Bella has been very ill recently. She came down with a fever very quickly on Saturday, and within a few hours was unable to keep anything down. This continued through Monday morning, when the vomiting finally stopped. The fever, however, persisted. We saw the doctor, who ran tests for strep, pneumonia, bladder infection, and urinary tract infection, all of which came back negative. On Tuesday, her fever hit 104'! On Wednesday, the doctor wanted to see her, and immediately sent her over to the hospital to get rehydrated with IV fluids. Mommy called Daddy, and her friend, Adrienne, to help her out. Adrienne came and got Bianca to go play with her daughter, Caleigh. Daddy came to the hospital with Mommy and Bella.
Bella is in her bed! The sides go all the way up when she is sleeping!
They put us in the pediatrics ward. The nurse came in and put numbing cream on Bella's left hand and right elbow to prep for the IV. Bella handled it so well! They took us into another room and laid her down on a bed. She held Mommy's hand (until mommy almost passed out) and daddy's hand and talked to us until it was over. She only cried a little bit, and was so good at holding still! We found out from her labs that she was severely dehydrated, and had an infection, so the doctor decided to keep her overnight. Mommy stayed with her, while Daddy took Bianca home to bed.
Bella started feeling better when she got some fluids and Tylenol. This is her and Bianca playing before bed on Wednesday night. Sign language for "Oh my!"
This is Bella on Thursday morning. Her face is swollen, and her lips are severely chapped.
The next morning, the doctor came in to see us. We all noticed that Bella's eyes and hands were swollen, and she had a little conjunctivitis in her eyes. The doctor thought that she may have Kawasaki Disease, but wanted to bring in an infectious disease doctor to be for sure. They did an echo cardiogram on Bella's heart because KD can cause swelling around the heart, and also involves inflammation of the blood vessels. The infectious disease doctor wanted to run a respiratory test to check for 6 different respiratory infections before beginning treatment. Most of the day she was laying around, watching t.v., and resting or napping. She was on Tylenol constantly, and IV fluids.
It's Friday, and we have not received any lab results back yet. Her swelling is down, and her fever is gone. She is acting more like herself, and playing more. She even walked to the bathroom! She ate a few bites of food today, which is more than she has had since Saturday.
Mommy and Bella are playing with the camera:)
Bella was very excited about some surprises she received today. Pastor Doug came by to see her and brought a book full of paper dolls and stickers! Very exciting! And, she received a delivery of balloons from Memaw and Pepaw! That put a big smile on her face!
We are waiting for results from the respiratory test, and to hear from the infectious disease doctor. We believe she may be going home today. We are praising our Lord for slowly but surely bringing her health back, and for doctors who do not want to give her unnecessary treatment! If she had not been tested for the respiratory infections, she may have received a transfusion that is probably unnecessary. Thank you Jesus for patience, and for bringing the correct medical care and guidance!
It is now 6 pm, and she has eaten supper! The respiratory test results showed positive for Adeno Virus. We get to go home! They cut off her IV at about 4:30, and she has had chocolate milk and apple juice to drink (her faves!), and ate a peanut butter sandwich for supper, plus chocolate pudding for dessert. We have the clear to go home, but must keep away from infants and other susceptible people for a bit. We will be sanitizing our house this weekend, and getting Bianca back from Nina and Papas!
