Kids can be hazardous to your health or have hazardous health!
John,
You asked about the time Ryan was in the hospital. It was only a couple of weeks after incidence with the emergency home-birth of Kelly. I was about to go to bed one evening and realized he was in his bedroom crying; a very unusual situation for Ryan. He is the kind of kid that pukes in the middle of the night, cleans it up himself, then wakes you to let you know what happened and that he already took care of it. He doesn't complain when it comes to his physical health. So to hear him crying I knew something was very wrong.
I went in to check on him and he was complaining about his elbow and arm hurting. He had soccer practice that day, so I thought maybe he banged it up even though there was no sign of bruising yet. I got him calmed down and back to bed. Not much I could do about it that late at night.
The next morning he was still complaining about it, so we took him to the doctor. They couldn't find anything wrong and figured as I did that maybe he hurt it playing soccer. They put him in a sling and sent him home telling us to have him take it easy until it felt better. The next day he had a fever and we kept him home from school again. He said it continued to hurt off and on. Something was not right, but nothing really jumped out. Then when I was looking him over that night I noticed a rash around the inner side of the elbow and lower part of the upper arm. First thought was the sling had rubbed it red, so I took it off him for the night knowing it would go away overnight. The net morning (a Friday) it was worse and the fever persisted. In the back of my mind I thought cellulitis and knew we had to have him checked out before our pediatricians were gone for the weekend.
On top of that, Brooke fell out of her bed and broke her collarbone that same Friday morning. Worried about how all this would look, I had Vikki take Ryan to the pediatricians and I took Brooke to urgent care. Yep, she broke it. They put her in a different sling to immobilize the shoulder and let it heal as only a collarbone can.
Meanwhile, at the pediatrician office they diagnosed cellulitis and had Ryan admitted to the hospital ASAP. He was in a lot of pain at this point; not even a full 6 years old yet. They never could figure out how it happened. There were no cuts. There were no bug bites. None of the obvious things that would cause. They had no idea. I listened for four days and nights while doctors argued back an forth what was wrong. Ryan had to endure test after test after test. Every knew doctor had to tug and pull and cause significant pain as they examined him. It got to the point he would burst into tears every time a doctor came in. I had to talk him back down five or six times each day. It was absolutely horrible.
At one point on the third day they took him for some different type of imaging that used a dye contrast. As we waited for an elevator he saw the helipad out the window with a helicopter coming in for a landing. I promised him that if he would be brave that I would take him for a ride when he got better.
The fever never broke and the rash inched its way towards the axial area of his arm. I may not be a medical doctor, but I know that is not good. I never did leave the hospital. I don't think I ever slept the entire time I was there. No one tells you about this part of the parenting job.
Diapers...no problem. Smart-mouthed teenagers...bring it on. But a seriously sick kid...that's really hard. To this day I'm glad Vikki had a little two week-old baby and Brooke that she needed to take care of. I'm glad she did not have to see what I saw while Ryan was in the hospital. As far as emotional wrecking events in my life, this make the list of top-five.
After four days they finally got the fever to break with IV antibiotics. We were sent home with another weeks worth of oral antibiotics. The fever came back that same night and then was gone the next morning. Everything from that point on seemed to self-resolve. We never did figure out what caused it. At this point I don't even care. I'm glad it worked itself out.
You asked about the time Ryan was in the hospital. It was only a couple of weeks after incidence with the emergency home-birth of Kelly. I was about to go to bed one evening and realized he was in his bedroom crying; a very unusual situation for Ryan. He is the kind of kid that pukes in the middle of the night, cleans it up himself, then wakes you to let you know what happened and that he already took care of it. He doesn't complain when it comes to his physical health. So to hear him crying I knew something was very wrong.
I went in to check on him and he was complaining about his elbow and arm hurting. He had soccer practice that day, so I thought maybe he banged it up even though there was no sign of bruising yet. I got him calmed down and back to bed. Not much I could do about it that late at night.
The next morning he was still complaining about it, so we took him to the doctor. They couldn't find anything wrong and figured as I did that maybe he hurt it playing soccer. They put him in a sling and sent him home telling us to have him take it easy until it felt better. The next day he had a fever and we kept him home from school again. He said it continued to hurt off and on. Something was not right, but nothing really jumped out. Then when I was looking him over that night I noticed a rash around the inner side of the elbow and lower part of the upper arm. First thought was the sling had rubbed it red, so I took it off him for the night knowing it would go away overnight. The net morning (a Friday) it was worse and the fever persisted. In the back of my mind I thought cellulitis and knew we had to have him checked out before our pediatricians were gone for the weekend.
On top of that, Brooke fell out of her bed and broke her collarbone that same Friday morning. Worried about how all this would look, I had Vikki take Ryan to the pediatricians and I took Brooke to urgent care. Yep, she broke it. They put her in a different sling to immobilize the shoulder and let it heal as only a collarbone can.
The night before Ryan was admitted to the hospital. Brooke all bound up.
Meanwhile, at the pediatrician office they diagnosed cellulitis and had Ryan admitted to the hospital ASAP. He was in a lot of pain at this point; not even a full 6 years old yet. They never could figure out how it happened. There were no cuts. There were no bug bites. None of the obvious things that would cause. They had no idea. I listened for four days and nights while doctors argued back an forth what was wrong. Ryan had to endure test after test after test. Every knew doctor had to tug and pull and cause significant pain as they examined him. It got to the point he would burst into tears every time a doctor came in. I had to talk him back down five or six times each day. It was absolutely horrible.
Halfway through the ordeal.
The fever never broke and the rash inched its way towards the axial area of his arm. I may not be a medical doctor, but I know that is not good. I never did leave the hospital. I don't think I ever slept the entire time I was there. No one tells you about this part of the parenting job.
Diapers...no problem. Smart-mouthed teenagers...bring it on. But a seriously sick kid...that's really hard. To this day I'm glad Vikki had a little two week-old baby and Brooke that she needed to take care of. I'm glad she did not have to see what I saw while Ryan was in the hospital. As far as emotional wrecking events in my life, this make the list of top-five.
After four days they finally got the fever to break with IV antibiotics. We were sent home with another weeks worth of oral antibiotics. The fever came back that same night and then was gone the next morning. Everything from that point on seemed to self-resolve. We never did figure out what caused it. At this point I don't even care. I'm glad it worked itself out.
The promised prize a few weeks later.
Once he got his strength back I kept my end of the bargain. At this point I had only been out of school about four years. Yes, I was finally making some money, but not what most people think. It cost...well, it cost a lot and we'll just leave it at that. But it was worth it. Tough way to get a chopper ride.
With that in mind, good night.
Yes,it was a hard, crazy time. Thankful for blessings for all your family.
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