Yes, my title is sarcastic. It is my attempt at humor that is not working so well on little sleep!
Yesterday was Jared's 34th birthday, and we actually secured a babysitter so we could go to Olive Garden for dinner and then goofy golf. The kids were all in bed when Jared's mom got there, and we didn't think a second thought about leaving. 2 holes into the 18-hole course, we got a text from Jared's mom saying James was running a fever and we should probably come home. James had been acting irritable earlier that day, and refused to eat half his dinner, but I certainly did not anticipate anything was wrong other than him being a toddler recovering from heart surgery. We zipped home to find James clearly upset and acting like he was hurting. I had given him tylenol and motrin shortly before leaving, so I was confused as to why he should be feeling this way. His temp was 100.3, not high enough to result in a trip to the ER, so I sponged his head for a while, pressed some liquids in him, and rocked him to sleep. I called the cardiologist on call and they advised us to watch him for a fever higher than 101.5 and any other obvious warning signs.
Around 10:45, Sara came out to tell us James was crying. Jared went in to comfort him, only to call me a moment later saying James had thrown up. A few things clicked into place, and i realized this may very well be a stomach virus-it made sense with how he had been acting previously. We cleaned him up, gave him a bath, and retucked him into bed. He fell asleep right away, but woke up around 11:30 crying again. I brought him out to the family room where he threw up very explosively all over the floor. I took his temp and it had spiked to 102.4. I called the cardiologist again, and they advised us to come to the ER right away. I admit-I was super emotional. I knew it was coming, but as in the past, it is always very, very difficult to go back to the hospital after heart surgery, especially when something could be wrong. Jared's mom thankfully came back over to be with the other kids and Jared and I took off for PCH around 12:15am. This would be the last time James threw up, but he was still so hot-it was necessary.
We arrived around 12:45 and got checked in very, very quickly, as PCH really streamlines cardiac kids. I was expecting this whole experience to be terrible for James as he has a bit of PTSD, so to speak, regarding hospital and doctors. He very obviously didn't want to be there, but I was surprised how often he acquiesced to what the doctors needed him to do. He let them take his temp under his tongue with barely any resistance. Simple, I know, but for him it was one of many amazing feats.
Over the course of the next 4 hours, they drew blood for labs, did a chest X-ray, did a blood culture, monitored his SATs and blood pressure, assessed for organ issues, and monitored for plural efusions (I spelled that wrong), which is a common situation with post-op heart patients. All the tests came back negative except his CBC count, which was elevated. They deduced he was fighting off a virus/infection. His heart and lungs looked great, as did his other organs. They didn't feel it was respiratory since his SATs were awesome. They only faltered with his blood culture, which wouldn't get back for 48 hours and which could reveal a bacterial infection in his blood stream. They gave him a round of IV antibiotics to be safe, and if that test comes back positive, he'll have to go in for more of that. They were able to place an IV relatively quickly, which was helpful-his lines blew during his hospital stay earlier this month, so I was afraid they wouldn't work so well.
After a round of zofran, tylenol, and antibiotics, they cleared us to go home with a cardiology check up on Thursday, which was already scheduled. They talked to Dr. Garn and he was comfortable with us leaving as well. We were so utterly relieved nothing else was wrong. His symptoms could very well be signs of an infection in his incision/heart/bones, all of which could be devastating in his current recovery state. We feel very blessed that nothing like that has happened.
We got home around 5:20 this morning to relieve Jared's mom. I slept from 6-7, though Jared stayed up with James, who would not go back to sleep until he got a strong dose of pain meds at 7-after that, he was out until 11:30. Jared and I have been trading off resting today, and while helpful, he and I would both admit we feel like zombies. We don't really care, we are just so glad James is okay.
James is still fighting off that fever and infection, not eating much of anything and just concentrating on drinking fluids and his medicine. He is not happy, and he very obviously has a lot of body aches-even just picking him up gently makes him whimper. The top stitch of his incision keeps catching on his scab or his shirt, and I think that makes him hurt as well. I feel so sad for him. It is very difficult to watch your child be in pain. We are doing what we can to relieve it, and are just waiting for this period to pass.
What a difficult night. James, you scared us, but we love you more than you know. So glad you are okay.
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