unplug me!...

These past few days/weeks have been quite the adventure in our household. It all started on a Friday afternoon with one BIG poop. I know, TMI but it's the truth! I'm truly sorry to be so graphic but that was the last time we saw a normal BM from Brendan. You see after that poop we were visited by the diarrhea monster. He was unfriendly, mean & downright DISGUSTING! Everything went downhill from there. Bren started with a low grade fever & decided he did not want to eat but the good stuff began on Sunday. Yes the vomit began! Fortunately for me I was at work so Daddy had to clean up both poop & vomit! (Remember we made a pact LONG ago that I was poop & he was vomit! He was NOT happy!) A call to the Pediatrician was in order & by dinnertime it was determined he needed to go to the ER ASAP! So my dinner break turned into sick leave & off we went to the ER! His fever went from low grade to over 103 (YIKES!) & we was VERY dehydrated! They started him on fluids right away. Getting fluids means an IV which he was NOT happy about in the least! Besides the IV they needed blood work. Again he was NOT happy! I think they tested him for EVERY virus there was & they all came back negative! We really thought it was rotovirus by the way his poop stunk! P U! By the end of the evening they decided to admit him because his infection level was high & his sodium level was really low. So off to the PICU we went. I was NOT prepared to be staying overnight.



The nurses were nice & took good care of Bren but my bed was NOT comfy in the least!! I think I got 4 hours sleep cumulatively & then I was awoken by a resident to answer a questionaire! Let's just say it was a ROUGH night! I think we went through about 8 diapers overnight. The poor kid had the runs & if there was a drop of it he wanted that diaper OFF! He still had issues drinking (vomited again) & eating so the IV remained PLUS he had a high fever yet again. They decided he needed to stay over another night so Michael swapped places with me. I went back to Grandma's & he stayed there with Bren. By this time they moved him from the PICU to Ped's where his room had 2 comfy bed's, one for Bren & one for Daddy. Where was that bed when I needed it?! LOL! Taking care of the girls was no piece of cake because as many already know having an odd numbered amount of kids makes things VERY hectic! Someone is ALWAYS ticking someone off & girls love DRAMA! I wanted to swap back with Daddy but of course he knew a good deal when he saw one & stayed!! =] Brendan's ER visit turned into a 3 day hospital stay! He went from having the runs & not drinking, to drinking some Gatorade to eating off the BRAT diet which then turned into an AG diet. He was FINALLY freed two weeks ago this Wednesday & they granted his wish to...

unplug me!...

We interrupt this vacation with an emergency surgery...

Once we arrived back in GA that's when the real fun began! We had by now already decided to stay an extra night & then leave for FL on Wed. We would leave early in the morning & get home by dinner at least that was the plan. If you have read any of my previous posts about this vacation you would know that even the best laid plans have flaws & we were about to encounter a BIG one! You see those plans were thrown out the window when I woke up Tuesday morning in EXCRUCIATING pain! I had such pain that I needed to be taken to the hospital! I cannot really describe it other than I really felt like I was either having a heart attack or dying! I had BAD chest/abdominal pain, cold sweats, nausea, the whole shebang! My hubby took one look at me & said you need to go to the emergency room! So he woke up my niece Katie & she took me to to the closest facility, Gwinnett County Medical Center. I must say if I had to go to an emergency room I was glad it was there. They treated me great & the people were VERY friendly. I would totally recommend their facility to anyone needing assistance in Atlanta! Once I was seen they determined that I had a fever so they pumped me with antibiotics. Then they gave me some good meds for my pain. Oh did I feel good after that! After a few tests of my Appendix & Gallbladder this nice, rather TALL Doctor came in & basically told me...



We interrupt this vacation with an emergency surgery...

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Nursemaid's elbow

Ok, I have to admit that before children I NEVER heard about or knew what Nursemaid's elbow meant. I can now say that I am sort of an expert on it! My Camryn has now been to the ER twice due to this ailment. This time it was my 5 year old niece trying to help her back up on Grandma's bed that possibly caused it. Camryn can be VERY dramatic & of course she ONLY wants her mommy. So, once I got home from work my niece Katie, Camryn & I were off to the ER. I was not looking forward to the wait but I needed to make sure we made the right diagnosis. This time she would not move her right arm at all. In the waiting room she was pretty good but still cradled her arm. I think she was more afraid of feeling the pain she had earlier so she kept it still. We tried EVERYTHING to get her mind off it. She would stare at all the other patients waiting to be seen, even give a smile now & then but once we touched her arm she would cry. I decided we needed to stay & get a doctors opinion. After waiting about 2 hours her name was FINALLY called. They took us back into the "minor" care section. Dr. Finegold took very good care of her. He ordered some X-Rays & gave her some ibuprofen. She continued to be one WHINY girl. It was now 9pm & Cam Cam was getting VERY tired too! We changed her into her PJ's & waited for the results. FINALLY, no breaks, nothing! She just had...


Nursemaid's elbow...

a trip to the ER...

It was a CRAZY morning. The babies were all over the place when Camryn started sobbing. This is unusual for even her. She kept grabbing her left arm and wanted to be held. I checked her ALL over & could not find any swelling or most importantly blood. We could not figure out what had happened to her. After about 20 minutes of hearing her cry I decided I better seek some medical advice. I called the Pediatrician's office & they told me to go to an Urgent Medical Care or ER. I then called Michael to tell him that he needed to leave work & come to Grandma's to care for the other three. Luckily Uncle Bob was nearby so he came and watched them until Daddy got here. As I put her in her car seat she cried so I knew that she was hurt in some way. I decided to take her to an Urgent Medical Care near my work they seem to have a shorter wait time than a hospital. As I am driving I realize that I did not have her insurance card. Uh Oh! I better call Humana to get her card # since I did not know each babies ID #. After TOO much discussion the insurance lady had me in tears saying that they would not cover our visit there since they were not on the provider list. What is that!!? I was SO upset!! I called Michael, who was now on his way to Grandma's, and he said to take her to Holy Cross. So I was now headed there. Mind you Miss Camryn was now only fussing a little. We decided it was better to be safe than sorry so off I went. After filling out some forms and explaining about her insurance card, etc. we were waited for about 45 minutes to be seen. I do not like hospital ER's. There is TOO many sick people with G-E-R-M-S! As the time passed she got better & better. You would never know her arm even hurt her! Little stinker! I just think she wanted some "mommy time"! The Dr finally came in & checked her out. After checking a few things he determined that she had what they call a "nursemaid's elbow". It is a pediatric version of a dislocated elbow. It already went back into place by the time we were seen in the ER. He said it is VERY common with children especially under the age of 3 and gave us paperwork on it. $50.00 later she is fine, jumping around and being a normal 20 month old! I do feel better having a Dr tell me that everything was ok. However I could have not used...

a trip to the ER....