Another Trip...To the Pediatrician

We’re off to the pediatrician’s today. Zane could not hold down his food last night during his continuous feed, so we stopped it early and gave him a slow infusion of Pedialyte halfway through the night. By morning, he seemed all right. But around bath time, he had the chills, soon followed by a fever again (101.6). He is just plain miserable.

The pediatrician’s office is booked today—likely due to the holiday—but they always manage to fit him in due to his more concerning medical issues (i.e., UTI infections). Looks like the little guy gets another dose of misery this afternoon with a catheter. I am hoping it is simply a viral infection clinging on. I don’t want in-patient surgery as part of his horizon. Wish us luck.

Sicklies, Please Leave

Zane cannot seem to get well. We abandoned our campsite in Ridgway one day early because Zane awoke with a fever. We had no way to register the actual temperature (as I left the thermometer at home) and no drugs like acetaminophen or ibuprofen to give to him (as I used the last of a bottle on his pain relief the night before). It didn’t help matters that I was up a big part of Saturday night sick to my stomach. Not a fun thing to happen while camping.

When we arrived back in town, we made the requisite stop at Wal-Mart for drugs and Pedialyte, then gauged his temperature at home: 102.9. Of course, these things tend to happen on Friday nights, weekends in general, or on extended holiday weekends when the doctor’s office is closed. We have managed to keep his temperature under control, but he cannot altogether shake it. Of course, this makes me wonder if he has yet another UTI or if he is simply suffering from the same virus-type stuff I did (although, I didn’t have a fever).

So if the temp stays up overnight and into tomorrow, it looks like we’ll be making a trip to the pediatrician’s office for a lovely catheterization and urine culture. Another UTI would only mean one thing: in-patient surgery to fix his kidney reflux issue once and for all. *Sigh*

Stomach Creepy Crawlies

One day after returning from The Children’s Hospital, Zane has a nasty stomach bug. This happened when we last went in November, as well. He cannot keep anything in his stomach. For now, he is strictly on a diet of Pedialyte. I was hoping to get Zane back on his exercise regimen and new summer schedule. But I guess that will have to wait a little longer. Hopefully, it is just a 24-hour thing.

Back Home

We’re back from Denver…for a short time. We are back to unpack, do laundry, then repack for a camping trip.

Denver was not a whole lot of fun this time around. Aside from spending most of our time at The Children’s Hospital, it rained. So Justin was quite bored by the whole experience. He and Jeff had planned to go to Dinosaur Ridge where dinosaurs such as Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus (Justin’s favorite) were first discovered. Trails allow visitors to explore dinosaur tracks and fossils. Instead, Justin watched Sponge Bob at the hotel room. Not great fun.

Zane did well under sedation. They had him anesthetized for four hours to perform a DMSA (renal) scan, ear wax removal, an ABR, and a dental cleaning. As a precaution, the anesthesiologist decided to admit Zane overnight to keep tabs on his oxygen saturation due to the not-so-pleasant coding experience last time he went under. All went well. There were no desatting episodes overnight.

As far as the results of his procedures: Zane will likely need to try out some hearing aids, as the audiologist determined Zane has mild hearing loss in both ears. We don’t know if Zane will keep the hearing aids in, so we are able to try them out for 30 days before making a purchase. But in order for this to happen, Zane needs molds of his ears made, and then needs to have a fitting. Afterward, he requires a one-month follow up. If things work out at that time, he can order his own set of hearing aids.

Aside from his ears, Zane needs to have urologic surgery sometime this summer. His urologist wants him to have one more VCUG here in town before the doctor comes to Durango in July for a series of clinics. At that time, he will see Zane again and determine the extent of his surgery. We were hoping to have it done in conjunction with eye surgery, but life does not always go as planned.

The morning Zane was discharged, we had a surgery consultation at the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute to talk about Zane’s ptosis. Unfortunately, Zane was less than happy from 7:00am that morning all through the appointment. He wailed so much, he would not even open his eyes for a consultation, which is a critical component in determining the extent of Zane’s eye surgery. So we will need to come back for a consult again sometime. I am not sure how all this will be coordinated since we live some 350 miles away from the hospital. Apparently—aside from the much-needed eye consultation—Zane will need to have the surgery with a follow-up one week later, then an additional follow up a month later. At this point, I cannot wrap my mind around all that needs to be coordinated.

Fortunately, Zane’s dental issues (gum loss on the bottom) can be followed here in town since there is a pediatric dentist here in Durango. Yay for that!

Time to pack for Ridgway and Ouray. Again, thank you to everyone who called, texted, and checked on Zane this past week.

Denver Here We Come

Zaner is off to Children’s Hospital in Denver. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he will remain cold and illness-free since he is scheduled for sedation on Tuesday. Even more so, fingers (and toes) are double crossed that his four-hour-long sedation goes without event. I have to say, I am nervous about the whole thing.

Last night (Friday evening) we received a written letter from the eye institute, telling us that the doctor will not be in on Wednesday during Zane’s scheduled time for the surgery consult for his eye. We need to reschedule. Our first appointment is in Denver…on Monday…and we live at the other end of the state...seven hours away. What happened to picking up a phone so we could reschedule for this current trip? Not days before we’re scheduled to leave. As it is now, Zane likely will not get his surgery consultation for his ptosis until next year unless they can squeeze us in last minute on Monday. What is wrong with people? Now the person on the receiving end of the phone line on Monday is going to get a piece of my mind. My mom wrath could easily have been avoided on their parts by picking up the phone and making a simple phone call.

Anyway, please keep good thoughts for Zane. And prayers are so appreciated! I’ll be sure to update when we know more.

The Road to Recovery

Aside from being a little tired, Zane seems to be returning to his normal, smiley self. I am not surprised he wants to rest and sleep, given the fact that he was restless, crying, and unhappy for five days. We did some light exercise and read a couple of books together this morning. But it looks as though dehydration may have been the problem over the weekend.

Thanks again for all the positive thoughts and prayers for Zane.

Emergency Room

Yesterday Justin asked me with a beaming smile on his face, “Is this your best birthday ever?” He had drawn a picture for me and written a touching poem; he and Jeff bought a cake, gave me a present (from all three), and worked hard to make it a nice day. And though it wasn't the best birthday ever, I could not tell that to Justin. He just loves holidays, festivities, and celebrations. So I told him, "It's a good birthday." And it was, except for missing Sara and except for Zane’s illness.

By 8:00 PM, as Jeff readied Zane for bed, he noticed a rash on Zane's legs. Zane’s fussiness (actually yelling and wailing are more descriptive words) had increased. I finally called the pediatrician’s answering service. After listening to a description of his behavior and the rash, she decided it would be best to take Zane to the ER. Her thoughts: better at 8:00 than at 11:00 if things take a turn for the worse. I agreed.

I must say, the staff at the ER at Mercy were SO nice and SO great. Zane received the best care. After IV fluids, two blood draws, a strep test, and a catheterization, all tests came back normal. The ER doctor seemed baffled by what was ailing Zane. After 200 ccs of IV fluids, Zane seemed to settle down for a short time. But for the most part, he complained and cried almost the entire time during his four-hour stay.

We were sent home (and they asked if I felt comfortable to leave) with the assumption that Zane was dehydrated from his recent stomach virus. Since being home, he has settled down some. However, he still is not happy. He has been biting his hands (typically a sign of pain), grimacing, waking frequently—despite his 1:00 AM bedtime last night—and still yelling out and complaining. Though not as often as over the weekend.

The pediatrician wants to give him today to hydrate some more and recover. If he is not better by tomorrow, he will be seen in her office.

Thank you for the good thoughts and prayers for Zane.

Four Days of Unhappiness

We thought Zane was on the mend. He had a day or so of happiness. But since Thursday, he has been crying day and night, and we cannot figure out what is wrong. Initially, we thought he may have experienced residual cramping from the stomach bug. Now we’re not so sure. For four days now, he has been extremely unhappy. Some pain medication has helped in short bursts, but we still do not know what is causing his discomfort. This is so unlike him. Typically, he is a very smiley and happy child.

Usually I am not one to wish time away (especially on my birthday weekend), but I will be glad when 8:30 AM rolls around tomorrow morning, so I can call the pediatrician and allay my worries (fingers crossed). I considered calling her answering service, but do not have anything specific to describe to her other than nonstop fussiness.

Keep Zane in your thoughts and prayers, please.