The Worst

Well. I think I've officially had the worst day of my life. Really probably the worst week.

I'm sure word has spread by now, but Brynlee is in the hospital. On Monday she started acting really fussy and threw up. I was concerned, but thought maybe she just had an upset tummy. She continued to look worse and worse though, and by 1pm I was sure this was no tummy ache. I took her temp and it was normal.

Tessa agreed with me that something was not right with her. We brought her over to Donna's house, where Donna confirmed that we were not imagining things. After fighting with Kaiser about her need to be seen that day, Jimmy and I brought her to the Dr. At 4pm she had a fever of 102.7, and looked absolutely horrible. The Dr. advised us to bring her to the hospital and get her admitted so they could run some tests. There tests consisted of a urine test, a blood test and a spinal tap. Safe to say I've never cried so hard in my life.

Jimmy had to hold her as I sobbed and sobbed in the waiting room praying for this to be over. After several attempts at putting in an IV they finally got it to go in her head.

They confirmed that she has bacterial spinal meningitis. This was really not the diagnosis I was hoping for. More sobbing uncontrollably ensued. However her fever has broken, and thanks to the wisdom of my pediatrician they started her on the antibiotics for the illness the night she was admitted just in case, before they confirmed she had it.

Anyone who googles spinal meningitis in infants will easily see what a devastating illness it can turn out to be if not treated immediately. However the second spinal tap (yes, they had to do another one which ensued more sobbing on my part) has confirmed that the antibiotics have stopped the bacteria, and are doing their job.

For anyone who has Kaiser, my pediatrician Dr. Bean is phenomenal. I'm convinced that his extra caution with Brynlee saved her life. He could have easily sent us home with some Tylenol, but he took the conservative route and had her tested for everything. And it's a good thing he did.

I keep replaying this whole past weekend in my head, and questions surround me. Where did she get this bacteria from? And did I get her to the Dr in time to avoid the long term affects?

As of right now she looks back to normal. She can still hear (she always jumps when someone slams the hospital door) and is tracking people around the room as well. A few weeks after we leave the hospital we'll take her back to get her hearing tested. Then around 3 months they'll run some more tests to make sure she isn't mentally handicapped. I guess I'll be on edge until then.

She will be in the hospital for 9 more days (2 weeks total) on antibiotics to make sure every bit of the bacteria is out of her system.

Ugh. While the hospital is not my favorite place to be, considering what could have happened I'm glad to be there. To think a few hours was the difference between my child's life and death makes me sick to my stomach.

The moral of this story is, Moms out there, do not think you are being over cautious. When I called Kaiser on Monday to try to get Brynlee in that day, all I had to go on was strange behavior and one case of vomit. The advise nurse on the phone tried to tell me in not so many words that I was over reacting. But I knew something was not right. If I'd listened to that nurse, I'm not sure where we would be. I don't want to think about it. Trust your gut and don't let anyone make you feel stupid for wanting to be overprotective of your child. Better safe that sorry!

As I'm home from the hospital intermittently I'll post updates on Brynlee's progress. If everything keeps going as planned she will be good as new in 9 days.