we knew cayden was teething. his molars were erupting. yes, all 4 of them! so we kinda expected the drooling, things in his mouth and the diarrhea.
23 december - really bad diarrhea started. we changed his nappy about 8-10x that day
24 december:
- i texted tantan and told him cayden vomitted (but bec he was coughing too hard) and that i've been changing his nappy 1-2x PER HOUR!
- around 5pm, cayden developed a fever. it was around 38.4. i gave him paracetamol and when the fever didnt go down a notch, gave him ibuprofen.
- we've also stripped him to his shirt and shorts (he was wearing sweats and socks) and started giving him a sponge bath
- around 8pm, my greatest fear happened: he had another convulsion. i was carrying him so i put him down on the floor, into the recovery position. even if it's my worst nightmare, it wasnt as bad as the first one. i was calmer. it didnt last as long. i asked tantan to phone 999 (emergency number) to ask for an ambulance. it took the first medics (in a regular car) about 10mins to get to us bec it was christmas eve and they were very busy.
they checked cayden over - temp was 39.2. sugar was normal though. he was not conscious. we didnt know if he was just lethargic or asleep. they gave him a whiff of oxygen and a few minutes later, a proper ambulance arrived.
- we were at the hospital around 8:30pm. as it's
febrile convulsion, they didnt think much of it. we were given a pot to catch his wee (to check for any infection). cayden was given another dose of paracetamol. he was coughing but still breathing ok (stats were ok too)
- around 10pm, we were asked to go up to the pediatric assessment unit where they assess each case (whether to be admitted or sent home). we were watching the clock above the door and counting the hours (there goes noche buena!)
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| waiting to be seen by a doctor |
- we were finally seen at 1:15am and sent home at 1:30am.
25 december:
- cayden still had fever. it will go down when the meds were taking effect but as they wore off, the temp will shoot up again (see-saw bet 37.8 - 39.9).
- breathing was also getting worse: raspy, grunting sound, very laboured
- around 3:30pm, we decided to bring him back to the pediatric assessment unit. the consultant saw him at around 5:30 and was told cayden has a chest infection. they also wanted to check for swine flu so cayden was swabbed. we're told to wait for the tamiflu, which the on-call pharmacist will prepare.
since we were in a hospital, we didnt pack any meds with us. we thought the hospital will administer them. so when it's time for cayden to have his meds, we would go up to the nurses' station and tell them it's time. it will take them 30mins to 1hour before they will respond (so frustrating and annoying!)
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cheeks all flushed - very high temp!
the ward gave him a gift bec it was christmas and he was in hospital. boo! |
- around 9:30pm, tantan got fed up of waiting for the tamiflu (which will be given as a precaution, even if they're not sure cayden has the swine flu yet. results will be out monday night, we're told) so he asked the nurse if we can go home and tantan will just come back for the meds an hour or two later. cayden was really uncomfortable.
- around 11pm, tantan went back to the hospital to get the tamiflu.
26-27 december: fever not going away. bad diarrhea. cayden stopped eating and drinking milk/juice/water. i had to force him to at least drink his milk by giving it to him through a syringe. breathing getting a lot worse
28 december
- couldnt take it anymore, we brought cayden to the out of hours service (the gp surgeries are still closed bec it was bank holiday). we didnt want to bring him to the pediatric assessment unit bec (1) we'll just be wasting our time and (2) we didnt really feel we're welcome. it's like we're wasting their time
at the OOHS, only nurses look at the patients. the senior nurse listened to his breathing and we're told cayden is not getting his entire lungs filled up. we had to go back to the pediatric assessment unit, much to our dismay.
- we got there around 1:30pm. the nurse we saw last time was on duty and she even commented, "oh, you're back". i would have gladly slapped her face if only i wasnt too concerned with the level of care they might give (or not) to cayden.
we were told cayden has no swine flu but he definitely has chest infection - bacterial or viral, they're not so sure. there were only 2 doctors there: a resident and a locum from glasgow. i was secretly hoping not to see the locum bec he was timid and he always had to ask the resident what to do. but i was happy that we got him in the end bec he was willing to follow my requests: inhaler or nebuliser to help cayden breathe. suppository to help bring the fever down faster (wasnt given though bec cayden just had his oral meds). he also requested for blood tests and xray. they confirmed that cayden has the
RSVirus which led to
bronchiolitis. they said they're gonna give him antibiotics bec it might be a bacterial infection superimposed on a viral infection. again, the wait for the concoction continued...
- around 8:30pm, i went to the nurses's station telling them that cayden has really been lethargic and wasnt himself at all the whole day. the asst nurse reluctantly went to where we were and they connected the stats machine to check for heart rate and o2 level. temp was also taken (it was 39.9!) and she just said, no wonder he's lethargic, he's got high fever, (the way she said it, like it's not dangerously high!!!!) the heart rate was too high (around 180 - normal was 140) and the o2 level too low (around 87-90 - normal was 100). he was given a whiff of oxygen and from then, his breathing seemed to improve. we also noticed that his nails were turning pink again (earlier, i asked tantan if cayden's toenails looked normal, it was a bit gray-ish. he thought it was normal and cayden was just cold - we thought wrong!!! there wasnt much o2 circulating)
- we were admitted and was trasferred to the next room. didnt sleep at all! cayden was fussy and kept on taking off the monitor on his big toe. plus, he didnt want the oxygen mask at all. they had to increase the flow so the mask didnt have to be very close to his nose to help him breathe.
- the next morning, we were so annoyed! we couldnt wait to get out of hospital. in the ward we're in, there were 3 other kids. 2 of them have swine flu!!!! we only found out when the doctor made his rounds and we overheard their prognosis. i went to the station and asked the nurses if we can go home. they checked cayden's stats, heart rate and o2 level stabilised over night. we were ok'd to go home. i asked them why we were put in a ward where there were cases of swine flu. they said cayden was on tamiflu anyway. i told them we stopped giving him tamiflu bec he doesnt have the symptoms and the side effects were really bad (and they know about it!) and what about us?? we were exposed too - me, being pregnant at that!
i would have liked to stay longer, for cayden's sake but i didnt think it's safe for all of us to be there. especially since the two kids were coughing hard all the time!!!!
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2 january - all meds stopped. this was also the day cayden's fever went altogether (thank god!).
he is still coughing really hard, sometimes making him vomit but he's a lot better than he was. his breathing is starting to improve. he's starting to play again. the only thing i wish will go back to normal soon is his appetite. we're giving him vitamins. he would only take a bite or two each meal so i try to feed him very frequently. his fluid intake is still a third of what he normally consumes. but i know, soon he'll be all better!
i'd say, i hoped we were in the philippines when all this happened. i know we would have to pay for the health service but at least, cayden's illness wouldnt have lasted this long! intervention would have been given from the word go. but the fact is, we weren't there.
so far, we havent exhibited any symptoms of swine flu. it's been a week since we've all been exposed. i am slowly getting my voice back (still has a bad cold and cough - in fairness, had them before going into hospital). tantan's coughing but not as bad as me and cayden. we're hoping we'll all be fully recovered for when i go back to work next week and cayden goes back to nursery.
here's keeping our fingers crossed!
