Brock likes to shake things up!

My little boy was seizing Sunday evening, and required 2 doses of Diastat to stop the break through seizure. Since Diastat suppresses breathing, I took Brock to our local ER for monitoring. Biggest mistake right there. It took forever to get in and they just drew some blood, said he had an elevated white count, prescribed some Amoxicillin and provided some Oxygen.

I was feeling OK about that until about an hour into our ER visit, Brock started twitching/seizing again. No one was concerned! They said more Diastat was out of the question because of the respiratory issues....but HELLO! There are other meds! Instead, the nurse presented me with discharge papers! I was the one asking to stay longer! Total stay there was over 3 hrs and I realized the only thing Brock was getting was oxygen, I had to do something else.

On the drive home from the ER, I paged our pediatrician and she was floored that the ER discharged a seizing patient----especially one with Brock's complicated medical history! She suggested I call our neurologist and see who was on call. Great suggestion, right? Not exactly. I got this neuro that had such a thick accent I think it made my ear bleed trying to strain and listen to her. Her only suggestion was to take Brock home and "watch him....if his lips turn blue, you get him back to ER!" WHAT?????? I was almost flipping out at this point and it was after 10pm Sunday night....What were my options? It was ridiculous that I was dealing with this stupid stuff.

Since I was frazzled and also since I don't drive well at night, I sent Jason and my dad with Brock to OSF. It is about 90 miles away, but it is the Children's hospital of Peoria where the triplets were born. Thankfully, that is where we got some serious medical attention. This staff of course thought the other place was full of idiots to discharge Brock. The poor boy was having a mild seizure for about 3 hrs AFTER his initial seizure at home. It eventually stopped on its own, just minutes before arriving at OSF.

The workup here included a CT scan, EEG, and blood tests. All were OK for Brock. The elevated white count from the initial blood test must have been just from the seizure. (Chalk that up to learning something new! White counts can be elevated due to seizures, then if they drop to normal you basically rule out infection.)

They wanted to perform a spinal tap to rule out Menigitis, but we didn't deem that necessary. Too much pain for a long shot diagnosis. He doesn't show any signs of that type of infection......all his trouble is likely viral. (Thanks Avery for sharing with your lil bro)

Monday, Brock was doing a little better, but couldn't tolerate his feedings. We just were giving Pedialyte every so often. All was going well, and I was doing things MY way until the evening nurse showed up. I was trying to kill her with kindness, but ended up calling her the "enforcer" because she was such a rule follower! I didn't know we were still measuring I & O's (inputs/outputs) and threw a diaper in the trash......she flipped when I told her that and ended up digging through the garbage to get the diaper! She also is butting heads with me because she thinks I should have Brock up to his full feedings before he can be discharged. Her plan was to come in every 2 hrs last night and tube him a few ounces! NO WAY. I am doing a great job of hydrating Brock, but they need to realize that after a seizure his tummy is messed up! He vomits and can't have much for days. That is just Brock. I am not going to force feed him only to have him puke all over. Another thing is that Brock is bolus fed during the day and typically is sitting up. We don't feed him in his sleep, lying in bed. Grrr. I like the nurses that are there when you need them, but ultimately realize that MOM knows BEST!!!!!

I've said this ordeal is the epitome of irony because I was first in an ER where I did NOT want to leave, yet they discharged us. Then I was stuck in the hospital for 2 days and couldn't wait to bust OUT .

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UPDATE 3/11/09

I have great news to report that Brock is home. We finally got out of the hospital Tuesday, just before noon. What an ordeal. I have to think that Brock has some of the worst luck in the world......

When doctor's made rounds, we were discussing Brock's meds and what he would continue at home. Upon admission, Brock had inflammation and drainage from his left eye. The doctor's weren't convinced it was pink eye or just a symptom of something viral. Regardless, they were treating with eye drops just in case it was pink eye...... The recommendation was to continue the drops at home. I posed an innocent question as to why the drops at the hospital were white in color, but the ones at home I used for the girls were clear? The doctors simply said it was probably just a different manufacturer.

Little did I know that my question would uncover something major! About 30 min after rounds, the doctor came in and told me to discontinue the eye drops from the hospital and just use the ones I had at home. Why? THE ONES THEY WERE GIVING BROCK IN THE HOSPITAL WERE EAR DROPS NOT EYE DROPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so shocked when she told me that I said, "good thing Brock is already blind!" Not really something to joke about but that was such a stupid mistake!!!!! Doctor thought with the few doses that Brock received, any damage would be temporary. I Googled what could happen, and found that it can cause blurred vision and can be very painful. Apparently, it is a "common" mistake to confuse the 2. They are very similar in formulation, but OTIC means ear, and OPTIC means eye. One letter makes quite a difference. The hospital pharmacy is the one that made the error. When I finally got to look at the bottle it says : Do not use in the eye. Too bad more people can't read. :(

All this brings me to my point that it is great to be home!!!!! Brock had a restless night and was up a few times. Whatever sickness brought on his seizures is still hanging around. He is gradually getting better and I can get smiles every so often from my little guy. It is too early to see if he has lost any skills yet, but he is vocalizing some and acted like he could crawl still. He just needs to rest up and gain all of his strength back.

Thanks again to all our great friends and family that show such sincere concern for our family. It means so much to know people are praying for the B-man! I've had enough drama for awhile and would be content if our family didn't have any more sickness. I can only hope spring will arrive soon and bring great health for all. :)