We continue on the roller coaster that seems to be Davids hospital experience! After a night of little to no sleep and much pain, David finally was on his way to surgery about 3ish Monday afternoon. Dr. K had conferred with Shriners and they left the femur surgery in her hands. She asked if I wanted the invasive or non-invasive surgery. Non-invasive would be....sedating him and then manipulating the leg externally into position and then casting him. Invasive would be....actually cutting the leg open and putting a plate and screws where the break was. Upon asking more questions I found that the leg would likely be stronger and weight bearing much faster if we used the plate, so invasive it was.
The surgery waiting experience would have been very tedious if it wasn't for my little pregnant guardian angel from my nightmare ER migraine episode the other night. She brought me a phone charger (as mine had been forgotten in the rush of David screaming and EMS picking him up on Sunday) and she passed the time with me as we talked about everything under the sun. It was an amazing distraction. Finally a little over two hours later, Dr. K found me and told me that the surgery was over and David was in recovery. Apparently it was a blessing that we decided to go the invasive route as during the surgery she found that the bone was not as cleanly broken as the x-ray indicated. In fact the bone had been somehow crushed and parts were "crumbling like a cookie!" Still she was able to get the screws and plate in and she was confident they would hold. I on the other hand must have looked as if someone had punched me as Dr. K put her arm around me and said, "Don't you worry about this and don't you blame yourself. These things happen. You take excellent care of that boy and you are a great mom!" As nice as the words were, I was feeling far from Mother of the Year. This is the second major surgery on his legs where he breaks something during the recovery. Last time it was his ankle and this time his femur. I truly did feel like a horrid mom. After some brain storming though, we figured that he had likely caught or twisted his leg causing the original break and then me lifting his leg over and over again to change him probably gave him the crumbling bone. I felt horrible knowing that I could have had a part in causing him that kind of pain.
When all had settled down and we were back to the room after surgery, another friend came up to bring me supper. I was never so happy to see food....and good food too. She brought Freddy's with fries and fry sauce. David was sound asleep until he smelled those fries and heard the rustle of the bag. Then he sat straight up looking for fries. As we visited, Davids IV site blew and then another IV had to be placed. He was in no mood for this and it took 4 of us to hold him and ensure a pleasant time for all. Once again he was to prove not to be an easy stick. They would try and then fail. Then.... he suddenly had a seizure. It was one of his basic seizures except for the ending where he seemed to literally pass out in my arms. As his head hit my arm I realized his face was very hot. The same face that 5 minutes ago had been cool as a cucumber (blame my mother for that old adage!) After a quick temp we learned he was sitting at about 100. About that time.....in walks a resident. Now normally I like the residents and MD's on the floor but this guy acted as if this was his first day with a stethoscope. At first he said nothing and then after I told him what had happened he kept saying "Well ummm....well," all the while acting like a fidgety child. When he found his voice he asked what I thought was going on. I told him that I thought Davids temp caused the seizure. He then proceeded to tell me his temp was not high enough to do that. I then schooled Fidget Boy on the fact that it is not the degree of the temp but the sudden rise or fall that causes the seizure. I also told him that this was not my first time going through something such as this with David AND that David was not acting right. Again he said, "Well...um!" Having no patience for this, I said that I wanted Davids neurologist called immediately and that I wanted them to give David something for his temp ASAP before it climbed any higher. He apparently concurred with my course of action and got right on it. I told my friend that I want Fidget Boys pay for the evening (low as it may be as a resident) as I had just done his job for him!
Eventually a PICU nurse came to the rescue and found a good vein on David and an IV site was restored. None too soon, as the neurologist Dr. S, ordered IV seizure meds which I had to explain how they were to be given after past experience with the med and Davids blood pressure bottoming out. Davids temp continued to rise because of a delay in getting tylenol in him and my friend had to leave. She hadn't been gone five minutes when they took his temp and it had climbed to 103. I asked for ibuprofen to go with the tylenol he had already had. I was pretty well done with Fidget Boy by this time and he was pretty aware of it I am sure. He would walk in the room and just look at me. I ignored him and focused on David. This resident knew he was in over his head and he brought in the senior resident. I could tell that she was concerned as we had put ice bags on David and his fever was still climbing as well as the fact that he had thrown two more really scary seizures. She decided that it was time to move David to Pediatric ICU as David needed one on one nursing care. I was both scared and relieved about the transfer. Scared because you have to be pretty darn critical to end up in the PICU and relieved because I was done with Fidget Boy and his "Well....umm's!"
Once in the PICU, David was quickly stabilized and after awhile his temp seemed to break. Just as quickly as it had climbed to 103, it had fallen to 98.6. His skin was cool and clammy and his bed was soaked in sweat. He has not opened an eye since he finally went to sleep about midnight but he has whimpered from time to time, from pain no doubt. Not the ringing of his alarms when his breathing gets too shallow or the ventilator alarm across the hall have made him so much as flinch. The nurses have changed him, moved him and shined lights in his eyes and still he snores. Is he out of the woods? Maybe, but at this point I would not be so bold as to say so definitely. After all....once again he has shown me that definites don't exist, plans are for the foolish and bold statements of optimism are just a catalyst for an opposite if not equal action to occur.
Currently on paper, or should I say monitor....David looks good. His snores are short and shallow but he seems comfortable in between little whimpers of pain. The seizures seem to have ceased and his skin is cool to the touch. Perhaps another Hell Night is drawing to an end. Meanwhile I sit here typing, fearing sleep and realizing that regardless of all the times I have told you all to be prepared in case of a hospital run.....I wasn't. Along with forgetting my phone charger, I also forgot my toothbrush, hairbrush, sleep pants and house shoes. Sigh!
It is likely a given that we will spend another day at the House of Wesley. High fevers and seizures don't usually get you a confident dismissal. Chances are we will move back to the regular pediatric unit and then if David behaves, we might get to go home on Wednesday. No that is not me planning!!!! Maybe somewhere in the midst of it all, I will relax enough to sleep and perhaps then I will be nicer to the Fidget Boys of the hospital. But then again.......I doubt it!
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