Thursday, August 28, 2008

First trip to the E.R.

Yesterday, I had a "feeling" that something was different about baby Ross. He was tired after taking a nap, and yawned a lot. He was a little fussy, and something just told me that I should take him in. I called Valarie, for her advice. She called her husband who is a nurse at Sutter Memorial. He suggested taking him to the E.R. I'm glad he did. When we were there, the baby was laughing, smiling, kicking, acting normal, so I was feeling really stupid. Big Ross was kinda giving me a look like, "why are we here, he's fine." So, that didn't help my feelings of stupidity. When the doctor came in, little Ross was laughing...Anyway, he got an xray, which was HORRIBLE!!! I hate how they do xrays there. The tech had him sit in this weird thing, with his feet dangling, and then this plastic thing holding him in with his hands straight up in the air. His face was smashed in, and I had to hold his arms up. He was screaming, crying, looking at me with those sad eyes. It was awful. Again, I don't like how they do xrays there, and he will never have it done like that again. Stanford just has them laying on the bed.

So, hours later, no word. I asked the nurse if the doctor looked at the xrays yet, because his meds were already late, and I didn't bring them. He said "yeah, he just looked at them, and he said he's gonna think about what to do." That didn't sound very good. The doctor came in and told us he has a "questionable" right side pneumonia. He prescribed antibiotics, and told us to come back if he has trouble breathing, or runs a fever. He consulted w/ Dr. Juris, who was on call. He was OK with that. The E.R. doctor said if he was heart healthy, he would just send us home, and keep an eye on it. Since he has a complex heart condition, they have to be aggressive. I'm happy about that.

I'm so glad he was seen, because pneumonia can get life threatening, and left untreated with his condition is just asking for a hospitalization!!! We DON'T need that!

We got home after midnight, and we're doing good today. I called Dr. Wright, his cardiologist. We will get another xray Tuesday, and hand carry the film to his office, and that way he is seen right before we head off to Stanford. He also has an appt. with the pediatricians office in the morning, recommended by the E.R. doctor.

That's about it!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness Kira! Was he showing any other signs besides sleepiness? Good thing you are very in tune with his normal behavior. I hope he gets better soon!

Anonymous said...

my rule #1: Always trust a mother's instinct, esp. if it says "somethings not quite right."

Kira said...

the only other symptoms were a little coughing here and there, and sneezing here and there, but nothing major. That's why i'm shocked he has this.

Gina and the Gang said...

Good thing you took him in. That was really perceptive of you considering he didn't have a fever yet. Get better Baby Ross!

Amber said...

I'm glad you caught this before it got too bad. Good job Mom!! FYI: the next time you have to have an xray at Sutter...you can ask to have him lie down while you stand there next to him. I put a stop to the "torture chamber" after our first go-around too!