{Weekend Recap} Our Very Sick Little Girl

Happy Friday, girls! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and a terrific week. I'd like to say we have had both but if I did, that would be a lie. I've spent most of this week at home with a very sick little girl. Therefore, it's left me with no time to blog, clean, or even go to the restroom by myself. The life of a mom. If you follow me on instagram or facebook, you know a bit of what's been going on but if not, let me fill you in on what's been taking place this week during my absence. 
So let's start from the beginning...
This past Friday afternoon, while attending a baby shower for a coworker and his wife, an announcement came over the school speaker that my child's daycare was trying to reach me. Not thinking much about it, I quietly stepped into a nearby classroom where our school secretary had transferred the call. When I answered, Harper's teacher informed me that she was calling to let me know that Harper was running a fever of 101.6. Of course, as a mom, my first question was how was she acting. Ms. Joy quickly informed me that she had been playing all day but at snack time they happened to notice her just sitting there and not eating. Being very unlike her, as she's a big time snacker, they walked over to check on her and noticed she was feeling pretty warm which led them to check her fever. Since she had been playing most of the day, I chalked it up to the arrival of her two year molars but told them I'd send Kevin to pick her up and try to get her in the doctor just to air on the side of caution with a long weekend up ahead. 
Unfortunately, with it being a holiday weekend, the doctor's office wasn't into taking in an unscheduled appointment so late in the evening so we were abruptly told we could either wait and bring her next week or take her to urgent care. Despite that I understand where the doctor's office was coming from, it was still frustrating. So we decided we'd wait it out and see how Harper did. And by the end of the evening, I was thinking that I was glad we had waited it out because she seemed good as gold and no longer had a fever. Since Kevin had to work, Harper and I headed out to grab some Mexican for dinner with my friend Brittni, Aunt B as Harp calls her, and even did a little shopping after. All the while Harper did the best she's ever done in public! She ate most of her food, drank a lot of tea, and talked and laughed to her little heart's content. 
But then Saturday morning rolled around and I woke up to a very fussy and whiny baby, who yet again had a fever. We had plans to to tag along with my coworker and her daughter that morning, but with Harper not seeming to feel well, I decided I'd cancel our plans. That was until Harper heard me mention Hutson's name, my friend's daughter, and she kept saying "see Hutson, see Hutson" over and over. Since she was pretty adamant and I couldn't persuade her to do anything else, I texted Taylor and told her I'd meet up with her but I'd drive separately in case we'd need to leave earlier than planned. So by late morning we were on the road and headed to Friendly Shopping Center to do a little window shopping. We managed to get in a little shopping at Bath and Body Works, The Limited, New York & Company, Belk, Carters, & Old Navy before finally deciding to call it quits and grab some lunch at Jason's Deli. Harper had done great up until that point. When it came time to eat, she began to get fussy again and decided the hot dog she'd asked for over and over again wasn't what she wanted to eat afterall. So as soon as the rest of us finished eating, we decided to call it a day and went our separate ways. 

Throughout the rest of the day, Harper ran fevers off and on but they were all easily managed with some Tylenol every four hours or so. Her fussiness stopped and she played around the house as she often does. Towards the evening, my mother-in-law came over and we took Harper walking in the neighborhood. All the while Harper chatted as she usually does. So again, we just figured her 2 year molars were the cause of her fevers and once they finally broke through, she'd be back to normal.  Sunday rolled around and our day started much the same as the previous day. Harper woke up with a fever, took some Tylenol, and spent the rest of the morning laying around watching tv. All the while refusing to eat and do anything other than take a sip of drink here and there. Since I didn't feel like she'd be up for church, we decided to load up the car and head to the lake with my parents. Afterall, a little sunshine and summertime is good for the soul. Sadly, Harper didn't think so. So while everyone else soaked up the sun and water, Harper and I spent our time on the porch rocking in the rocking chairs, snacking on my Mom's yummy food, and catching up with family and friends. Around 5 o'clock we decided to head on home. Since it was still pretty nice out when we arrived back at the house, I decided to take Harper walking through the neighborhood. Again, my mother-in-law joined me. And yet again, after Harper's fever broke, she was back to her normal, happy go lucky self. She laughed, talked, and wanted to play when our walk was over. 
But then Monday rolled around and it was a totally different ball game...   On Monday, I had made plans to run to Danville with Brooke, my brother-in-law's girlfriend, to pick up Kevin's Father's Day present. Since most of Harper's fevers had taken place in the mornings, I had asked my mother-in-law if she'd watch Harper while I quickly rode out and she'd graciously said yes. Around 9, I text my mother-in-law and told her we'd drop off Harper in about thirty minutes. She said that was fine so I headed on up to Harper's room to get her up and ready. But as soon as I walked in her room, I knew something wasn't right. Harper was standing up in her bed, eyes barely open, and could hardly speak. As I picked her up, her body was radiating heat. I quickly changed her into some comfy clothes and took her downstairs to get her some medicine. But not five minutes after taking her Tylenol. she started shaking and wouldn't communicate. Brooke and I both looked at each other and knew we needed to get help. So Brooke took Harper to the car, while I quickly ran upstairs to tell Kevin I was taking Harper to urgent care (he was sleeping from a long night at work). 
We arrived at Urgent Care and didn't have to wait long before they took Harper back. I filled them in on her symptoms and they took her vital signs. At that time she had a fever of a 103 and that was nearly an hour after she'd just taken Tylenol. The doctor immediately checked her ears, as she's had many ear infections, and told us her tubes looked good. Since she's also prone to strep, he decided to do a strep test to see if that could be the issue. After waiting about fifteen minutes, the doctor came back in and told us that that test had came back negative as well. He checked her lungs and they were clear so it wasn't likely she had a cold. So we were at a set of crossroads. Clearly something was wrong, but the question was what. After discussing some options, the doctor arranged for us to be shuttled to the hospital to meet with a pediatric emergency room doctor. 

The transfer didn't take long and after checking into the hospital, we were in a room in a matter of five minutes. By that point, Harper was completely out of it. The nurse retook her vitals and she didn't have a clue. In my haste to get Harper help at Urgent Care I had completely failed to mention to the doctor on call that at one point, Harper's legs and feet had turned purple so I mentioned it to the nurse on staff at the hospital. He quickly assured me that in children it often meant they were under stress and with a fever as high as hers had been, it was probably okay. But they'd check her heart just to be sure as it could signal issues there. But thankfully after checking, her heart sounded okay and was beating as it should be. 
After looking at her chart and seeing that Harper had hydronephrosis (a kidney condition she was born with), they decided our next option would be to do a catherization to see if she had a urinary tract infection. And ladies, let me just tell you, this was by far the worst moment I have ever had as a mom. I can handle holding my child down for shots, for strep tests, for vital checks, but I could not hold her down for that. Thankfully, Brooke said she would stay with her, and I left the room, headed to the hallway, and balled my eyes out. As I stood outside with only a wooden door separating us, I could hear Harper's screams and cries. It broke this mama's heart. And when the nurse opened the door and I thought it was over and she proceeded to tell me that the first cath didn't work and they'd have to do another, I died inside. The next fifteen minutes were the longest of my life. When it was all over, I grabbed Harper up and vowed to never do that again... But thank the good Lord, an hour later, we met with the doctor and she came to talk with us and confirm that Harper did in fact have a bladder infection. Even better news, we could go home. And to home we headed as fast as we could. 
I'd like to say that was the end of the scariness but it wasn't. 
With it being a holiday, we hadn't considered that the pharmacies were closed and apparently the hospital hadn't either. So we decided to continue alternating Motrin and Tylenol every few hours until we could get Harper's medication Tuesday morning. But by Tuesday morning, Harper was still very out of it and I could not get her to take her medicine. On top of that, the doctor stressed that she should not take that medication without food as it would make her very sick. So I called our regular doctor and explained that Harper hadn't ate since Friday, had barely drank anything in five days, and wouldn't take any more medicine from her being so out of it. I told them the hospital didn't seem worried about her lack of intake but I was as I feared she was dehydrating. The nurse on call agreed and asked me to bring her in immediately. By that point, my nerves were so tore up and I was sick as a dog. Thankfully my dad came to the rescue and offered to drive us there. 

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long before we were seen. The nurse checked all of Harper's vital signs and looked into her mouth. Since it was still moist I was relieved to hear that she wasn't dehydrated... yet. She informed me that if Harper didn't drink anything by the next morning, we'd need to bring her back on Wednesday for an IV to get some fluids in her. Despite the huge relief, I immediately started to panic at the thought of her having to come back the next day. And the next words out of her mouth, made me downright sick. As the nurse was on her computer, she noticed Harper's urine culture had been sent out for further examination and the results came back negative. As in it showed she didn't have an infection. What the heck? The nurse explained that when Harper's urine was dipped at the hospital and placed under a microscope, it showed bacteria which signaled a bladder infection. However, when the urine sample was sent out to find out exactly what type of bacteria, no bacteria was found. Yet, all of her levels were high which signaled an infection even though the test shows that there was none. I asked what all this meant and she calmly informed me that basically Harper has all the signs of a bladder infection, but she may or may not actually have one. In layman's terms, after all Harper had been through, we still weren't sure of what we were up against. Yet, she reassured me, that whatever Harper did have, that she was on a broad spectrum antibiotic that would kill any bacteria that was in her body. I'd like to say that helped but it really didn't. When I left the doctor's office I felt so defeated and upset that here my baby was suffering and in the end, we still had no answers. 
But thankfully some good did come out on Tuesday evening and Harper finally muttered up enough energy to drink a few sips of tea and eat three fries. Three french fries have never brought me so much joy! By night time she'd managed to drink about six ounces of drink throughout the day and even managed to take some of her medicine. Praise the Lord! Since Harper continued to drink and eat a few bites here and there, we didn't have to return to the doctor on Wednesday. But Harper was still so weak and puny, we spent the whole day on the couch, cuddled up, and sleeping. 

Yesterday was the best day of all. Minus one small detail... the doctor's office called us and told us that Harper's strep culture had came back POSITIVE! Three whole days later. Again, I had the same reaction of what the heck?! But the doctor yet again, explained that sometimes it may be negative in an office, and appear 24+ hours later as positive when it's sent off to the lab. This one took 72 hours to show up!  How crazy is that?! But I am so relieved to finally have some sort of answer as to why she's been so sick. I can't imagine fighting off strep and a bladder infection at the same time. Poor baby! 
But back to the good stuff, Harper woke up and requested to ride in her daddy's car yesterday morning! A clear sign she was feeling much better! Kevin of course, answered her request, and they rode out. She even managed to have enough energy to go grab a bite to eat, though that's literally all she did was eat one bite. But the fact that she had the energy to sit up the whole time brought this mama so much happiness. By the end of the evening, she wanted to go out again, so we headed to the place with the "red balls" aka Target. I was so anxious to do anything to keep her happy that we ended up buying her everything she asked for... a new ball, beach chair, cup and plate, and some pop (popcorn). On our way out she saw Starbucks and wanted some ice cream (a vanilla bean frappucino) so we graciously purchased her one with no whip cream and when she drank a fourth of it, I did the happy dance!

Here's to hoping this weekend is going to look much brighter... and not quite so scary!