Dear Evy:

“I wish I had good news but I’m just as concerned today – she woke up but didn’t move – she acts like she’s soo tired – fever 102.4 – the medicine that is supposed to dissolve in her mouth wouldn’t because her mouth was so dry – diarrhea 3 times – nursed once and so far has kept it down. I’m worried she is dehydrated.”

This was my text Sunday morning to my cousin when she asked how Evy was doing. We gave Evy some pediatlyte and she gulped it up but immediately threw it up. We started giving her smaller doses at a time and she was able to hold that down. She was still having diarrhea but no wet diapers. I started alternating nursing and pedialyte but by 1:00 she was just too tired to wake up. I had given her motrin so the fever was temporarily gone.

“No fever – but she won’t eat or nurse – had to fight her to get 1/2 teaspoon pedialyte down – almost liquid poop – she doesn’t cry so no tears – no wet diapers – very tired”

I called my doctor-on-call to let them know that she didn’t have any wet diapers and they suggested going back to Children’s ER. I picked Adam up from work and then picked up his mom, Sue. When we arrived, Evy’s temperature jumped back up to 104.8. They struggled to get an IV in her tiny arms. (Maybe because the room we were in, was a broom closet turned ER room. We kept joking about that tiny room. It kept our spirits lifted.) Third time worked. They drew some blood and discovered her phosphate levels were low, she was dehydrated and from my urging, decided to admit her. My parents also drove up to Children’s so that they could see out little pumpkin.

I felt if they didn’t admit her, I would just be driving back up the next day.  She was still very lethargic, but I did get her to nurse. While Adam was holding her, she had a major blow out that exploded out from all angles of her diaper. It was quite funny to see Adam trying to catch it in his hand.

When our room was ready upstairs, the grandparents left. I sat in a wheelchair and held Evy tight while they wheeled us up to our overnight room. Several doctors came in that evening and a couple nurses. I was so happy to see so many people working on her and asking us questions. Our nurse was great. She was perky and just thought Evy was the cutest. She had an order for a stool culture, but as soon as she was able to collect the stool culture, they canceled the order. She said we’ll just leave it here for a bit incase they change their mind.

Adam and I took turns feeding Evy throughout the night. I started pumping only so that we could tell exactly how much she was eating from the bottle. I finally felt calm knowing that she was getting her fluids and with the team of doctors and nurses that she had. They all felt she just had a stomach bug and that she was a little dehydrated. I just knew that she would have to be feeling better by morning.

I’m usually a pretty laid back mom. I never rush to the doctor or panic about my kids being sick, but my gut instinct was telling me something just wasn’t right. She couldn’t really sit up and was very lethargic. She had been having diarrhea and throwing up about every other feeding. Her fever had been very high for three days now.

I was contemplating taking her to Cincinnati Children’s hospital. Adam was home with her and I was at work, although I wasn’t doing any work. I was calling the doctors and my cousin, who is a NICU nurse. Adam wasn’t convinced at first. We were talking on the phone and he said she was eating a banana just fine. But when I asked if she was feeding herself or if he was feeding her, he became concerned because she didn’t act like she knew how to use her hands.

At the ER, they took her temp, 104.6, and gave her a dose of Motrin based on her weight. She threw up in the ER and they gave her pedialyte, applesauce and I nursed. So they also thought just a viral infection and was happy to see that she was nursing. They gave us two prescriptions, one for upset stomach and another to help with her bowels. They said to return only if her fever persisted for 5 days or if she showed signs of dehydration.

That night I slept in the recliner and let her sleep on my chest. She just wanted to cuddle. I was hoping that she would be better by morning.

I went to work Friday morning and Adam stayed home with Evy and Ava. Evy still had a fever and Adam was going to call the On-Call Doctor to get an appointment. At 9:30 she was seen by the doctor and they had someone come from the hospital to drawl blood and insert a catheter to check for a UTI. Preliminary results showed no sign of a UTI and they were still thinking just a viral (stomach) bug. They said it could take 4 days before she would feel better. Adam brought her in to our work. This was the first day I noticed that she really didn’t care who was holding her. She had always been a Mommy’s Girl. My bestie Becky fed her a bottle that I had just pumped. She drank it really well, but when Becky sat her up, a waterfall of milk came back out.

I left work to take her home and cuddle on the couch. Adam’s mom was going to keep Ava. Her fever was still high: 103 – 104. The doctor told us to alternate Tylenol and Motrin. Motrin was the only thing that actually kept her fever down, but it still persisted. I continued to nurse but she had a decreased appetite. The doctors called us that evening to let us know that so far nothing was growing on the blood and urine cultures. This was the first night that the diarrhea started, which was supposed to be a good thing because it gave the doctors more of a reason to think stomach bug. We went to sleep hoping that tomorrow she would be better by morning.

This was the last time I ever saw her smile. I was hoping that this was the start of her feeling better.

We were already prepared that Evy might have a fever when she woke Thursday morning. The evening before, Adam had fed her a bottle and she fell asleep around 7:30. I had been teaching a floral design class and did not get home until 8:30. He was holding her in the rocker as she slept. She sometimes took late naps, so that wasn’t unusual. But when he laid her down and she continued to sleep, that was unusual. Thursday morning she was radiating heat. Obviously she wasn’t going to the sitter. Adam took Ava on to Babysitter Beth and I stayed home to cuddle with my pumpkin. She slept most of the day, but continued to get hotter. I don’t like giving tylenol unless necessary, but once her fever climbed to 103, I thought it was time. I took it a few moments later and it was then 104. I called Adam to tell him that I thought we should head to the doctor. Our doctor was out of town and it was 4:32. The on call doctors stop seeing patients at 4:30. So to Urgent Care we went. There is nothing urgent about Urgent Care. I was getting so mad because she felt so hot and I felt like her fever was rising even more. But of course when the doctor did finally see her, it was only 101. The doctor ruled out ear infection and cold/sinus. Couldn’t rule out UTI because they ran out of catheters. hmm… They concluded with possibly a virus and also gave us this bag to try to catch our baby’s pee? Evy seemed to perk up after leaving urgent care so we weren’t too concerned. I just thought the tylenol finally took affect and that she would be better by morning.

You could just tell that she didn’t feel like herself 😦

My favorite memory of that day: I met Adam at the Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce for lunch. They were grilling out so Adam, my dad, Evy and I went down there for a quick bite. I was holding Evy against my chest as she slept while I ate my hotdog. Next thing I know, she has the biggest glob of ketchup in her hair. Ooops…