Thursday, December 8, 2011

It was no chickenpox

We had some week. Remember I said Oliver was sent home from the crèche as they suspected he had chickepox? Well, I wasn't so sure it was as the little spots were very few and only on his legs (just a couple on is arms) and didn't really develop and weren't itchy either. But Oliver was miserable. By the time I came home from the trip to Spain he was waking up every couple of hours and crying in his sleep. On sunday he had spiked a fever which came down with ibuprofen but then on monday he had stopped eating and drinking. The spots had already crusted over by then and I was really worried he was dehydrated. We called our doctor and went in right away. He still had a temperature  when we got there and she was concerned about his cough as his chest didn't sound right. She looked at the spots, eliminated chickenpox almost immediately, but the combination of these spots, plus the fever and now lack of appetite and cough was a first class ticked to the pead A&E. Off we went we our precious cargo to the hospital. He looked so so small in the normal size bed and was really tired so the paed had no problem in checking him out.


She confirmed the chest sounded a bit crackly and sent us for X-ray. Thankfully the chest x-ray was not particularly concerning and she was happy to send us home with oral antibiotic. While there we were able to feed him a bottle and some pureed veg, and liked the antibiotic.


On tuesday he seemed a bit better, but still very tired and eating and drinking a little more (remember that this child is voracious when he's well, so it's a huge difference!). Night-time was still a struggle and Mike and I had agreed some sort of shifts depending on who was staying at home in the morning and who was going to work. Then yesterday morning I really didn't think he had improved much, plus the antibiotic are upsetting his tummy so the fear of dehydration had not really gone away. I called the doctor and he said it was probably that he had to replenish his fluids, to try and push them on him and he should get better quickly. Certainly the fever was gone and the appetite was slowly coming back. Yesterday afternoon he slept 3 hours very peacefully (not waking up crying or coughing) and last night he slept 14 hours! This morning he was back to be a happy curious little boy and he's in much better form. I still think he's not peeing much but at least he's not vomiting anymore (the cough would get him to bring up anything he had just eaten or drunk), so I'm hopeful he's on the road to recovery!

8 comments:

Flower said...

Oh bless his heart. Hopes he contines to get better!

Life Happens said...

I'm SO glad he is feeling better. I just read your post on your trip, unbelievable!!! I'm glad the kindness of strangers were able to help you in that situation.

I hope Oliver continues to feel better. He really looked so small on that hospital stretcher.

Adele said...

Fran, it sounds very, very scary. I'm glad it wasn't chicken pox, but it still sounds really terrible. And I'm especially glad that Oliver is on the mend. Poor thing - he was probably worn out from being so sick to sleep so long. And I've just been catching up on your posts (a few sleepless nights around here) - I can't believe your experience in Barcelona:( That's terrible. I know Barcelona is known for pickpockets and, therefore, honestly, you'd expect police and interpreters to be especially sensitive when dealing with people who've had this happen to them. The description of the interpreter had me really shaking my head.

Anyway, I'm glad you're back safely and that O is safely through the worst. (And your attic is GORGEOUS, by the way...well worth it, I'm guessing).

BB said...

So glad he is feeling better! When such tine ones get sick, its no fun... we have been having constant rounds of sickness... I am so ready for some better weather already here!

Lots of XOX to the big boy!

lostintranslation said...

It's always so hard when our little ones are sick, and if trips to the hospital are included, oh my... Glad he's feeling better though. Did the doctors give a name to what he had...?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like he's on the mend. Good luck over the next couple of days!

Mad Hatter said...

Gosh, what was it? It sounds awful! Thank goodness he is doing better...here's hoping he's back to his old self so he (and you) can enjoy the holidays!
Love,
Maddy

Anonymous said...

Poor little darling! You all handled it bravely and I'm so glad to hear Oliver is improving. That pic of him in the bed just broke my heart! But did they ever determine any cause?