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.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
PPEC
Before his discharge, the caseworker assigned to Kyle gave me some information about the PPEC (Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care) medical daycare program in Clearwater. Previous caseworkers have mentioned the program to us before but I looked into it a little more this time.
PPEC is a division of Pediatric Health Choice (the medical equipment provider that provides Kyle's feeding pump and equipment). It is a daycare center for children requiring special medical attention preventing them from attending a normal daycare. Kyle qualifies because of his developmental delays and reliance on the feeding tube.
PPEC is 100% covered by medicaid and many other insurances. There is no cost to the family. I was especially surprised at this considering that they are able to accomodate even newborns.
They provide care Monday-Saturday up to 12 hours a day. There is no minimum number of hours. Kyle could attend a week full-time and then the next week not attend at all. He could arrive at 6:30 AM one day and 4:00 PM the next. The schedule is as flexible as we need it to be. The school schedule is very structured, though. They have scheduled nap, lunch, outdoor play and snack times just like a regular daycare.
Their staff consists of all medical professionals. The teachers are all CNAs, LPNs, RNs, etc. They are staffed with therapists for occupational, speech, physical and feeding therapies. Which means that Kyle would be able to get therapy every day without leaving the daycare. They have cribs or toddler beds for each child where normal daycares only have cots. They have the special equipment needed as well - feeding pumps, IV pumps, nebulizers, etc.
Their staff is free from infection and do not come in if they have any signs of illness. If a child has a fever, they are not turned away. They are given medications as needed and isolated from the other children. They even have a special isolation room for highly contagious diseases such as pink eye or chickenpox with a specialized ventillation system and a separate bathroom.
They also can provide transportation to and from school for families without transportation of their own or when there are scheduling conflicts affecting transportation (i.e., the parent works past closing time and the child needs to be transported to a family member's house).
The center is located just west of US19N on Drew Street, so Chris actually passes the center every day on his way to and from work so it works out perfectly. We've discussed starting Kyle at PPEC starting the first Monday in January (1/5/09).
PPEC is a division of Pediatric Health Choice (the medical equipment provider that provides Kyle's feeding pump and equipment). It is a daycare center for children requiring special medical attention preventing them from attending a normal daycare. Kyle qualifies because of his developmental delays and reliance on the feeding tube.
PPEC is 100% covered by medicaid and many other insurances. There is no cost to the family. I was especially surprised at this considering that they are able to accomodate even newborns.
They provide care Monday-Saturday up to 12 hours a day. There is no minimum number of hours. Kyle could attend a week full-time and then the next week not attend at all. He could arrive at 6:30 AM one day and 4:00 PM the next. The schedule is as flexible as we need it to be. The school schedule is very structured, though. They have scheduled nap, lunch, outdoor play and snack times just like a regular daycare.
Their staff consists of all medical professionals. The teachers are all CNAs, LPNs, RNs, etc. They are staffed with therapists for occupational, speech, physical and feeding therapies. Which means that Kyle would be able to get therapy every day without leaving the daycare. They have cribs or toddler beds for each child where normal daycares only have cots. They have the special equipment needed as well - feeding pumps, IV pumps, nebulizers, etc.
Their staff is free from infection and do not come in if they have any signs of illness. If a child has a fever, they are not turned away. They are given medications as needed and isolated from the other children. They even have a special isolation room for highly contagious diseases such as pink eye or chickenpox with a specialized ventillation system and a separate bathroom.
They also can provide transportation to and from school for families without transportation of their own or when there are scheduling conflicts affecting transportation (i.e., the parent works past closing time and the child needs to be transported to a family member's house).
The center is located just west of US19N on Drew Street, so Chris actually passes the center every day on his way to and from work so it works out perfectly. We've discussed starting Kyle at PPEC starting the first Monday in January (1/5/09).
All Better
Kyle came home Saturday afternoon after a week in the hospital. In addition to the pneumonia, they discovered that he had RSV again, which is probably what caused the pneumonia. They treated him with steroids, antibiotics, IV fluids and breathing treatments. They would have discharged him earlier except that his O2 sats (blood oxygen saturation levels) kept dropping below 90% while he was sleeping unless he was on oxygen. O2 sat levels should normally be as close to 100% as possible but at least over 92%.
During his stay, Kyle got visits from some of his favorite NICU nurses and respiratory therapists and made friends with a couple of new nurses. He had Scott and Melissa as nurses for most of the week. He had three roomates come and go while he was there, too. One of them was a little baby boy and Kyle had fun talking across the room to him. When the baby was replaced with a 16 year old boy, Kyle kept asking where the baby went.
I was able to share some of my knowledge from being an All Children's veteran with the other parents. Little tricks like where the silence buttons are on each monitor and pump (making sure they knew to inform the nurse whenever the alarms go off, though), or which channel is the All Children's movie channel (44), or where to park, or how to avoid parking fees in the Bayfront garage (leave after 9pm - no charge), etc.
But Kyle's home now and has been almost a week. He's feeling much better and back to his old self. He's a little more talkative and independent.
During his stay, Kyle got visits from some of his favorite NICU nurses and respiratory therapists and made friends with a couple of new nurses. He had Scott and Melissa as nurses for most of the week. He had three roomates come and go while he was there, too. One of them was a little baby boy and Kyle had fun talking across the room to him. When the baby was replaced with a 16 year old boy, Kyle kept asking where the baby went.
I was able to share some of my knowledge from being an All Children's veteran with the other parents. Little tricks like where the silence buttons are on each monitor and pump (making sure they knew to inform the nurse whenever the alarms go off, though), or which channel is the All Children's movie channel (44), or where to park, or how to avoid parking fees in the Bayfront garage (leave after 9pm - no charge), etc.
But Kyle's home now and has been almost a week. He's feeling much better and back to his old self. He's a little more talkative and independent.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Kyle at All Children's Hospital again
Kyle was admitted Friday night with pneumonia. He's still in the hospital. I will try to find time to update more.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Carnival!
I took Hannah to her first carnival last night. There was a little carnival at Countryside Mall and Hannah had commented on the ferris wheel. We went on the ferris wheel, the carousel and the bumper cars and she went on the kiddie rollercoaster, the motorcycle merry-go-round and the airplane merry-go-round. I forgot the camera at home so I had to use my phone for a camera but I couldn't miss the photo opportunity.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Blankie from Great-Grammys
Audrey received a blanket hand-made by her 91-year-old Great-Grammy Cain.
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