Since day 3 of the tonsilectomy recovery, B has had a cough. A bad, hacking, choking cough. 30 coughs in a row cough. Waxing and waning over the last few weeks. I've talked to Otolaryngology three times. No help. Not related. I've brought him into the primary care office urgent Saturday clinic twice. The last time, they gave him an inhaler that seemed to help. His cough was back with a vengence last week. Daycare called me to pick him early early on Tuesday (15) because he was vomiting. They thought it was due to coughing rather than an infective process and allowed him to come back the next day. The next day, he had thrown up three times while coughing and had me pick him up by 10:00. I called his primary care office and there was an appointment with his primary care MD in 30 min. did I want it? YES! I picked him up and he was a bit clingy. He ate a few goldfish and drank some water in the waiting room. When we were called back we read a Highlights magazine and he had fallen asleep on my lap. He lay on my lap and I noticed he was breathing fast. His doctor came in and listened to his respirations (double normal), his heart rate was very fast, he was lethargic and non alert. She stood him up (while sleeping) to see what his heart rate would do. He turned gray and vomited all over the floor. Without opening his eyes. She laid him flat on my lap and he was very pale. The MD told me he had to go to the ER now. By ambulance.
This was very alarming. She called for help, they picked his finger to check his glucose and got Oxygen on him. His blood pressure was low. The paramedics showed up and were very nice. They went out and got his carseat from his car (they don't have restraints that small?) and loaded him. He was fairly out of it. After that, we waited in the parking lot while they tried twice to get an IV in. Of course he screamed. The driver didn't use the siren or lights or anything. Riding in an ambulance is scary and bumpy. (disclaimer: I've been an ambulance once before, about 20 years ago after a car accident). The paramedic in the back was very nice.
We got to the ER, and they gave him more fluids, and all the usual things. He lay there like a wet rag. He had a chest X-ray, abdominal Xrays, a nasal swab. The diagnosis was appendicitis, pneumonia, or whooping cough. Chest X-rays were negative, abdominal Xrays were negative. During this time, I had NO phone battery left. Just enough to call Paul and tell him to come up later, when the decision was made to keep him or not. SO ANNOYING! While he slept, I finally ran out to the adjacent (crowded) cafeteria and grabbed a Diet Coke and some chips. They didn't have a single thing a CELIAC could eat. B drank juice and milk during this time, but just lay there pathetically. He finally spiked 102 fever so they gave him Tylenol. They gave him a breathing treatment which they absolutely hated, but helped a lot. P came up about 6:00 and brought me some food (YAY!), a phone charger and the IPAD which B was thrilled about. They were supposed to bump us up to the floor, but then ended up keeping us all night in the ER. It was a rough night with about 4 hours of broken sleep. They came back and told us that his nasal swab was positive for enterovirus/rhinovirus complex. Probably picked it up i the hospital after tonsillectomy.
They let us go home about 6:30 am. P was busy getting V ready for school and he had a doctor's apt so they could pick us up until around 9:00. I wasn't waiting that long, so we took a long taxi ride home. And then I missed the rest of the week of work.
He still has a bad cough.
