G's first real illness:(

Oh poor G! We are back from Ohio, have been back since Wednesday night....we cam home early and are very thankful we did, bc G is not well!

After being in Ohio for only 3 days, G (and his cousins and aunt/uncle) came down with a nasty stomach virus...it was no fun! Everyone was miserable...Poor G was miserable, and trying so hard to feel better. It went away within a few days, and then he woke up with a horse voice...one right after another. This continued into a croup-like cough, and then a full blown upper respiratory virus...fevers and all.

I just felt so bad for him, as he was not feeling well, but wanting to, and I know everyone around him wanted him better too...so much fun stuff to do and see...but Gav was just not into a lot of it...wanted to be held, carried, and near me always. I just knew that something was not right...not at all. He still managed to have some fun with everyone, and of course he still smiles when he is feeling so sick:)

After being in Ohio for 7 days, Derek and I made the decision to have G and I come home after 9 days. Our original trip was almost 2 weeks, but G was so sick, and I was not feeling well too. The specialist from Kaiser ended up wanting to see me to discuss and assess what we would do for the pregnancy, so we thought there is too much we need to get done at home, so we got the PM flight out on Wednesday. I was so sad to be leaving a little early, but looking back we are so glad we did....as G got even more sick, and needed his medical care here (Since we have Kaiser, they do not cover any medical care outside the network...it would have been all out of pocket in Ohio:(

Once we got back, G seemed like he might be getting better, and then BAM. Fevers returned (He had them all week with the 2 viruses) and they were even higher. Its always hard to assess temp on G, as taking his axillary temperature is like absolute torture...but giving him ANY sort of medicine by mouth? He opens right up and will swallow ANYthing down! Go figure.

We took him to the pediatrician right away the morning we were home...and just figured it was a virus...but I knew that something was wrong...more than just a virus. I called the advice nurse 3 times that day and night and decided to take him back in the morning for a chest X-ray, as again, I just knew something was not right. Dr. Yen came in and told us that the x-ray was normal, but she would have to the radiologist read it to be sure...this is Friday afternoon. Never heard back from Dr. Yen or the radiologist.

Friday night all through the night G continues to have high fevers, and he is miserable. Again, we call Kaiser, and get a phone appt first thing int he AM. When I speak with this new MD he just restates that its probably just a virus, and to continue comfort care and meds...but again, I told him I think its more than that, and that I think something secondary is going on...he reassured me that these viruses take a "long time" to go away. I hung up upset yet again. Not 2 minutes passes, and he calls back. Hmm, What was going on. He told me that HE reviewed the chest x-ray, and it was in fact ABNORMAL. I guess since Dr. Yen is out for the weekend, she does not continue her medical care until Monday? Did she not look at the final results from the radiologist? Was she seriously going to make my baby wait all weekend with pneumonia??? I was extremely thankful that Dr. Yi (Dr. names so similar) caught this error, and then took care of it. He said that this would explain the continued fevers, especially for SO LONG. DUH PEOPLE I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR 3 DAYS! Of course, I just explained how thankful I was that he listened to me, and he told me that the only reason he went back through to review everything was because I kept telling him "something is just not right, and I am not comfortable" He agreed that this many days of fevers was not a typical finding of any respiratory viruses. So he called him Amoxicillin, and Derek went to get it right away.

We really hope that this is the answer. Poor G has spent the entire day with 103 fever, laying on my chest, and sleeping on and off. He has had a few spurts of energy in which he went outside and watered the garden, and blew bubbles. He tires so easily, and has slept about 6 hours today. He is breathing really fast, and his coughs seem painful. We REALLY hope that this antibiotic rids his poor lungs of this nasty virus!

Yet again, I will restate how thankful I will be to be RID OF KAISER in a month. I know that HMO's work for some people, but not me. Not when they miss a pneumonia...not in my child. Everyone always says that at Kaiser you have to "know how to work the system" and that is one thing I learned how to do, but I do not wish to do anymore...