Friday, May 25, 2007

The Saga of the Size Nine-and-a-Half Foot...

Yes...it continues.

Yesterday, Devin spent most of the day in a Benadryl-induced nap. He dutifully kept his foot up on a pillow and I thought the swelling and redness were going down. I even felt confident enough to go over to my friend Meliza's house to practice for Mass on Sunday (I'm singing this weekend, soloing for the first time since high school. Wish me luck -- I'm nervous!). When I got home, Dev was still up, so I checked on his foot. I was astonished to find that the redness had spread a good half-inch to inch all the way around his foot. I'm no doctor, but I know this isn't good.

So I called Dr. Trexler (thank goodness she was on call last night) and she decided that Devin needed to go to the Emergency Room. I packed the munchkin, along with his favorite stuffed animal and his Buzz Lightyear toy, into the car and headed to the brand new pediatrics emergency room at our local hospital. I was very impressed! The place was awesome.

We were immediately taken to triage and then back to a room. Dr. Trexler had already called in to give them instructions for Devin, so it didn't take long for us to be seen by a doctor. He determined that we'd do just one round of IV antibiotics and be able to go home, barring only bad results from Devin's blood tests like a high white cell count or something of the sort.

Two nurses arrived to put the "straw" in Devin's arm. He was none-too-happy to be poked again and while he did scream bloody murder, he did not move an inch. He stayed perfectly still and they got the IV in easily. Then started the drip and we settled down to watch TV on the flat-panel, HDTV screen in our room. I told you this place was nice!

The drip lasted about 30 minutes and while we were relaxing together, the doctor informed us that D's white cell count was normal, meaning the infection was still localized just to his foot. That was the first good news I'd heard all day.

We finished the drip, signed our discharge papers and headed home.

This morning we saw Dr. T again and she's happy with the progress the foot-in-question is making. It's still a little red and swollen, but not like it was last night. We're going to continue on the oral antibiotics and keep an eye on it this weekend. Here's hoping against hope.

Of course, while were at the doctor's office, I noticed that Gracie had some red splotches on her neck. I looked into her onesie and saw hundreds of them all over her tummy. My question here was, "Are you kidding me???"

Luckily, Cheryl walked into the room and after she was done, she looked at Grace and determined that the viral infection she had was one that causes a high fever for three or four days and then manifests as a rash on the tummy and back. She had the classic sypmtoms and, luckily, there is no harm in this. In fact, by the time the rash shows up, it means that the period of time for being contagious is over. Whew!

So here's to hoping that we'll stay away from the doctor's office, the ER and other medically associated destinations. It will be nice to just "be" for awhile.

Have a happy, fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Holy cow Erin! I am so sorry you've been dealing with all of this stuff. Hope the kids are on the mend. And that you have a great weekend.

slw said...

Oh Lord ..what a day for all of you!! And I thought life would be alot calmer once my pregnancy is over...obviously we are kidding ourselves!
sara

Laura said...

OH my Erin!!! I am so sorry for you week! Seriously when I had kids I never imagined the illness and doctor visits! It is so stressful. I am so glad Devin's foot is on the mend. What caused the rapid infection? AS for the virus I wondered while reading it if it might be roselola (sp?). We have had this with each kid one time. The good news is when the rash appears its almost done. The rash never bothered my kids much. Sending lots of sympathy your way. Sometimes I think life can get so nuts and always all at once. We just did stitches AGAIN :(

Meg said...

Oh geez... You get a BIG gold star for this adventure! Your kids are so lucky to have such a loving and attentive momma. They'll thank you someday. :) Here's to hoping tomorrow is boring as heck!
hugs,
meg

Anonymous said...

Only to my Erin can this happen and be totally believable. Sorry to hear it has been SO crazy over there. Maybe this will be the week with only 1 visit to the doctor. Hang in there my friend! I just got back from a long weekend in Atlanta and am trying to catch up on sleep and rest. You know how it is with me. Blake

Anonymous said...

Oh goodness... I'm glad you are all surviving and hope that your little ones feel better soon.
Love, Bridget

Doug & Stacy Fournier said...

wow, you sure have been busy!!! poor devin, i really hope his foot gets better soon. what a trooper he is, and you as well. i too never realized all the dr. appts. and illnesses one family could have till i had my own kids. one of my girls broke out in a rash about a week ago after having a fever for a couple of days. we were told it was a viral rash. the fever is gone, but the rash remains. it doesn't bother her though. anyway, i hope your week goes better! i will pray for strength for you :)