Friday, January 23, 2009

First trip to the ER

So, here's an update on the last few days. Very tense but hopefully we're on our way to improvement!

I suppose it started right around the holidays - Colin got a nasty cold that he just couldn't shake. Last week, the daycare called and said his cough was really bad and that we needed to take him back to the dr. So... last week we went back to the pediatrician and he got an antibiotic and a steroid. Note to parents - if you can stay away from steroids - do it! One of the side effects is "psychosis" so my nursing student friend tells me and Colin was WILD while on it!

The bottle it came in said side effects - sleeplessness and increased appetite. Talk about the understatement of the year - J and I have not slept for a week and I've had to introduce formula because I couldn't keep up with his insatiable hunger! The steroid was INSANE. However - the cough began to clear up and so we figured we were home free...

Yesterday we woke up and Colin's soft spot was bulging out of his head - we completely freaked. Mostly because it indicates swelling in his skull and obviously around his brain. We packed up and headed for the emergency room after a few calls around to family for advice.

The ER at Christ / Hope was fantastic - they actually have a pediatric ER so just for kids! The Dr. said they didn't feel it was meningitis because he was still acting pretty fiesty (not lethargic) and it wasn't so bulged that you couldn't push it in a bit (yeah... gross). They discharged us and said to watch him closely and bring him to the pediatrician the next day.

Off to the Dr. again today and he believes that the "intra cranial swelling" is a side effect of the steroid that he was on. We need to keep watching it and if it doesn't go down in a few days, Colin will have an ultrasound done on his head.

Needless to say - we were pretty terrified but feel confident that the dr.'s that have seen him are not too worried yet. Keep Colin in your prayers and we will definitely post again once his condition changes (hopefully for the better!!!)

5 comments:

Amber said...

How incredibly scary! I'll be praying for continued recovery

Toby and Laura said...

How scary! I hope Colin is feeling better!

Unknown said...

Oh no! The poor little guy (and poor mom and dad too!!) - I hope you all are feeling better soon!

jen heemstra said...

Hey, we just heard about this from Mom yesterday. How frightening! We're praying for you guys that Colin gets back to full health soon and that you can get some rest. We miss you!

Melissa said...

We're praying for all of you...hope Colin's doing better soon.