On Saturday after Claire and Adam's antibiotics shots, Claire woke up a million times happier. Not quite herself yet, but while she was at 10% on Friday, she was at 80% on Saturday. Adam woke up happy too, saying he felt, "MUCH BETTER!" And his tummy felt "better!"
So we laid low, took care of Colin's fever and fussiness, which never got nearly as bad as Claire's, and did more breathing treatments because Adam was still breathing terribly.
We had tacos for dinner and while I was clearing the table I looked out of the corner of my eye to see my phone buzzing with a call from a number I didn't know. I ignored it, but instinctively my heart jumped into my throat. I get these calls all the time, but during the week. My heart jumps into my throat constantly with random unidentified calls and they end up being an unsaved number from the many doctors we see or from the daycare.
I went ahead and got the boys in the bath, when Shannon came in with my phone telling me that someone was trying to get a hold of me. Two missed numbers and a voicemail from that same number and a new missed call from a different one. I checked my voicemail.
"Something abnormal came back on Claire's blood test."
I called Shannon back frantically and shaking my told him what they were saying. He stayed with the boys while I stepped away to call the on call pediatrician back.
She said that the preliminary results of the test that was done on Friday showed that Claire's blood test was indicating an infection in her blood and that we needed to go to Children's ER immediately. I asked her if I should take the boys and she said that it might not be a terrible idea, even though blood infections were not contagious. Adan's breathing sounded extremely labored and Colin still had a pretty sufficient fever even though he wasn't nearly as bad as Claire had been. So while i was on the phone, Shannon finished the baths and Adam sat on my lap in his towel begging me (insisting to me) that I "STOP CRYING! I LOVE YOU TOO!"
We loaded them all up and on the way I called my mom, who met us there. It was difficult as it was but it would have been near impossible if she hadn't been there.
They checked them all in, listened to my story, examined all three and heard the crackling in Adam's lungs and then sent him and me off to get a chest x-ray.
When Adam and I came back I found my mom, Shannon, Claire and Colin in room number 4 with three RN's and they asked if Adam would be bothered by what they were going to do (to Claire). It took me half a second to realize that they had said they would be doing a test for UTI, another blood draw and an IV of antibiotics to treat Claire for the initial results that had come back from the previous test, and before I could compose myself, both my mom and Shannon spoke up to say, "yes, this will bother him." And then it took me half a second of realizing that while I was holding Adam, I wanted to be with Claire while this happened to her. My before I could even process the full thought, my mom had whisked Adam out of the room and into the waiting room and someone put Claire in my arms... So could lay her down and hold her through the unpleasantries. They did the first test (for the UTI), and she screamed in such anger than I wanted to kick someone for her. Shannon held Colin in the room and at a few points I glanced up at him, and he was just watching, intently, to see what was happening to make his sister so mad,
Then they did they incredibly painful task of looking for a vein for the IV. My kids don't like being made to sit still. I imagine most kids don't, but my kids especially find the most infuriating thing about shots is not the pain, but the restraint. Claire cried, and cried, and cried, and they searched for a vein, all the while commenting on how "healthy" she is. (She's not tiny, okay? She's far from fat, but she has rolls just waiting for all the muscle she's going to build when she's ready to start running.)
They finally found a vein, not cleanly, not quietly talking about how it was a short needle and she may have missed or blown the vein, and also not in front of another who is weak-willed, but DEFINITELY in front of a mother who feels sick at the smell of alcohol wipes and the thought of blown veins. I held my stomach as they repeatedly talked about how it was flushing well and that the technician who did it was "amazed" that it was okay. (Late we found that it was only "okay" enough for the one dose of antibiotic).
As Claire was still crying they did a "viral respiratory test" on Colin and Adam (they had already done one on Claire), which is really just a fancy name for "stick a long, hard, clean mascara brush up their noses." (If you've ever been tested for the flu, you have experiences the inhumanity.)
Later we found out that they didn't get enough mucus to be conclusive, but what they did get came back "negative."
Shortly after, the RN who felt the need to talk about how badly she did my daughter's IV line came back in to say the boys were "fine," and I basically asked on what account. She said Adam's x-ray had come back clear so he could go home. Never mind that he couldn't breathe. She said the steroids he was already on would take care of it, and that he just needed to blow his nose. I almost threw a chair at her. I asked about the viral test, and she said it had already come back negative (it hadn't come back at all).
These people are supposed to be professionals. They work with children. This was ridiculous. They sent the boys home with my mom.
They came in and gave Claire an IV full of antibiotics, and said that when it was done she could go home.
I was extremely confused. The doctor came back in and said we were clear to go home as soon as the antibiotic IV was done. Wow.
You just told me my three year old sounded like he had pneumonia. The X-ray came back clear, but what are we supposed to do? I got called to come in for an infection in her blood, and you've got basically... Here's some medicine, go home and wait and we'll call you? I was less than impressed.
We talked to the ER doctor for a while and weren't left with much. Lets hope Claire's first test was contaminated, but if not, we'll come back, admit her, and start a new IV. Follow up with our pediatrician about Adam on Monday. (Our pediatrician wanted to see all three Monday anyway.)
We waited all day Sunday for results, and the on call pediatrician called me in the middle of the day to say everything was still negative but that she was actively seeking out answers for us. We don't know her, have never met her, but she was advocating for us the whole day. While she was talking to me the main phone line range from the lab and she asked me to hold, then she put her cell phone down and chewed out the lab, who had been giving her the run around too. I was guiltily pleased to hear her chew them out for their nonchalance about the situation, and when she came back on and apologized I told her to continue, that I was loving every second. She promised to call me when she knew more and that the lab was well aware that she needed every detail immediately. At least someone was taking it seriously.
Sunday night Adam was having such horrible breathing that if I thought the ER would do anything more worthwhile than send us a bill, I would have taken him. It's infuriating to know that there is nothing you can do, especially when you get written off. All we could do was try desperately to keep him still, especially for a kid who hypes up instead of calms down when he feels terrible. It's an illusion that ends up making me look stupid and him getting sent home without treatment. We're just lucky we have a pediatrician who is very aware of Adam's "normal," and takes me seriously. Even though we are there more times than is necessary, she trusts my intelligence and evaluation of my child. That's irreplaceable.
When we had the follow up appointment, Colin was fever free for 18 hours and doing much better. Claire was at about 90%. Adam was having a very severe reaction to the antibiotics... A perpetual, paranoia-induced tantrum that defied all reason, and they immediately noted that he was not responding well to the high doses of steroids. They switched him to an inhaler, told us to continue breathing treatments every 3 hours, even doubling up if we had to, and just keep doing what we're doing. He may have asthma, but it could just be a bad reaction (bronchitis) caused by a virus, and they won't diagnose him before the age of five anyway.
The test results, all of them, came back negative. They told us that Claire could be displaying symptoms of Kawasaki's disease, but it's hard to tell at this point. Negative results is great news. No hepatitis (no rhinovirus, thank you very much), and no mono. But damn, it would be nice to have an explanation for what just happened to us this week. Unknown virus, apparently, that the daycare was able to say was "going around," but seriously... Our pediatrician joked that they would be those kids who had perfect attendance in elementary school because they caught EVERYTHING before the age of four and never got sick again. I laughed, and told her it was hard to believe her.
The twins went to school today. Adam got all his breathing treatments and will continue throughout the week but will go back tomorrow. And eventually we may be able to sleep again!
I look back and realized I'm still stressed about the situation, but we are on the near side of healthy and smiling, and the only question I have left to shake is who I could possibly pin to take care of a triple ER bill for a "contaminated lab result." Probably no one, and I will just suck it up and be thankful for our blessings.
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