Eventful night

We spent the night in the hospital. Riley started to complain of a headache, then his ears felt plugged and his throat got soar. We took his temperature for about 3 hours and talked to the on call doctor 3 times, trying to decide if we should bring him in. A temperature of 100.4 is considered dangerous, because they have to catch infections early since Riley's body cant do anything about them himself. He was up and down all evening. From 99.6 up to 100.2 then 100.3 then 100.1 then 99.9, but slowly progressing higher. It hit 100.5 and then 100.6 twice, we made the decision to take him to the ER at Dornbeckers. We were told not to give him Tylonol as it will mask any fever. What we really want to do is give him Tylonol and everyone get a good nights sleep.



Tom stays home with Trevor so Trevor can get off to school in the morning. Trevor is a sound sleeper. We relied on Riley to get the boys to school when I was in Tucson, and Tom would go to work before the boys got up. He calls my mom to tell her we are headed to the hospital. She lives just over the hill from it. I call her on the road and she already knows. she is planning to meet us there.



It is a hard decision to take him in. We were warned that if we ever brought him in it would involve a battery of tests and an automatic stay overnight for probably several days. If we take it seriously enough to bring him in , they respond in kind at take it seriously in return. Because we did not catch this early in the first place, we need to be over cautious now. I hate being a paranoid parent



The ride up was stressful. I want to speed but wonder what to do if a police officer flags me. I think about calling 911 and letting them know that if I am being followed they can give me the ticket at the ER. Riley says his head hurts and his throat is getting worse. The trip seems longer than usual even without traffic. Its 9:00 pm.



There is valet parking at the ER, I love that. They have a private room for children to wait. We get in quickly though, since they knew we were coming. We only have to wait while they sanitize the room for us. We can smell the cleaner in the air as we go in. It has a glass sliding wall like in the show House that we like to watch. They keep the door closed at first to isolate us.



Two nurses come in to assist with the IV and getting blood samples. Riley asks for lidacaine. Its a shot that numbs the area where the IV will be inserted. At first they dont want to do it saying that it causes the veins to retreat. Riley's hands are cold so they wrap the one they want to put the line in with a warming pad. They hope to raise the vein. They give Riley the lidacaine. then they can't find the vein. He bleeds. They pick another spot without lidacaine. He is in pain as they fish around under the skin looking for a vein with the needle. His leg is lifted off the bed two feet in the air shaking as he tells them it hurts. He also tells them they are not very good that he has had better. They end up calling a doctor in and he puts the line in up in the bend in the arm quickly, right where Riley requested it in the first place. He had not wanted it in his hand.
He is also hungry. I give him one of my diet bars. Its high protein. Thank goodness for that diet. I always have food on me now.It consoles him for the moment

The nurses had told Riley that they couldn't do the arm IV because of the bruises there from the other lines he had before. The doctor got it done though. They take his temperature, 99.9. I am beginning to feel like it was an unnessessary trip we are now committed to. Especially when one doctor looks in his ears because he says they feel plugged. She can't see anything because of the wax in his ears. She takes a long cutip and cleans out both ears. Low and behold they don't feel plugged anymore. She checks his throat, but doesn't see any inflamation. Thats all good but we are committed. the low grade fever may be something.

They start him on an antibiotic. This particular antibiotic will be given every eight hours. We are wheeled up to the 10th floor to his room. Its after midnight, the ward is quiet and all the doors are shut. He gets the last available room. I get a quick tour, where to find more blankets and where the coffee is in the morning. They give us blankets for the window seat. Mom makes the bed and asks if I want her to stay. Not this time, its our first visit overnight.

I want to be here for Riley. I had asked him earlier and he said he wanted me to stay. I told mom this is just the beginning, there would be plenty of other opportunities for her to spend the night. If Riley gets bone marrow, because of the suppressed immunity, he could be in the hospital for months. I was glad for her company in the ER though. Especially with groucho marks in the bed offending the nurses for not being able to get his IV going without pain.

I call Tom to tell him goodnight. Both our voices break. Its late. We will see him tomorrow. Its our big day. If only we can get through it without another crisis.