Willa woke up this morning fever free and is acting normal and is back to bugging her brothers… I think we are in the clear.
It is funny how much Wilhelmina resembles Colin and this just is another example… it was around the exact same age that Colin was hospitalized for a high uncontrollable fever and they never found an explanation besides a nasty virus.
*sigh*
*relief*
my little girl is back 🙂
My next post for the other half of the trip is on hiatus right now… Wilhelmina is not feeling well and my mind has been on her…
The first night we got to PEI Wilhelmina threw up during the night and then again in the morning and was a bit feverish. We went on the beach a bit later and she started feeling a bit better but was still a bit clingy… we didn’t think much of it and just hoped that it wouldn’t spread to the other kids.. the next few days were the same though her apetite wasn’t very normal and she was eating less than usual. Her being sick though I didn’t think much of it..
When we headed back home on Saturday, her fever spiked again and she was back to throwing up.. Let me get this straight, I am not scared of fevers… I don’t like when my kids have fevers but I do see them as beneficial and truly believe that reducing a fever just prolongs the illness. However, we were 1/3 of the way home and still had about 7-8 hours of driving to do and happened to have stopped for lunch with a pharmacy a few feet away, so I decided to get something to help bring the fever down and make the journey home a bit more comfortable… I don’t regret it at all. We got home and the fever was still there but she was able to sleep most of the journey comfortably.
On Sunday she was still a bit feverish and clingy but again was looking better and by Monday I thought we were in the clear… her apetite still hadn’t returned and she hadn’t eaten for 2 days but was nursing a lot and still peeing and pooping normally though it was getting a bit more yellowish as she was just nursing…
On tuesday and wednesday the fever came back with a vengeance and she spent her days nursing and sleeping on me… I was starting to get worried but then she started feeling better again and Thursday we had another good day. Again clingy and not eating but she was back to playing and acting normal… but then on Friday it came back and it was enough…
I called the nurses line and then our family doctor in Montreal and both said to head to the hospital… so I called Simon to ask him to head home early.
I left the house around 3pm on Friday and headed to the ER, it was packed but not full and the nurse told me that they usually try to put kids between two others so I sat down and waited… and waited… and waited…. 11 hours later I got called in… yep… I got there at about 3:30pm and only got called in to the consultation room at about 2:30am and then I waited again in there room until the doctor came and saw us. She did not have a high fever while we were there but the 10 days of on and off fever and not haven’t eaten in a week got the doctor’s attention. He ordered a blood test, urine test and chest Xray…
The lab technician came in for the blood test and Wilhelmina didn’t even flinch when she pricked her finger. As the technician milked the finger for blood Wilhelmina started the close her eyes. She was sleepy, shy and just wanted to stay cuddled. Her blood coagulated too quickly though so she needed to prick her finger three times in all and by the third time, Wilhelmina was actually giving her her hand and was starting to fall asleep.
the Xray was another story… the cold machine and needing to be away from my arms was a bit harder but she did it quickly and was contented the minute she was back in my arms.
Then it was back to waiting…
At about 5:30 the results were in but came back mostly negative, except for a high blood cell count. The bag they had put on her to catch urine didn’t catch a thing but the doctor insisted on getting a urine sample to make sure it was not a UTI or something that could be seen in the urine. They were talking about catheterizing her but then I asked if I could just try to get her to pee and catch it. Of course the automatic toilets scared her because they kept flushing when she moved so I asked them if they had a container and finally they gave me a sterile bowl which she then promptly peed into.
Another wait and we were finally called back into the consultation room at 6:30 and I nodded off as we waited another hour.
At 7:30am, 16 hours after walking into the ER the doctor cam in to say that the only thing they found was that high white cell count and that it was a sign her body was fighting something but they would like to know what as the length of time the fever had been on and off was worrisome. He had called the hospital paediatrician and she wanted to see us to try to find out more but only the next day (today, sunday) and the hospital would call us to tell us when to come in…
So we headed home with no answers, battered and sore from a sleepless night.
We slept a few hours and she was feeling slightly better again and then the fever came back and made her miserable for the night… she woke up often crying for both of us and nursed constantly.
This morning the fever is gone again and she is acting much more normal and I actually convinced her to eat a few tsp of apple sauce. For more than a week she would gag when she looked at food and refused to have any food even near her… even the things that she usually loves. She is not a big girl to begin with so even though she is nursing tons, not eating was definately affecting her and she was losing weight enough that it started to show. Hopefully her eating a bit again is a sign that she is finally on the mend… it definitely feels great to see her feeling better as we wait for the hospital to call…
of course… more waiting…
eta: so… I wasn’t getting a call so i decided to call and see what was up… the ped came in the morning for a few minutes and then left and wouldn’t be back. The nurse called her and she said that I should call her office monday morning and she will see me there at that time… of course then when I called the secretary said she was not taking new patients…
I guess the moral is… if you are worried about your child, don’t just think twice about bringing them in… think many more times then that..
Last week we went out and bought a new *to us* car. For the last 5 years I had been driving a 2000 dodge caravan and though it was still running I wasn’t sure for how long. As we pulled out of our driveway to head to Montreal to check out a car I saw on a dealership’s website, I got stuck in the street, not able to put the minivan back into Drive. Finally, I got it in to gear and we put a few dollars of gas in just in case we would not be driving it back….as I pulled out of the dealership after a test drive of the new car, my armrest fell off. A definate sign that we had to take the plunge.
On Tuesday we went to pick up our new stealthy black 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. What a difference! I kept on bracing myself for bumps that I didn’t need to brace for and realized just how bumpy our old car was and being able to hear the kids in the back without them screaming made me realize just how loud it was also. I am loving our new ride.
Instead of heading straight home, we went to hang out with friends for the evening. I had debated on bringing my camera and finally decided not to… what a mistake!
Our friends had picked up some dry ice the day before and the kids had a blast with it. Not only did we make water “boil”, bubbles with fog in them and balloons that inflate themselves, but we also made dry ice Ice Cream… it was so much fun! I did get video though so I will clean that up a bit and share in another post…
We decided to not leave too late and headed home and as Simon was taking Wilhelmina out of her car seat, he heard a gag.
By the time he passed Wilhelmina off to me, Khéna had baptized the car. He threw up everywhere…It was the start of week long bout of Gastro with each of us getting our turn, no one was spared. So that was our Easter weekend, sick and all of us taking turns in the bathroom. It was a beautiful weekend too and we have a week of rain ahead of us… *sigh*
I think the hardest time to be a parent is when the whole house is sick. Everyone needing attention, yet we have little energy to give it. It also made me realize that it will only be in times like that that I will get a day full of cuddles again. Though Willa is still so small it made me realize that she is really not a baby anymore…
(feverish Willa)
This morning I woke up and I realized that I didn’t limp out of bed…
My left ankle is finally on the mends … though it is still a bit painful to the touch, when I move it a certain way, or when I am on the stairs, the pain is pretty much gone.. My right ankle was at this stage last week and is pretty much completely better, so I am guessing that in a week I should be pain free…
I am not sure that I am going to go back to running any time soon, though it is something that I still want to do one day… I did go swimming soon after I got hurt, and I love being in the water… but the amount of time it takes (go/swim/come back) just doesn’t fit into our routine very easily and it means that I have to have supper ready on time, but can’t eat with the family…
2 weeks ago, I was reading on a forum and read about Kettlebells, it peaked my interest and I read more, and read more, and then asked questions and then decided to try it out… Though my ankle was hurting when I walked , working out with the Kettlebell did’t hurt at all… and what an amazing workout! I have been doing 20 minutes every few days doing various exercises including swings.. By the end of that 20 min my heart rate is way up, I am breathing harder and my legs are feeling a bit jittery… but I feel great! I feel sore the day after, but it is a good sore and it actually surprised me that I did feel sore because though I felt it was a workout, it wasn’t too hard and it was fun..
I have to say… I am sold!
I had found a 10 lb Kettlebell at Zellers which is great to start but I had the feeling that I would be outgrowing it soon, especially for certain excersises, so I found some on sale at treadmillfactory.ca with decent shipping prices and while I was at it I also picked up a mini-trampoline that was on special as it is something I know that we will all have fun doing…
20-30 min a few times a week is so easy to fit into our family routine…
Here are some great links:
How to do the two handed swing:
This blog is a great resource and inspiration (she used to be 120 lbs heavier and is now a Kettlebell trainer)… http://tracysfoodandthought.blogspot.com/… she shares workouts and videos etc…
Week 2 of running brought on sore ankles… It started near the end of one session and then two days later I went out again not thinking much of it and after doing one walk/run interval my body shouted NO MORE. and I limped home… It was one ankle that was hurting the most and I put Ice on it and put my legs up and wished it away… my wish didn’t come true…
Over the next days I decided to ignore it, and hope that it would go away that way….it didn’t… and it didn’t even get better but actually worsened and both ankles were in pain, same problem, both sides.
I read a few things, iced it and tried to stay off my feet, but I have things to do, meals to make, kids to corral and a 14 month old that gets into everything. I tried taking some ibuprofen and it just made me feel very loopy and didn’t help with the pain much. Last tuesday, more than a week after the pain started, I had enough and called the family doc. I got in because of a cancelation yesterday and so I headed into Montreal yesterday morning.
The doctor was not very happy that I hadn’t been there in nearly 6 years and it was actually a fluke that my file hadn’t been thrown out. However, the fact that I had not seen anyone else in those in those 6 years, gave me the advantage and he will be keeping me as a patient as long as I go in for a check up in the fall…
He said that if it would have been only one of my ankles, with the amount of swelling and pain, he would have thought it was fractured, but because it was both, it is most likely either the tendons of the ligaments that are giving me problems and his suggestions are basically what I have been doing (or trying to do)… restand ice, oh and stronger anti-inflammatory’s and he also gave me a referral for physiotherapy.
(It’s hard to take a pic of swelling, but I think you can see it there… it the same on both sides)
*sigh*
So… I am in pain… and the minute I seem a bit better I get a bit too ahead of myself and tend to overdo things and then I am in more pain…
I think running is going to have to wait a while… my Vibrams will be great for walking… and I think I am going to get back into the pool routine again…
double *sigh*