Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Oh, What a Night!

Last night, we all headed out to the ball fields for Gannon's tee ball game.  Austyn and Ramsey had the best time watering the dirt to make great flowers grow, ha!  And Mia spent time cheering for her big brother:

 Okay, okay...So she was cheering in her head ;)

About 30 minutes after this photo was taken, she decided to scare the bajeezus out of us.  After the game, we loaded up and headed home to eat supper and see Bryan off.  He and Zach were heading to Conroe after the game for a training they were supposed to attend today.  When we got home, I popped a pizza in the oven (Healthy, right?) and began to nurse Mia.  Suddenly, she was burning up.  I asked Bryan to grab the thermometer, and I checked her temp.  102.9!  Seriously?!  This was about 8:00.  By this time, Zach was at the house and he and Bryan were getting in the truck to leave.

I have been told before not to worry about temps, but to worry about symptoms.  For instance, a kid who is miserable at 101 needs to be seen before a kid who has a temp of 103 with no symptoms.  Mia had no symptoms.  Well, none that I could see anyway.  She is only five weeks old, so symptoms are a little hard to determine.  Still, I felt uneasy about a temp that high on a baby so tiny, so I started calling around.  I decided to call the doctor to ask them what to do.  The nurse told me that in babies her age, the recommend the ER for anything over 100.5.  So, off to the ER we went!

Zach's wife, Laurie, and I had been keeping in touch since her fever started.  She offered to keep the bigs while Mia and I went to the ER.  Gannon was very worried about Mia, but jumped at the chance to go to Brantley's house.  I can't thank her enough for helping us out like that!

When we got to the ER, they took us back immediately.  They weighed her (10 pounds 6 ounces--holy cow!) and checked her temp again.  Still 102.9 (11pm).  They rushed her into a triage room and began a series of tests.  They drew blood (several times), did an in and out catheter, and started an IV.  Then the doctor turned to me and said, "We are going to need to do a spinal tap to test her for meningitis."  What??!!  Meningitis?!  Okay, this is where I start to panic a little bit.  He also asked if I had tested positive for Group B Strep during my pregnancy, which I had, and if I had the antibiotics, which I had not.  Enter more panic. 

*Group B Strep is a bacteria found in about 25% of all healthy women.  It does not present any symptoms, however, it is very dangerous, sometimes fatal, to newborns.  Women who test positive for GBS must have two rounds of antibiotics through an IV during labor (before birth).  Well, given Mia's birth story, antibiotics were not an option.  Both my doctor and her pediatrician said that because the delivery happened so quickly and because my water broke as she came out, she was at little to no risk.  There can, however, be a late onset of complications.

The doctor offered me to stay in the room during her spinal tap, but I chose to step out of the room.  I used that time to call and update Bryan.  He had just arrived in Conroe, but after hearing what was going on with Mia, he decided to get back in the truck and head home (It's 11:30 now and Conroe is over three hours away).  I hated the thought of him driving home alone, worried, and in the middle of the night!!  Thankfully, when he called his boss, Mr. Bobby insisted that Zach come home with him.  He even offered to help with our bigs or to come sit at the hospital with Mia and me.  I love that he works for such a family oriented company!

Finally, at almost midnight, I got to hold and nurse my sweet little angel.  She nursed for almost an hour, and then she passed out.  Chere little heart!

At about 12:45, they came back with some news.  Lumbar puncture came back crystal clear!  No meningitis (best news all night)!!  The culprit?  A UTI!  Wow!  I so didn't see that one coming!  We aren't finished, yet, but things are already looking better!  They immediately started her on antibiotics to start fighting the bacteria.  They warned me that even though she is on antibiotics and her fever is down now, it can spike back up at any time over the next couple of days.  They said it is normal and not to worry, but for this reason, they have to admit her for at least 48 hours. 

About 1:15, they bring us upstairs and get us in a room.  They hooked her up to heart and respiratory monitors, which made me feel a lot better!



The night went really well, but I didn't sleep.  She hated the bed they brought in for her, so I just help her all night.  I dozed for 5-10 minutes here and there, but I never actually slept. 
He said that on the outside, everything is anatomically perfect.  He ordered an ultrasound to check her kidneys and bladder.  He said the cause could be one of three things: E. Coli (number 1 cause of UTIs), GBS, or genetics.  Hopefully, we will have results tomorrow.

Until then, we are just hanging out.  My sweet girl has been such a trooper through this whole ordeal, and I am so proud of her.  She has gotten a little bit clingier, and I can't blame her one bit.  I am soaking up all the love she wants to give me!!



I will post updates as they become available.  Hopefully, we will get to go home Friday!

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