After our weekend at the fair, Aria woke up on Sunday morning with a runny nose, but I didn't think much about it. She seemed to not be feeling very good by Sunday evening, with a bit of a cough.
Monday morning I was sure I needed to stay home with her, and made a doctor appointment for the afternoon. By the time we got to the doctor you could tell she was pretty sick. Her little eyes were not bright, and there were no smiles for the front desk staff (which is highly unusual). She was breathing pretty fast, and had wheezes. They ended up poking her heel to draw blood (flash back to when she was born and the million heel pokes she had to have to check her blood sugars), and did a couple nasal swabs for RSV and pertussis. She hated it all. Then we headed down to get a chest x-ray, which she hated even more. I don't blame her! She was able to fall asleep sitting on my lap while we waited for her results. When the doctor came out to talk to us, her white blood cell count was up quite a bit and her chest x-ray showed pneumonia. They sent us down the hall to admit her to our local hospital.
It is a sinking feeling to know that your child is sick enough to need to be admitted to the hospital. But also a little bit comforting to know that you have a few more tools at your disposal to help them get better.
They attempted an IV (unsuccessful), and gave her a shot of antibiotics instead. They also started breathing treatments and oxygen on her. My sweet happy girl did not even crack a smile when her brother came to see her. That's when you know she doesn't feel good. So Lyle sweetly sat next to her and sang, "You Are My Sunshine." Melt my heart and cue the tears! She was getting pretty restless with a room full of visitors, so we sent everyone home to eat, and she rested.
She refused to sleep in the crib, so I kept her with me in the hospital bed. It was a pretty restless night, and it felt like we were either checking her oxygen levels, giving her a breathing treatment, or trying to get situated again. It seemed like about 4 AM was the turning point, she was able to relax a bit, and we got rid of the oxygen in favor of some sleep!
They released us to go home at the end of the day after another shot of antibiotics and some steriods, and we were ready to go! We definitely slept better at home than we did in the hospital, but still had several nights of being restless. I stayed home one more day with her (because it's hard for mama's to be away from their sick babies, AND it's even harder for a mama who is a nurse to be away from their sick baby-I want to know everything that is happening!) Grandma's to the rescue again as they took turns staying home with her on Thursday and Friday.
It is an awful thing to have a sick child. And Aria's illness was relatively mild compared to what other families go through. My devotions Sunday morning, lead me to read Philippians 4:4-7--
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
It tied in so directly to a note I had written down earlier in the month. "Understanding will never bring you peace. That's why I have instructed you to trust in ME, not in your understanding." We might not understand why illness happens, but we can trust and he in turn gives us peace.
Oh, I had no idea she was sick!! :( So sad and so sorry to hear she wasn't well. I hope she feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you, she is feeling much better!
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