Well, I have no real excuse prior to the weekend, so sorry for that! I am a slack blogger and that's just how it is!!! But I have a VERY good excuse for my absence over the last few days... my little girl was admitted to hospital.
It all started Friday, around lunchtime, when I recieved a phonecall from my daughter's daycare notifying me that she had been having a lot of trouble going to the toilet, and was becoming quite distressed. I went straight there to pick her up. She seemed upset but not extremely ill, so I had her join me on a few errands and I took her for icecream.
Following her afternoon sleep and come time to pick her Daddy up from work at around 4pm, her condition had deteriorated dramatically. We had planned to spend the weekend at my Mum's house, but by the time we were in Armadale, just 45mins down the road, Til's teperature had sky-rocketed and her eyes had begun rolling back into her head. Hence, we took a little detour via Armadal hospital's emergency department.
Matilda was quickly fast-tracked to a bed in emergency when she vomitted all over her Daddy and the emergency room floor (poor James seems to be the one to cop Til's vomit on nearly every occassion!!!). Her temp was hovering around the 40 degree mark, she was disorientated, could not pass urine, and was complaining of terrible stomach pain.
We spent a good 7 hours in emergency, from 5pm to about 12pm, during which time she was subject to a gazillion horrible tests and procedures. The worst was when her drip was inserted into her arm. She was swaddled tightly in a blanket, then had 2 hospital staff practically lay on top of her while James and I held her still, and the doctor insterted the needle, took blood, then bandaged her up. I remember thinking that there was no way Til would ever walk into a doctor's surgery or hospital ever again - she was screaming in pain and in sheer terror... it was quite possibly the most horrible experience of my life so I can only beign to imagine what it must have been like for her.
By 12.30pm, my poor little girl was tucked up in her hospital bed, hooked up to a drip. She slept well, but had not really inproved at all by morning time. On the other hand, I reckon I had about 3.5 hours sleep... just imagine a big, fat pregnant woman trying to sleep in an armchair without having eaten since 3pm the previous afternoon!!! Not happy! But to be honest, I barely thought about how I was feeling as I was SO worried about Til.
Saturday saw Matilda visited by Granny and Aunty Molly, as well as Poppy later on. She got so many lovely gifts, but it was being able to play with Molly that made her the happiest!
At 1pm, during rest-time, I went down to the hospital gift-shop to buy Til a Dora balloon (Dad's choice) and a stuffed lion (my choice, given she LOVES the Lion King atm!) But by the time I got back, Til's health had again gone downhill, and she was screaming and boiling hot yet again. James was most upset - I later found out he had a tear in his eye and had to walk away. Being a parent really sucks sometimes!!!
By Sunday morning James and I were beginning to feel as though no progress was being made; the urine tests taken on Friday night were still not back (we later found out that she was suffering from a very bad UTI), the antibiotics did not seem to be making any difference because Matilda was still in pain and her temp was still up and down like a yo-yo, and she had again vomited during the night. Nonetheless, the Paediatrician was happy for us to take a 4.5 hour leave pass from the hospital so that we could take Til out for a bit of sunshine. She was becoming very bored and aggitated because she had been unable to do anything more than take a walk to the toyroom or downstairs to the hospital foyer. As we live too far from the hospital, we decided to take Til to my Mum's house for the afternoon. She watched a DVD, rode on her bike, played with Molly, sat on her Daddy's shoulder's while he carried her to the top of the big rocks at the rear of my parent's property, and we all took a walk to the local craft store where she played Lego with Molly. Our time away from the hospital went so slowly, which I am very grateful for, and it seemed to help a great deal in making Til happier and just a bit healthier.
Night time came all too quickly for me. Everyone was on my back about taking care of myself and the baby given I had stayed at the hospital the previous two nights and was in desperate need of a proper sleep... but a proper sleep meant swapping the nigh shift with James and heading home to Mum's place for the night. Let's just say I have never cried so hard in my life! After crying in the carpark for a long while and doing two laps of the hospital carpark, I finally managed to leave and get to Mum's place. Once there I cried some more, then got stubbornly into the car and drove back to the hospital. Given it was now out of visiting hours, I kinda had to break in to the hospital - I ran in the front doors when someone exited then cut through the kitchen to get into the locked Children's Ward. James was a little annoyed to see me back again because he really wanted me to rest, but I struck a deal that I could stay for when her antibiotics were administered at 10pm and then I'd leave. I tell you what... I am so glad I went back because the antibiotics were put through her drip by hand and this hurt her terribly. I am so glad I was there to hold her hand and comfort her (though I am certain James would have done a perfectly wonderful job on his own!). Once that was all over, I tucked Til into bed with her lion (which she had named Lion King!) and said my goodbyes. It was much easier leaving the second time, and in the end, I managed to have a relatively good sleep.
Monday morning we were still being told that Matilda would remain in hospital for at least one more night because she was still fevering and was not eating or drinking enough. From that point on, we made it our mission to load her up with fluids and food, and keep her from exerting herself in an effort to get her better asap. Our efforts were helped along by the welcomed distraction of the Radio Lollipop ladies who came to entertain all the sick kids individually. Til got to sing, blow bubbles, decorate a giraffe, and play with toys. She also got a toy, some stickers, and a colouring-in page. She had so much fun, especially singing the Jimmy Monkey song and playing with the duck puppet. I loved seeing her smile!
It was around 5pm Monday night, as I set up some colouring-in for Matilda and I to do throughout the evening, when the nurse came in to ask if we were still keen to go home. Apparently the Paediatrician had been looking at Matilda's file and had decided it would be ok for her to leave!!! Hooray!!! The only downside was that Til had to have another lot of IV antibiotics before we could leave, but she was lucky enough to have Aunty Michelle, Uncle Dan, Granny, Grandad, and Aunty Molly visit during that time, which kept her a little distracted. I also had to shake her arm up and down the whole hour or so the IV was going because it made her feel better. Last of all, Matilda had to have the drip removed. Again she was most distraught during this, but I think it was the tape and bandaids being peeled off that hurt her more than the actual removal of the needle. She was so brave, and it was done in no time at all... and she was rewarded because she was again able to suck her fingers after several days of being unable to do it because her arm was in a splint.
At about 7pm, we were handed our discharge slip, and we were outta there!!! Til handed over the slip at the front desk and waved goodbye to the hospital. She seemed so happy to be finally going home.
Now, two days later, and all is looking up. Matilda's temp had stayed below 37 degrees, and she is back to her usual self - jumping on the bed, running through the shops etc. She will still be on antibiotics for a few more days and has an ultrasound coming up to check her kidneys, but otherwise she is as good as new. Lucky... because it's her birthday on Monday and I'd hate for her to still be sick then.
Sorry to have bombarded you with all that, but it is nice to have gotten it off my chest. At least now you will probably be able to forgive at least part of my recent lack of blogging!!! I do hope to finish up sharing our adventures from the road trip we took last month, but for now I need to focus on getting my little girl better.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing in my weekend from hell. I hope things have been better in your world!
xxx
