Not So Fast

Ben wrote:

Fin had a great nine days at home. But it became clear on Wednesday night that he just wasn't himself. His heart rate was elevated and his fever spiked. He wasn't smiling. We tried to get him to see his pediatrician, but when his fever went higher, we opted for the emergency department. Sure enough, he was admitted to the Pediatric ICU and put through a battery of tests. He got a fluid bolus and loved that... his fever went away and his temp came down. He looked happy and we thought maybe he was just dehydrated. But it turned out that his IV line for his TPN fluid had an infection. Not surprising. That's one of the reasons they don't like to send patients home with an IV. Anything, even under the most careful watch and ideal conditions, can set off a line infection. So, they treated him with antibiotics and he responded and it looked like smooth sailing.

But this is Fin. Shortly after moving him out of the PICU, he started coughing. I don't want to point fingers, but, let's face it, I don't have enough fingers to point at everyone with a cough, and one would have to be going in my direction, too. So on top of his emergent condition, it now appears he has some kind of virus. Good news is it's not slowing down his progress on his feeds and the doctors are still pushing him toward the door. We should be out of there soon, depending on what shows up in his swabs. It could be a cold, flu, residual RSV, something bacterial, none of the above, or something totally different. We will wait and see, but I'm glad that in the midst of this, his sweet little smile has come back.

And, tests are in. No RSV, no Flu, no viruses. He simply has a cough. They'll give him a couple more days of antibiotics, and then, home!