Turner and Meningitis

waiting in the ER for results

in the ambulance on the way to Spokane

this was a rough day, the IV infiltrated and we had to find a new spot

Tuesday September 27^th the kids and I had checkups. Reece had been sick on and off for the past 2 weeks and I had been having issues with my bladder and kidneys. Turner was doing well and growing. All went well at the Dr’s and the kids got there shots and I was scheduled an appointment to see a Urologist later in the week. The kids and I went home and settled down for naps. Reece ran a slight fever and Turner was extremely sleepy. The rest of the day went well and we had a good night of sleeping. Turner woke up around 6am to eat and then feel asleep around 7:30. He seemed fine until around 9am when he woke up to eat. He was really fussy while feeding and didn’t have much interest in eating. He would cry while I was nursing him and every time he moved or I would touch him he would cry. It was like he was in pain, at the time I didn’t realize or understand what was going on. It was after I finished feeding him, he was acting fussy again and it wasn’t his normal fussy. He was irritable and his crying changed, it was like he was in pain. After about 30 minutes of holding him while he fell asleep I put him down and he cried again. He never really woke up during this; I didn’t understand what was wrong but new he something was going on, I keep telling my mom he is acting funny.

Between my mom and me holding him he never got comfortable or acted content. I tried to give him some formula but he didn’t want it. It was around 11:15am I was feeding Reece some lunch, my mom was holding Turner, I decided to try and feed him again. I went to pick him up and he felt VERY hot. I was alarmed because the past 2 weeks Reece had been running fevers on and off. So a paranoid mother I am with temperature I took his temp in the arm. When the thermometer read 101 I was alarmed. I then went down stairs and took a rectal temp which was 101.9. I then called the nurse hotline for the clinic and was told I should take him into the ER. My mom rushed me to the ER and we waited. They ran test after test. First blood work, then a chest x-ray, IV and fluids, they talked about doing a spinal-tap but started him on antibiotics while we waited. Because he had got his shots the day before they were debating if this was a reaction to the shots. The Dr told us a temp this high in a newborn spelled “infection”. This poor little guy cried and cried so much his eyes were puffy. I was surprisingly holding myself pretty well, as a mother you kind of have to. I was so worried b/c he was so lethargic and wouldn’t eat or wake up. He looked very sick and I just hoped they would find out something.

It was about 2 hours later his temp was 101.7. the Dr told us they were going to admit him but we are still waiting on results. They called the Dr on-call and he insisted on doing the spinal-tap. But before they got around to it they had started antibiotics. We had about 2 hours of antibiotics in before they ran the spinal-tap. The ER Dr came out and said the procedure went well and the spinal fluid looked good so they were hopeful. I don’t remember how long we waited for the results but he came in and stated “your son has Meningitis which is a life threatening infection”.

We then decided to be transferred to Sacred Heart Children’s hospital in Spokane. It was about 30 minutes later and we were off in the ambulance. Turner woke up slightly while I put him in his car seat and was asleep once we were off. The ride in the back was HORRIBLE and long. We made it to the hospital ER where we were admitted. The nurses were waiting for us and took us right in. About 2 minutes later the ER Dr. came into the room and talked to me about what was going to happen and asked me to explain everything from the start. He was very thorough and intent, he explained everything to me in great detail and I felt we were in good hands.

Clinton arrived shortly after and we spent about an hour in the ER and then were sent up to our room. We got to our room and got settled in and situated and by 12:00am I was able to get a few hours of sleep. The first night was a little rough and we had a very early start. Turner ran a fever all night and was very uncomfortable. I did my best to not move him because every time he moved he would cry in pain. He was still very lethargic and uncomfortable it was heartbreaking.

The attending Dr came in and talked to us that morning and again asked me to explain everything in detail. He talked to us about Meningitis and the risks, the tests we were waiting for and what to expect. Meningitis is an infection in the spinal column and brain. If you get the bacterial kind it is very serious and can cause brain damage, hearing loss and even death. This was stuff I knew but it was still not easy to hear. From the lab results that were ran on the spinal fluid it was 100% he had meningitis but weather it was bacterial or viral we would not know until the culture was back. The only issue we had was Turner got 2 hours of antibiotics before they did the spinal-tap which could skew the results. So we talked about what would happen if everything came back negative. The Dr had the lab run Enterovirus culture which would determine if the infection was viral. If all came back negative then we would have to determine that the antibiotics had already stated killing the bacteria and we would be staying in the hospital for a while. So for 4 days we waited for the results to come back.

Saturday morning the Dr came to talk to us and informed us we could likely be staying for the weekend, but we might get a surprise and get the results early. We planned for the long stay and my mom and dad brought us a few more clothes and things. While I was at Costco with my parents and Reece the Dr had come back with good news, the culture was positive for a virus and we could go home. Having viral meningitis is miserable but it has 100% recovery. So we quickly got back to the hospital packed our things and headed home.

Turner was such a tough little boy, just 6 weeks old and he has gone through a lot in his short life. We are home and on the road to recovery, it could be another week before he is at 100% but he is already showing signs of improvement. I’m just glad that I can move him without him crying in pain. We had many family and friends praying for Turner and our family and we know that they were indeed answered. The Dr’s and all the people involved in his care were defiantly guided.

home and feeling good

nap time with daddy