Well, we've joined the "club"...that group of parents who have experienced the fear and anxiety of a sick baby in the middle of the night, and a visit to Children's Healthcare in the wee hours of the morning. Yes, we are now members of this unfortunate club of fellow parents...and we had our "initiation" last night. That is,
after the paramedics came...yes, I said
paramedics.
I got a call from Ms. Becky yesterday at around 1pm saying that Kinsley had come down with a very sudden fever of 102.
What? We have been blessed up to this point because she's never had a fever above 100. So with a higher-than-usual temperature, an early exit from the office and an afternoon visit to the pediatrician were in order. And after the diagnosis that her two ear infections had worsened from last week (
no thanks, I don't we'll be using Amoxicillin again anytime soon...no wonder that stuff is "free" at Publix), a stronger antibiotic prescription in-hand, and no other known cause for the fever (Flu test=negative...Strep test=negative), we went home to get her some rest.
Because she was running about a 99-100 fever before bed, I set my alarm for 3am to go in a check her midway through the night and give her another dose of Tylenol. But at 2am, I suddenly woke up and looked over at the video monitor. I think it was God and mother's intuition combined. Even though she wasn't crying, something didn't feel right. I hopped up out of bed. When I got to her room, I felt her head, her cheeks, her neck...all burning hot to the touch. I placed the thermometer under her armpit, and it came back with a 101 reading...much too high for that method. She was whimpering a little at that point so I pulled her out of her crib and placed her on the changing table to get the more "exact" reading. I turned on the lamp, and that's when I saw what looked like a sun-burned baby. Her fair skin was hot pink, almost red, and her body was so hot. I called Philip in, watched the digital reading on the thermometer rise to 104, and called the pediatrician's CHOA after-hours answering service. But, in the 10 minutes it took for them to call us back, Kinsley took another turn for the worse. She began shivering from the fever and having some trouble breathing, with a moaning cry, and then a hacking cough that caused her to gag and throw-up twice. It is so scary to look at your baby, hot to the touch and her skin bright pink, and then see her struggling to get a full breath in, and
waiting on the doctor to call you back. Well, we couldn't wait...and not wanting to attempt to put her in her carseat in that condition, we called 911. A few minutes later, a Gwinnett Co Ambulance and Fire truck (I know, they sent a
fire truck) filled our cul-de-sac. At one point, it was me, Philip holding Kinsley, and 6 paramedics in our small front foyer...Hunter going crazy barking from the basement. They were so nice...checked her vitals and her lungs to make sure they were clear, confirmed that we needed to head on to the hospital, and then gave
us the go-ahead to take her to Scottish Rite. Thank goodness
we got to drive her down there. Although, the trip was slightly reminiscent of our anxious drive along that same route back on Saturday morning of March 6th.
So, after a few tests to rule out some potential causes of the fever spike, and with the fever under control for the most part, we were finally discharged and got home at 5:30am. Long night. Still are unsure about why she's running this high fever that, even as I write this at 10pm, is not gone. It's flu-like, but not "the flu." Just want her to get better. This feverish Kinsley is not the bouncing, giggling, funny little girl that we know.
Philip and I learn something new everyday about parenting, and what we have learned over and over again is that parenting is H-A-R-D work...but worth every anxious moment.
Our sick little girl.
Hunter stayed by her side most of the day today...he's her best buddy.
Cookin' in her kitchen!
