Our Five Ring Circus: The Saga Continues...

Friday, May 8, 2015

The Saga Continues...

I've been MIA all week long.  It was quite a week to say the least!

My last post was about Liam falling on Saturday, going to Urgent Care on Sunday, and getting sent to the Children's Hospital ER in Pittsburgh. The doctors didn't think his nose was broken, but we were supposed to wait and see...

Well, things took a turn for the worse.

On Monday morning, Liam woke up fussy, which is very unusual for him.  While I nursed him, I noticed he felt very warm.  Sure enough, he had a fever.  I gave him some medicine to bring it down, but he seemed to be "off" all day.  The only thing that made him happy was sitting outside in the sun.

At that point, the swelling from his injury spread above and below his high.  Or so I thought.

Just call him Bruiser! Swollen nose, a shiner, and the swelling spread to his forehead. He spiked a high fever today, and he seems to be in pain. His doctor wants us to bring him in tomorrow if he still has the fever. The only thing that made him happy wa

Within a few short hours, the redness had spread and his fever was above 105.

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I knew something was wrong, and figured he had some sort of infection from his injury.  As soon as my sister picked my nephew up, Liam and I headed to our local ER, which is less than 10 minutes away.  We were taken back quickly, and a doctor was in the room before the nurses even finished taking his stats.

It only took a few seconds before he said he was fairly certain Liam had Cellulitis.

In Liam's situation, it wasn't just a mild case.  It was spreading rapidly, and it was on his face.  There weren't any visible cuts near the area, so the doctor was mystified. The best guess is that when the doctors in the ER were examining Liam's injured nose on Sunday with a scope, which caused his nose to bleed, bacteria entered the cut inside his nose and entered his bloodstream.  It resulted in a very serious case of Cellulitis, and the doctors were very concerned, because it was over his left eyelid.  If the infection got into his optic nerve, it could go into his brain, and the results would be absolutely devastating.

They immediately put in an IV, gave him medication to bring down the fever, ran some blood work, did and xray, and started him on IV antibiotics.

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Grant was at home with our kids, but I was very surprised when my dear friend, Steph, walked into the room.  It made the long wait a little less scary!  Grant eventually showed up once his mom came over to watch the kids, and it was a good thing, because we found out we were going to be transferred to Children's Hospital.

Once the medication kicked in, Liam had a few smiles to share with us.  It was temporary. It only brought his temp down to 102,  and the infection just kept spreading.

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Once we heard they called for an ambulance, Steph followed Grant home so he could drop off his car, and she brought him back to the hospital.  She stayed with us until after 3 AM, even though she had to wake up at 6.  We were so thankful for her help and support!  She left just as the paramedics arrived.

I rode in the ambulance with Liam, and Grant followed behind in my car.  It's a short drive to the city, and Liam slept through it.  It was my second ambulance ride EVER, both times were with him, and both instances happened within a 3 1/2 month span!

Second ambulance ride ever for me and for Liam. Within a 3 month span. Geez, kid!

We arrived at the Children's Hospital ER around 4:30ish (honestly, I lost track of time!), and the doctors agreed it was Cellulitis.  They administered more medication, and he ended up getting a CT scan around 6 or 7 AM to check for any fractures in the nose or abscesses under the skin.  Thankfully, he slept through that, too!

They decided he needed to be admitted, and we had to wait for a room.  We were exhausted and starving, so we helped ourselves to the snack pantry, and ended up having Cheetos and chocolate milk for breakfast.  Trust me, it's even more repulsive than it sounds. We didn't go upstairs to a room until after 8:30, and by that point, we had been awake for 26 hours.  Liam had been sleeping since just before his CT scan, so Grant and I tried to sleep.  Within 5 minutes, another doctor came into the room.

Basically, they decided to treat him with strong IV antibiotics every 6 hours, and watch his eye very carefully.  We were told that we couldn't leave until the redness and swelling decreased.  Right after the doctor left, the nurses started another round of antibiotics. 

Grant and I were beyond stressed.  We had a REALLY sick little boy, and the location of the Cellulitis was very unusual and worrisome.

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After the IV treatment was done, we managed to sleep for about 2 hours before Liam finally woke up. Grant ran downstairs to pick up some pastries a sweet friend had dropped off for us in the lobby, and to get some caffeinated drinks for us.  I tried to feed Liam, but he wasn't very interested.  His fever spiked again, so they gave him more medication, and he slept some more.

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It was a really long day filled with IV antibiotic treatments and visits from doctors and nurses.  During all that, he got moved to another room, and we tried to keep him on a normal routine.

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Later that evening my sister, Kelly, came to visit.  Shortly after she arrived, our close friends, Gary and Tracy, came by with dinner, snacks, tons of drinks, and toys for Liam.  They were so sweet and so generous, and it was very much appreciated!

After everyone left, the exhaustion and the impact of the situation hit us.  Luckily, Liam's fever had finally broken, and he blessed us with a smile.

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The Cellulitis, unfortunately, continued to spread.  The doctor said he would get two more rounds of antibiotics, and if it hadn't improved by morning, we would have to change the treatment method.  Liam was so feeling much better now that his fever was gone, and decided to stay awake until his midnight IV treatment.

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We all fell asleep after the nurses unhooked him from the IV stand.  We got a little bit of sleep before his 6 AM treatment.  He was still asleep, but his face didn't look as bad as it did just 6 hours before.

Sure enough, when he woke up, he was back to his joyful self!  His face was still red, but it was definitely improving! He had some breakfast, explored the room, and played with some toys.

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When the doctor finally came into the room, she agreed that it definitely looked like he was improving.  She said she would happily keep him in the hospital and continue IV treatments until the Cellulitis was completely gone, or she would allow us to take him home as long as we picked up his antibiotic and medication from the hospital pharmacy before leaving and were absolutely certain his pediatrician would be able to see him the following day.  She told us that he wasn't out of the worry zone yet and explained what symptoms would warrant an immediate trip back to the hospital, but she was confident he would continue to improve.

We decided that it would be best to take him home and let everything go back to normal.  He would definitely get more rest at home!   When the nurse came in with all the discharge papers and instructions, she was shocked that we were going home.  She said he was the sickest kid on the floor and they all expected him to stay the week, but he ended up being the first child to receive his discharge papers. She said the doctor obviously trusted our judgement. We were all thrilled about how quickly he improved!

The patch on Liam's forehead is improving, so the 24+ hours of IV antibiotics are finally working. The patch over his eye and cheek is still bad, but hopefully the antibiotics will continue to work. SO...we are going home sometime today! The doctor said i

It took a few hours, but we were finally able to leave!.  It was SO nice to go home, take a quick nap, and to finally be reunited with our other kids!

Reunited with this crazy crew! ❤

Liam looked so much better yesterday! He got a great night's sleep and woke up so happy.   His pediatrician said he made drastic improvement based on the timeline photos, and that we absolutely did the right thing by taking him to the closest ER.  Liam is expected to make a full recovery, with no complications!

Liam is looking MUCH better this morning. So thankful the antibiotics are working! ❤ The doctor said it was good we went to the ER when we did, because the effects of facial cellulitis can be devastating.  Thank God the antibiotics worked quickly!

We are beyond thankful for all the love, support, good thoughts, and prayers!

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Thank God our beautiful boy is back to his healthy, joyful self!

18 comments:

  1. I'm so so glad to hear that he's doing much better! I've been praying for him all week!! Now you guys can relax and enjoy your weekends... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! <3

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  2. Oh goodness little momma...that is quite scary! So glad little Liam is okay and hope you guys get some rest this weekend.

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  3. This is so scary! Poor little guy - I'm so glad he is feeling better and so sorry you guys had such a scare!!!

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  4. Oh my goodness!!! Thank God he is okay. What an emotional roller coaster and I'm so happy to see such joyful family pictures at the end of it all. You must feel such relief!

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  5. Oh my word! I can only imagine how scared you all were. I'm so glad he's feeling better and on the mend!

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  6. Oh my goodness! That is so very scary. I am so glad he is doing better. Poor kiddo! And poor family, having a sick child/little brother is so scary!

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    1. Thank you! Dylan and Lexie were so worried about him, and were very relieved when we came home!

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  7. Wow, what a nerve-wracking couple of days you all have had! I imagine the kids at home were just as frantic as you and Grant. It is so gratifying to know you are all back together in your own home. Cec and I continue to pray for you and send our love to you all!

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    1. It was rough, but we're just thrilled he's back to his happy, healthy self!

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  8. Oh my how sad. It happened so fast. Poor Liam he sure is a trooper. Tomorrow is a day to celebrate the fantastic Mom you are not just tomorrow but everyday.

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    1. It happened really fast! Thank you so much for your kind words!

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  9. Praise God! Thank you Jesus for keeping this precious child in your care!!!

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