Lena's Hospitalization

So, as many of you have probably heard, Lena was hospitalized on Monday for dehydration.  She started projectile vomiting on Saturday evening and wasn't keeping down much solids or liquids.  On Sunday I called the pediatrician's after hours number and the nurse there told me it sounded like Lena has a stomach virus and just try to feed her more slowly so that her stomach doesn't revolt.  It was hard because we could tell that she was hungry and thirsty, but if we let her eat and drink like she wanted to, it would just come right back up.  On Monday morning we called the doctor's office and they said to bring her in.  When we got there, we learned that she had lost about two pounds since her last visit (January 5.)  It didn't take long for the doctor to determine that Lena was really dehydrated and she sent us straight to the ER to get some IV fluids.  We were upset that she was bad enough to have to go, but we thought that she would perk up pretty soon after getting some fluids replaced and we would be released.  In the ER, they inserted her IV (so hard to watch that Jim and I were both in tears when it was done) and took some blood to run some tests.  After about an hour of IV fluids, the doctors told us that the blood tests showed that her blood sugar was low and her electrolytes were off.  They decided to admit Lena so that she could continue getting IV fluids throughout the night.  

The dehydration had made her really lethargic and sleepy.  All she did on Monday was lay there, never smiling or talking, and she slept most of the day.  She was only comfortable in my arms, so after we were settled in our hospital room, Jim ran home to pack us some overnight bags and feed the cats.  (When we left home, we thought we'd be gone an hour, tops!)  Monday evening was pretty tough because Lena was hungry but not allowed to eat any food.  She cried and screamed and cried some more.  She was allowed to drink Pedialyte, but at a much slower pace than she would have preferred.  We had a really great nurse th

at night.  When she heard Lena crying so much she brought her an orange popsicle.  She loved it!  When I put it in her mouth, she bit off a chunk of it and almost gagged, so I learned to just put it near her mouth so she could lick it.  She was so funny eating that popsicle!  The way she stuck her tongue out and licked that thing reminded me of giraffes at the zoo!  That really calmed her down and she actually slept pretty good that night.  There was no way she was going to sleep in the scary torture chamber-looking crib they had, so she slept next to me in the small hospital bed provided for parents.  While she slept pretty good, I did not.  I started feeling the onset of the bug during the night.  

The next morning Lena started perking up quite well.  She tried to play with the doctor's stethoscope when she came to check on her.  The doctor (not her doctor, but the one on call) was the first doctor that saw Lena after she was born and she actually 

remembered her!  She is very nice.  She told us that the blood test they took very early that morning (yes, another needle poke!) came back normal and that we could probably go home around dinnertime.  Yay!  Lena really seemed to get her energy back.  She wanted to play with everything, was smiling, and talking to us too.  It was so great to see her back to her normal self again.  Unfortunately, the better Lena got, the worse I got.  I felt like I was the patient, lying there in the hospital bed trying not to get sick.  It was such a huge relief then, when Jim's mom and sister, Tammy and Amy, showed up.  They had taken the afternoon off work to drive up and help us out when we came home from the hospital.  It was nice having someone to entertain Lena while I tried to rest before we went home.  At lunch that day, Lena ate solid food and kept it down just fine.  We were finally discharged about 4:30 that afternoon.

Lena's entire arm had to be strapped to a stiff board so that she didn't bend her elbow and kink the IV.  I took this pic on my cell phone (yay for me figuring out this technology!)

We had a little setback yesterday when Lena got sick a couple of times.  We realized that the only time she would get sick is when we had given her formula.  So we stopped giving her formula and are giving her lots of Pedialyte to make sure she stays hydrated.  We had a follow-up appointment with her pediatrician this morning and she said to hold off on the formula for now.  She said we can try it at half-strength tomorrow and see how it goes.  

After having a pretty rough day yesterday, I am starting to feel better today.  I actually ate a little bit today and haven't been running to the bathroom every five minutes!  I've been really weak and am hoping to get my strength back soon.  We are just praying that Jim doesn't get it as well.  Although he just called me on his way home from class and says he's not feeling so great.  Oh no.  Please pray for Jim!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Lena.  We really appreciate it.  It's never easy to see your little one in discomfort.