Cole at the ER. He still had the scary blank stare.
I had a dentist appointment Thursday afternoon and also needed to run by the mall. I fed Cole about 1:00 then headed out. I had told Clint to use some frozen breast milk when it was time for him to eat. I went to the mall and was there a bit, then headed to my dentist appointment. After my appointment, I realized I had gotten the wrong size in some swimming trunks I had bought Cole for next year, so I headed back to the mall. I got home about 5:00. Clint said Cole hadn't eaten and I said, "Oh good, I didn't want to have to pump." At this point, I'm thinking he must have taken the milk I laid out and was ready for another seeing how it had been four hours since he had last eaten and he usually eats about every two hours. Clint told me he hadn't eaten at all. I though that was odd, but then decided to pump so we didn't waste the milk that was laid out. While I was pumping, Cole was sleeping on Clint's chest and making an odd humming noise. After I pumped, I took him to try to feed him. He wouldn't take the bottle, but he has only had two bottles so I thought maybe he wanted to nurse. He wouldn't. His eyes were really glassy and he just didn't look himself. I took his temperature and it was 100.9. I ran out and got Clint and told him we needed to go the doctor now. I then took his temperature in his other ear and it said 101.4. We literally ran out the door and headed to the ER.
The nurses rushed Cole to the back and took his vitals. His rectal temperature was 102.4. They put some oxygen on him right away, which turns out his oxygen levels were fine so he didn't need it. We had Gracyn with us and of course she didn't understand what was going on so was wanting to act out. Clint called Jeffie to come get her. The ER doctor came in and looked him over. He said he looked like he might have been having a seizure in the way that his back was arched and he had a blank stare, however, he wasn't rigid so wasn't 100% if that was it or not. They took him back for an X-Ray then came back and got an IV started on him. The ER doctor later came back in and said he had made some phone calls and they felt it was best they fly him to Children's. Of course, I assumed the worst and broke down. Just a couple of days ago, I had read where if a newborn has a high fever they will do a 48 hours sepsis test. So I was somewhat prepared for what we were about to go thru, however I was not prepared for him to say they were sending him to Little Rock!
Clint headed to the house and packed some clothes for him, me, and Gracyn. He took her clothes to Jeffies then headed back to the hospital. At this point, it had been nine hours since Cole had eaten, five hours since I had pumped. While Clint was gone, Cole's Tylenol and antibiotic had kicked in and he was acting hungry so I was able nurse him, even thought he didn't eat much. When Clint got there, he brought my pump so I was at least able to get some relief. Not long after, Angel One from Little Rock arrived. They weren't able to fly him since there was a lightening storm in Little Rock, so they sent an ambulance to get him. I was planning on riding along, but they brought three EMT's and a doctor so there wasn't room. One of the hardest things ever was watching them load him up and take off without me being with him. Clint and I followed behind them. We arrived to Little Rock about 3:00am. A couple of doctors came in and talked to me while Clint was down in admissions. They explained that they were going to run several tests to rule out sepsis and meningitis. They did the spinal tap about 4:30 am. After that, it was just a waiting game. We would be there at least 48 hours. They said NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.
Getting some rest.
We were finally able to lay down about 5:30 to get some rest. Clint slept about three hours, I slept about 45 minutes in between nurses coming in to take blood and swabs for more tests. Since I'm nursing, I was able to order a patient breakfast. I got up and ordered breakfast, took a shower, and got ready for the team of doctors to come in. The attending doctor explained that we were going to be waiting for his test results for 48 hours. They were going to go ahead and start him on the antibiotics then stop then as they rule out different bacteria along the way. She explained that they assume the worse and start treating him as if he has it. She said we may never find out what caused the fever, it could be something that Gracyn brought home from daycare or I brought home from Wal-Mart.
Cole enjoyed the mobile the nice nurse brought him.
That day, Cole was already acting more himself! He had a slight fever that morning, but it broke once they gave him Tylenol and if never came back. He was back to nursing about every two hours and was having an adequate amount of dirty diapers. We had to save them all so they could weigh them. We were so lucky to be in a city where we have such great friends. Heather brought us lunch that afternoon and Bill and Sarah brought us dinner. It was so great seeing them. It really helped Clint and I take our minds off what was going on. Clint and I both felt everything was going to be ok, but you can't help but think about the "what ifs."
Arkansas Children's Hospital was amazing. Everyone was so helpful and you felt they really cared. There was a nutrition room at the nurses station with drinks, fruit, and snacks. We were able to just help ourselves. They also had a laundry room so we were able to wash our clothes. We only had enough clothes for a days stay so it was very nice to be able to wash clothes.
Saturday, Clint's parents brought Gracyn down to see us. I was worried about how she was going to behave. I know she was very hyper when I was in the hospital having Cole. She did very well though. I put The Little Mermaid on for her and she just sat and watched it. Clint and I went down to the cafeteria to eat while his parents stayed in the room with Cole. We just couldn't leave him alone. That evening, Clint went with this parents to get dinner while Gracyn and I stayed behind with Cole. It was nice just having some time with her. They headed back to NWA that evening. We were now counting down the hours till that 48 hour mark on the spinal tap.
Waiting to get this IV out.
Happy Boy! We were given the ok to go home!
The doctors made their rounds about 10:00 the next morning and said the spinal tap still had no growth!!! Great news!!! We were waiting the results of on more test, but she felt we would be going home! Finally, about 12:00 we were discharged!!! We couldn't wait to get this boy home and get his big sister back home with us! We prayed hard that nothing was seriously wrong and we thank God there wasn't. We sure do love this little boy.
Sleeping in his own bed!
I teared up the whole way through this! So glad he is okay and you all made it through that!
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