed. I started to worry, and when he threw up again after another hour, we made our dreaded journey to the pedi who checked him and ordered for admission to the hospital for drip as by then, he was dehydrated and lethargic.
My very lethargic baby :(I hope no one's kid ever has to go through the trauma of having to have a drip. Despite already so weak, he fought so hard against the nurse who bundled him up in a blanket and used her entire body weight to pin him down while the pedi inserted the needle into the back of his hand. Matt is very strong, and he cried and fought till his face was tomato-red. All I could do was helplessly stroke his head and prayed for Jesus to take all his pain away. As hard as I tried to stay strong for him, I was crying equally hard and wished with all my heart I could be the one taking the pain on his behalf.
His left hand was also bounded to a cast to prevent him from yanking out the drip from the right hand, rendering him completely handicapped. Naturally, it traumatized him badly - he'd wake up from his naps to yell at me to remove them, then fall right back to sleep. My heart broke each time it happened.
Exhausted after fighting with the nurse; So weak, stoning away on the hospital bed
The first time it happened was about 2.5 hours after the drip was first administered. He managed to fall asleep, but then woke up 1.5 hours later screaming for me to take the drip out. That was when I noticed his cast was wet. So was the bed where his hand rested. I examined closer, and saw some blood under the tape. I summoned the nurse, and when she removed the tape, the sight that greeted me filled me with first, fear, then anger. Matt was screaming all the while, presumably from pain? Then I was angry. How did it happen? Who screwed up? Why did they not check that they connected the drip to the needle insert tightly? But more so, I was angry that precious hours ticked by with unsuccessful treatment that he so badly needed. I was alone then for hubs had gone for reservist, and between consoling Matt and having to go through the trauma all over again of correcting the needle, I could not do anything else.
The next 3 days in the hospital was all about pacifying and comforting him. He refused to let me out of sight whenever he was awake, and even with me sitting beside him, he'd be sobbing or outrightly having mega burst of tears. We had to monitor that he doesn't throw up. He had zero appetite, and we fed him Hydralite to give him some energy. Fever yoyo-ed for the entire duration. We kept him happy with Iggle Piggle. In our eagerness to cheer him up, we made a mistake when we took out his favourite truck because he was unable to hold it. He begged me to take the drip out, and begged me to bring him home. I felt so helpless.
Then on Monday, despite pedi's uncertainty, we asked to be discharged as we felt that Matt would probably recover better at home. He was still largely lethargic, not eating much except some bites of biscuits and bread, but he was drinking and keeping the fluids down. Another round of trauma taking the needle out, then we were out of the hospital.
Elated when I told him we were going home!On Tuesday, though, he threw up twice, and I panicked and wondered if I made a bad decision. I worried through the night until our check-up the next morning. Miraculously, his energy returned on Wednesday, but pedi said he was not out of the woods. But he proved the pedi wrong, and he demanded for beef and rice which we fed and he chomped down greedily at lunch AND at dinner. He had a mega outbreak of very itchy rashes all over his body especially at his joints, caused either by the virus, or a new anti-diarrhea medicine we introduced that morning. By Thursday, the rashes cleared, and he was eating his meals regularly. We avoided milk still, as we suspected the 5 tablespoon he demanded from us caused the relapse on Tuesday.
I am exhausted, but I am just glad this whole episode is over and my little boy is healthy again. I wish I knew more specifically what caused this bout of virus so I can take steps to prevent it, but it's hard to pinpoint. All I can do is to pray that he never catches it again, ever.
Ya..i hate the hospitals too. Like you, i'm pregnant, and i have 2yr old daughter, and since january, we've been in and out of the hospitals until i'm getting a phobia. It's either me, my daughter or my husband who needs to see the doc. *sigh* i hope this bout will end soon. really hate it. :(
ReplyDeletePoor Matt.. I totally understand what you went thru. When Jamie was hospitalised when he was about 3, he had to have the drip on his arm too. It was a nightmare with a few nurses pinning him down and him puking all over from crying too hard. I still have that image in my head now. Sigh. Then it was the CT scan of his brain etc. Horrible. But glad that it has past, and Matt has come out stronger and healthier. Take care now.
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