Thursday, May 15, 2008

Back to the Hospital

Last night three different doctors tried their hand at jabbing my son's back with a needle before successfully extracting the spinal fluid necessary for a full work up after we brought him into the emergency room with a 102 degree fever.

Apparently, any fever in a newborn less than 8 weeks of age requires that needles be stuck willy nilly into limbs and torso while probes are inserted into each orifice. Additionally, there is a mandatory two day hospital stay in anticipation of the results. In our case, Topher is well on his way to sleeping through his first full day at the children's hospital due to the exhaustion wrought by five straight hours of night torture.

So far it looks like a urinary tract infection is the culprit. This kid is almost exactly like his father in every way, but here we are, three weeks in, and my son and I have found something we can commiserate about--a propensity for bladder infections. And to think, I would've been satisfied if we just shared the same blue eyes or even similarly large foreheads.

There may be more tests of the urinary tract once the definitive results come in, but now we wait. The little guy is sleepy and cute and hot in his hospital cage. Next to it is a cot with my name on it.

14 comments:

Amy said...

Oh dear. Wishing you all good health and plenty of rest.

Whirlwind said...

Oh Hugs! I hope everything turns out okay and it is just a UTI. Hopefully you'll be back home in your own beds soon!

Anonymous said...

As soon as you said UTI I had flash backs of college. Good health and good thoughts to your boy. Love you, Amy

Girlplustwo said...

ah. you write about this in a way that almost fools me into thinking you weren't going through a tremendously horrific experience.

i am sorry, sister. how scary.

Binkytowne said...

Oh no! We dodged this bullet many times, I'm sorry you wound up there and that Topher is being poked everywhere. I hope he feels better and you get some rest.

Jene said...

if it helps, keep in mind that he will never remember this! love you!

Chicky Chicky Baby said...

The poor guy! Thinking of you all.

Heather said...

Yikes! It stinks to see a baby in pain anyway, let alone your newborn!

Anonymous said...

They were just jealous of the triplets and wanted the full hospital experience!! So sorry you had to go through that - at least he is in good hands and everything is going to be fine.

Anonymous said...

Oh man, Binky. :(

Jerri Ann said...

We did this, at a teaching school with a resident sticking my baby Jace. Ours was apparently only viral but I thought I would die when they were poking him. Painful!

iheartchocolate said...

This is HORRIBLE. I am so sorry for your little baby. I would die if I had to stick a baby, you must have been so worried.

I hope it is simple and quick to fix. I hate you are going through it regardless. Kiss his little forehead for me.

Anonymous said...

Oh my...I have a 4 month old (nearly 5 month old) at home and when he was about 8 weeks, he had a 101 fever that prompted a 2AM trip to the Emergency Room - it's not a fun thing. At one point I had to leave the room because I couldn't bear to watch them do one test on him. I hope that you are all doing better soon!

Christina said...

Poor little guy.

My second had to go through the same thing - including spinal tap - when she had a fever before 8 weeks old. They gave her an IV and did a urinary catheter and made her miserable.

The end result: a cold. Ugh.

Hope he's all better soon.