Kyle back in the hospital... again

Sunday night, Kyle was fussy with a fever and Audrey had crusted over eyes. So Monday afternoon, my mom and I packed up the kids and took them to the pediatrician (not their normal pediatrician but the other doctor in that office). He confirmed my suspicion that Kyle had an ear infection and also diagnosed Audrey with pink-eye. He prescribed antibiotics for Kyle and eye drops for Audrey.


By yesterday, Audrey was showing no signs of the pink-eye anymore but Thursday night Kyle had signs of pink-eye, another fever and he was acting fussy like his ear was still hurting. So Friday afternoon, I took the kids to the pediatrician again - this time, just for Kyle.


The pediatrician prescribed a different antibiotic for Kyle since his ear infection was not clearing up and was now combined with pink-eye. He also prescribed Kyle the eye drops. But he commented on Kyle's breathing which was slightly more rapid than normal. He said that if Kyle's breath rate increased or seemed any more labored to bring him into All Children's to be on the safe side.


I wasn't too concerned since Kyle tends to breathe somewhat rapid and coarse normally but by the time we picked up the prescriptions at the pharmacy and got home, he was asleep in the car and breathing hard and fast, enough to worry me. So I called Chris and asked him to come home early. I took Kyle's temperature and it was 102.7F so I gave him some Motrin with his antibiotic and waited for Chris.


By the time Chris got home to stay with the girls and I got Kyle to the emergency room, he was miserable and I was very concerned. Only two hours after taking Motrin, his temperature was 40C (104F). They gave him a little more Motrin and a nebulizer treatment with Albuterol and a little while later, they started the tests and labs. They took a chest x-ray, got a urine sample (by catheter), tested for RSV (which requires a flush and a suction tube up the nose), took blood work and put in a port for an IV.


The tests came back negative for RSV and flu. They said it looks like it's just a virus. They put him on oxygen, gave him a steroid and began plans to admit him with frequent nebulizer treatments and a course of steroids.


He was brought to his room around midnight. Today, he's been asleep for most of the day but when Chris got there and I left for home, he was up and playing on only a little bit of oxygen. They usually wait until a child is off oxygen for 24 hours, maintaining a good oxygen saturation level, before they discharge them.


He's already seen lots of familiar faces - the nurse, Lin, who took care of him when he had RSV last February, Dr Everett and Dr Berlin, who've each handled his care before and even a couple of respiratory therapists and NICU nurses who were just passing by but recognized his name on the door.


Everyone has said how big he's gotten, which is a little funny considering how tiny he looks on the bed. (They put him in a regular bed this time instead of a crib.
)

Hopefully, he will be back home again and I can start the counter again for how many days he's been out of the hospital. He was up to 27 or 28.