Wednesday, July 2, 2014

From Ruptured Appendix to Marshmallow Feet

Boo got admitted to the pediatric unit around midnight Sunday (last Sunday)  under the misdiagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI.)

After two days of "aggressive"  antibiotic therapy,  everything remained the same: high white blood cell count (indicating infection),  severe abdominal pain and fever.

It was at THAT point (day three) that a physician decided it MIGHT not be a UTI.  A quick CT Scan revealed her burst appendix and huge abscess behind her uterus.

Two hours later she was prepped for emergency surgery.  It was a 45 minute procedure and Wifey and I sat together in a waiting room assuring each other that everything would be okay.

She emerged groggy from surgery and we were told how well the surgery went... "a success."  Fast forward a few days...

For almost a week Boo hadn't eaten without throwing up.  It didn't take long before she didn't want to eat or drink at all.   It was the second night after surgery that she requested a hamburger! As delighted as we were,  she was still restricted to "clear liquids."  It would be the next day that she would get to eat a few bites of sausage and bacon.  The next day came... and she was granted her hamburger.

Walking had been difficult and just getting her out of bed was a chore.  But as the days progressed,  so did she.  She began eating and drinking like normal and walking great distances. With her pain subsiding,  her compliance to eat,  drink and walk increased.

Day six came and we had the best day since we got admitted.  Wifey and I rotated staying the night at the hospital and I spent 4 vacation days to make sure she had someone by her side at all times.

Then it happened.  At 3pm on that sixth day,  Boo said her feet itched and she took off her hospital socks.  There they sat,  at the end if the bed,  glowing beet red,  swollen like marshmallows with a rash everywhere.

I quickly helped her into the shower hoping she could wash off some invisible cooties that had swollen her feet so terribly.  They quickly became painful and the skin tight as a drum.

Her nurse was summoned and she put calamine lotion all over them.  This made them burn worse! It quickly,  and painfully,  was wiped off.  The physicians think she has now had a severe reaction to her antibiotics... a DELAYED reaction because she had been on them for several days already.

So here she sits,  unwilling to eat,  drink or walk because her feet hurt so bad. It's like we're back to square one.  But at least I know her appendix is removed and blood tests show her infection is gone.  Now we just have to ride out her rash... which has now spread to several parts of her body.

Wifey is here to relieve me to go home.  Boo is sleeping peacefully.  I'll post pics when I get home.

OJD

11 comments:

  1. damn....hope it all works out and the kid get well real quick....heckuva way to spend summer. ya'll get some rest.

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  2. Need someone to come over and kick your dog?

    Seems like that the only thing that hasn't happened to you in recent times.

    Still pulling for ya's and hoping more than ever that she gets to feeling better!

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  3. Prayers for Boo and all of you, so sorry about this.

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  4. Dear Orange Jeep Dad - The first thing that comes to me as I read this: Is she getting the probiotics she needs? Home-fermented foods will quickly help to repopulate her digestive microorganisms that the massive doses of antibiotics have surely destroyed. And I bet it will help resolve the allergic reactions.....good luck with the young'un......NancyNurse

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  5. It is more painful to see a loved one in the hospital than you suffer all the pain. We suffered the similar problems with our daughter. Just as you think all over and you want to take her home they tell you that she needs to go through another treatment because she has fallen week. Ours had to spend another three days on serum drips to get her strength back. I hope she recovers quickly and wish her the best of health from now.

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  6. So sorry to hear of Boo's trouble. Pray she gets better fast. I agree with Anonymous, she should be on probiotics. If you can't get them, give her some natural yogurt.

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  7. Prayers for Boo, Wifey and You as you struggle to get her over this hump! Wow, poor little girl.
    I was septic once, spent a week in ICU. I was told the swelling of hands and feet actually were from the illness. Everything peeled after a couple weeks. I looked terrible at that point, as I had lost too many pounds (and I was 11 weeks postpartum), my hair fell out, and the final blow of peeling hands and feet. I was just thankful to live and see my baby grow up (who now has blessed me with 3 beautiful granddaughters).
    Maybe Boo has a favorite especially healthy yogurt she could be enticed to eat...topped with whipped cream? I hope her little body takes over the healing process and she's up and about very, very soon.
    Prayers from Wyoming/Idaho.
    sidetracksusie

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  8. My sympathies to Boo! I am also unable to take 90 percent of the antibiotics out there, so an illness is a test of which should I try? Allergies to antibiotics is no laughing matter as it can kill you. Yogurt would be a good choice, so would Gatorade as it tries to replenish and rebalance electrolytes in the body. Start a list of the medications that she is allergic to and post it to a family book with needed info. You will be able to provide that to any health professional should she need treated in the future. Good luck and good health!

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  9. I am so sorry Boo reacted to the antibiotic! Count me among those who know what it's like. I was put on an antibiotic some years ago that I'd been on before. I finally reacted to it when I took my second-to-last dose. I ended up in the ER.

    I pray she gets to feeling better quickly!

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  10. Hope she's better soon. But I am shocked they let it get that far. A bit of pressure on mcburneys point and the howl of pain that follows is a 100 percent indicator of the problem. Two days with those symptoms and not checking the appendix is nothing short of appalling!

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