Natalie was in the hospital from May 3-8 with a really bad kidney infection called pyleonephritis. I took her to the ER on Sunday morning when her fever was 103.5 because our doctor's office wasn't open. I just figured she must have a UTI and that she needed an antibiotic. I didn't realize we'd have to wait so long or I definitely would have come prepared with something for Ant to do. He was great though. Nat's fever kept rising and she was completely delirious, which freaked me out. They ended up admitting her that night. My poor baby was so sick! The next morning her pediatrician Dr. Joseph came to see us and told me Nat would be there for several days while they ran tests. Her white blood cell count and some other stats were crazy and they thought she might be septic. At that point Rog hopped in the car and started the trip from Baltimore. He must have gone pretty fast because he was in Camden by 3:30 in the afternoon! Nat perked up a bit for Daddy and even had a little pudding, the first time she'd eaten since Saturday. But then her fever went right back up to 103 or so that night. The next day Nat's other pediatrician told us that Natalie's creatinine was 2.9 and her BUN had doubled since admission. Dr. Carlton had been in touch with a pediatric nephrologist at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital and the decision was made to transfer her there. It all happened pretty fast but once we got to Palmetto we were able to relax a bit. It eased my mind a little that it was a pediatric hospital and that they were being so proactive. We were really busy with tests night and day- CT scans and X-rays, blood and dye tests. We had to collect every pee, but she only peed like once a day. Poor Natalie must have been pricked 20-30 times- it was not easy for them to hit her veins because they were so bruised and dehydrated. She was suffering, poor girl. It was really exhausting sleeping in the hospital and eating irregularly, but adrenaline keeps you going. Palmetto Health is GREAT hospital too- and brand new, with tons of stuff for kids to do- magic shows, Wii, concerts, and wonderful child life specialists. Finally, towards the end of the week Nat perked up and started eating and going to the play room. We're really just now getting over the scary whirlwind. It was really rough before we knew what was wrong with her, which wasn't until 4 days into the whole ordeal. The highest her fever got was 104.4 and she also had some scary kidney stats due to the motrin they gave her upon admission. No more motrin ever! Thankfully, Natalie has no permanent kidney damage but she does need to follow up periodically. She's already had several checkups. We also need to take her to the doctor whenever she has a fever without any other symptoms. She had a fever the weekend before she was hospitalized but it had subsided with tylenol so we thought everything was fine, but most likely it had been a UTI which became pyleonephritis. It's always been hard to tell with her that she has a UTI because she doesn't have any symptoms besides slight fevers. We've been counting our blessings, keeping Nat hydrated, and packing like crazy because we lost almost a week. I wanted to thank Roger's mom for coming down to take care of Anthony and all of my great friends- Jessica, Erika, Ginger, Emily, etc, for keeping Anthony and for loving and supporting us! I'm so glad I've got my girl back, sparkle in her eyes and all!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Nat in the hospital
Natalie was in the hospital from May 3-8 with a really bad kidney infection called pyleonephritis. I took her to the ER on Sunday morning when her fever was 103.5 because our doctor's office wasn't open. I just figured she must have a UTI and that she needed an antibiotic. I didn't realize we'd have to wait so long or I definitely would have come prepared with something for Ant to do. He was great though. Nat's fever kept rising and she was completely delirious, which freaked me out. They ended up admitting her that night. My poor baby was so sick! The next morning her pediatrician Dr. Joseph came to see us and told me Nat would be there for several days while they ran tests. Her white blood cell count and some other stats were crazy and they thought she might be septic. At that point Rog hopped in the car and started the trip from Baltimore. He must have gone pretty fast because he was in Camden by 3:30 in the afternoon! Nat perked up a bit for Daddy and even had a little pudding, the first time she'd eaten since Saturday. But then her fever went right back up to 103 or so that night. The next day Nat's other pediatrician told us that Natalie's creatinine was 2.9 and her BUN had doubled since admission. Dr. Carlton had been in touch with a pediatric nephrologist at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital and the decision was made to transfer her there. It all happened pretty fast but once we got to Palmetto we were able to relax a bit. It eased my mind a little that it was a pediatric hospital and that they were being so proactive. We were really busy with tests night and day- CT scans and X-rays, blood and dye tests. We had to collect every pee, but she only peed like once a day. Poor Natalie must have been pricked 20-30 times- it was not easy for them to hit her veins because they were so bruised and dehydrated. She was suffering, poor girl. It was really exhausting sleeping in the hospital and eating irregularly, but adrenaline keeps you going. Palmetto Health is GREAT hospital too- and brand new, with tons of stuff for kids to do- magic shows, Wii, concerts, and wonderful child life specialists. Finally, towards the end of the week Nat perked up and started eating and going to the play room. We're really just now getting over the scary whirlwind. It was really rough before we knew what was wrong with her, which wasn't until 4 days into the whole ordeal. The highest her fever got was 104.4 and she also had some scary kidney stats due to the motrin they gave her upon admission. No more motrin ever! Thankfully, Natalie has no permanent kidney damage but she does need to follow up periodically. She's already had several checkups. We also need to take her to the doctor whenever she has a fever without any other symptoms. She had a fever the weekend before she was hospitalized but it had subsided with tylenol so we thought everything was fine, but most likely it had been a UTI which became pyleonephritis. It's always been hard to tell with her that she has a UTI because she doesn't have any symptoms besides slight fevers. We've been counting our blessings, keeping Nat hydrated, and packing like crazy because we lost almost a week. I wanted to thank Roger's mom for coming down to take care of Anthony and all of my great friends- Jessica, Erika, Ginger, Emily, etc, for keeping Anthony and for loving and supporting us! I'm so glad I've got my girl back, sparkle in her eyes and all!
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