On Wednesday afternoon around 4pm Jackie received a call from our daycare stating that Gavin's temperature was over 100 degrees and he needed to be sent home. After Jackie seeing him and feeling him burn up we took no chances and went to urgent care. Jackie and I were suspicious thinking this could be an ear infection since Gavin finished his 3rd course of antibiotics in the last 6 weeks. However, the exam showed that Gavin's ears weren't red or infected but they were recessed. We opted for no prescription medication since we had a scheduled visit with his pediatrician on Friday and decided we would treat with Tylenol and ibuprofen. We got lucky and left the urgent care within one hour (the nurse had sympathy for us and saw that Gavin is quite active and an hour wait in the waiting room wasn't going to do anyone any good). We took him home that evening gave him dinner and put him to bed. However the night didn't go so well as Gavin was up a few times between 3-5:30am.
Jackie and I decided that I should stay home with Gavin (we couldn't send him to daycare within 24 hours of a fever anyway) and we did a little coloring, played with some puzzles, read lots of books and did quite a bit of napping. Gavin did well throughout the day until yesterday evening (Thursday). We continued to give him ibuprofen and Tylenol alternating doses. He went to bed at 6:30 which has been quite earlier than normal (Gavin typically goes to bed around 7 and falls asleep around 7:30). Jackie and I went to bed knowing that we'd need to be getting up throughout the night (6th sense parenting feeling). Sure enough we were worken up with cries from his room. I got up and took his temperature which was quite high at 103.9. We decided that with only the four hours of ibuprofen on board that we couldn't keep his fever down so we called 911.
We hear sirens go by in our neighborhood and we always wonder where the emergency vehicles are headed. This time we knew they were coming to us. A police officer and two EMTs came into our house and asked us into about Gavin and his condition. The officer left after the EMTs felt comfortable and they got right to work. They put a device on Gavin's finger measuring his oxygen which was normal. After documenting a brief history, they then asked us what we wanted to do. We decided that it was best to go to the St. Paul Children's Hospital ER and take the ambulance ride in the event of a seizure or other medical care that Gavin required. Jackie rode in the ambulance with Gavin as I followed behind in the car.
At the ER Gavin was seen right away. They took his temperature rectally and it shot way up to 107.1. Now we REALLY had cause for concern. The physician came in to see us shortly after the nurses did some initial work-up and said that she wanted to rule out any scary diagnoses and ordered a urine sample, chest X-ray, blood work and have him Tylenol rectally. The four hours in the ER were challenging. After all the testing was done it came back normal but Gavin needed some hydration so they put in IV into his left ankle and also gave him medication through that line.
Thankfully the physician ruled out meningitis and didn't order a spinal tap, but she was concerned that Gavin may have the flu. So to be sure, our nurse performed a final test by squirting water up Gavin's nose and immediately sucking it out. Of course he didn't like it thrashed and threw a fit but also got a bloody nose from the test which lasted only a few minutes. We won't find out if he has the flu for approximately 48 hours after the test.
Thankfully we are all home and resting, gearing up for our next doctor visit to Gavin's pediatrician to discuss the test results and come up with a treatment plan.
Given that I not only like to share the process and experience of the visits we have, I also want to share a few new bits of knowledge Jackie and I gleaned from this visit to the ER.
- In Gavin's case, and I don't know of this is because of age and weight, we can administer ibuprofen on a schedule of every 6 hours and if he spikes a fever we can give Tylenol too in between.
- Similar to when you're expecting to deliver a baby, have the diaper bag at the ready in your home with diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, etc... Consider having a change of clothes or extra clothes for the parents/caregivers in the event you would leave the house in an emergency like we did.
- Ask if you don't understand something the nurse or physician tells you. There are so many times medical and office staff came in and out of the room, hooked up an IV, took a urine sample, obtained chest X-rays, took my co-pay, peeked in to see if we were OK, etc... Ask for spellings of medications. Ask how long the dose is effective. Should it be given with food? Does it need to be refrigerated or room temperature for storage? Does your discharge paperwork summarize the care you received and a next course of action?
- Stop at the pharmacy and stock up on some basics; in most cases, it's cheaper than your average "big box" store. I bought a large amount of liquid Tylenol for $2 and I know it will get used.
