Ryan waiting to be admitted to the floor. They had to put his IV in the hand that he sucks his fingers. This made for a long night with no fingers to suck on. I tried telling him he has five perfectly good fingers on his left hand, but he wasn’t interested.
“Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among children, resulting in the hospitalization of approximately 55,000 children each year in the United States and the death of over 600,000 children annually worldwide.” (CDC Website)
This is why the pediatrician recommended we get Ryan the Rotavirus vaccine last Tuesday during his weekly pediatrician visit. I never know what to do when it comes to vaccines. I’m hesitant to use them – I know people whose children were negatively affected by them, but I’m too scared not to. And, the pediatrician’s reasoning sounded rational. Ryan’s structure is very compromised so vomiting and diarrhea would be very hard on him. So, we gave him the vaccine.
Rotavirus Vaccine Side Effects:
“Babies may be slightly more likely to be irritable, or to have mild, temporary diarrhea or vomiting after getting a dose of rotavirus vaccine than babies who did not get the vaccine.” (CDC)
“So let me get this straight,” said my sister today over the phone. “The pediatrician didn’t want Ryan to get vomiting and diarrhea so he wouldn’t get dehydrated and have to go to the hospital so she gave him the rotavirus vaccine and he got diarrhea, ended up dehydrated and is now in the hospital?”
“Yup. That about sums it up.” I responded. So what did we learn, boys and girls?
~ Ask the risks and side effects before getting a vaccine, especially with a child whose health is complex.
~ When you call the CV (cardiovascular) nurse hotline and the nurse advises you to continue giving a diuretic to your child when you are calling to say you are concerned he is becoming dehydrated, either call his cardiologist directly for her opinion or use your mommy instinct and hold the meds.
~ When you place the first call saying your sweaty son is no longer sweating, skip the pediatrician and call the cardiologist or push for blood work instead of waiting a day.
Thankfully, we did get blood work done on Tuesday which revealed Ryan was severely dehydrated (although he looked and acted only a little dehydrated). His doctors advised we come down to Children’s as soon as possible to get him hooked up to fluids and have a look at his heart.
The silver lining is the treatment Ryan gets everywhere he goes.
At the pediatrician’s office, as soon as we walk in the door we are escorted to a well baby check up room and are billed so we do not have to expose Ryan to anyone in the waiting room or check out area (also eliminates the girls touching a bunch of stuff in those two areas).
When we went to our local hospital for Ryan’s blood work, the pediatrician called ahead and forewarned them that Ryan needed priority treatment due to his heart defect and how hard dehydration can be on the heart. I walked in, stated my name and the receptionist said, “Oh yes, you need to go straight to booth 2. As soon as you are registered someone will meet you in the hall and escort you to the lab.”
True to her word, I registered (while the girls played with the water cooler, getting them and me water. amazingly they didn’t spill any), met the escort in the hallway and didn’t have to wait for Ryan to get his blood drawn. The girls didn’t even have enough time to color a picture. They had to finish it in the car!
At Children’s ER, I did wait in a small line to register, but when the triage nurse picked up her stethoscope to listen to Ryan’s heart I said quickly, “Um, before you do that, can I tell you to be careful. His heart is exposed so let me just open him up so you can see where and where not to place that thing.” She immediately, and I mean immediately, put down the stethoscope and picked up her phone. “Do you have a private room back there?” I heard her say. “I have a patient with an exposed heart and I’d like him to come back immediately so he isn’t exposed to the population out here. Thanks.” Turning to me she said, “You can follow that nurse to the back. Thanks.”
We were the talk of the ER as doctors and nurses came by to look at Ryan’s anatomy. I joked about charging 25 cents per view like the little Chinese ladies in San Fran who make the fortune cookies. We finally were admitted to the floor at 9 p.m. (we arrived at 6). Ryan received three bags of IV fluid in addition to his regular feedings and by this morning seemed on the mend. His temperature, which dipped at home the past few days, spike to 102 in the night, but his diarrhea slowed and his stool was back to normal this morning. Instead of eight diapers (the amount I got Sunday and Monday nights), he only had four diapers last night.
They expect him to come home tomorrow or Friday. I’m a little disappointed we had to go back to the hospital before June. I really, really wanted to have no incidents before our scheduled procedures, but with Ryan I’m learning just as we get into a groove (his three month portraits were scheduled for today) there is a hiccup, at least this hiccup was easily resolved. What a way to spend your three month birthday.
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (10)
oh I am so sorry for all of that! Glad he got the royal treatment!!!
I am so thankful for the hand of the Lord in all of this and your ability to think throug it all. It sounds insane but you did it! I am praying you somehow, someway get some much needed rest and that Ryan is even better today! Kisses and hugs for the boy form Charlotte!
What a stressful experience! I’m glad they prioritize Ryan like that, and that he is doing better now.
Oh my! What a scare! That must have been so upsetting for him to get sick after that vaccine. I hate the side effects of medicine. But sometimes it is necessary.
I hope that he recovers soon, and can go home.
Try not to fret. God is in control.
Love and prayers,
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
So happy all is going smoothly…he looks too sweet all tuckered out on that stretcher!! Hope you are home SOON 🙂
WOW! I’m glad he is on the mend. Sorry for the bump. He almost made it to june.
I am still praising the Lord that Ryan, who was given 0% chance to live, is ALIVE on his 3 month birthday. Happy 3 month birthday miracle baby!
Juggling the pros and cons of medical recommendations is sometimes tricky with 100% healthy kids. Can’t imagine trying to weigh the risks and benefits with a complex child. You are doing a good job. This bump gave you more info. so you could maybe handle another bump.
PS never been quoted in a blog. HEE HEE!!
Yay for VIP treatment! I can only imagine the nurse’s face in triage! I’m glad the super trooper is home again.
OH Leighann, I’m so sorry, I’m so glad he is on the mend, but so glad they realize he needs the special treatment he does.
So sorry to hear about this one. I can only imagine how scared you were. My son was hospitalized for dehydration from the rotavirus in February, and he was “healthy.” He went through 24 diarrhea diapers in 28 hours. He had not gotten the vaccine and was sick for over a week.
Always listen to that Mommy instinct.
I’m rather new to your blog but as I read this post I reflected back to when my children were babies. There is something to be said for listening to your own mommy instinct and following it. It is tough under pressure but you never really know with immunizations what will happen afterwards no matter what they tell you. Your little guy is so sweet, waiting on the shots is probably a good thing. I am glad he is back home with you.