Priya's Trip to the ER

Priya gave us a bit of a scare yesterday. She woke up around 4am and cried for me to come to her room. I thought it was your typical, "Mommy, I have to go potty" scenario. But when I got to her room she was crying more than normal. She then said, "Mommy, I spilled". I thought maybe she'd wet the bed or something (surprisingly she hasn't done this once since she's been potty trained). But I soon discovered that she'd thrown up in her bed. And the throwing up continued every 5-10 minutes for hours!

We called Priya's doctor as soon as his office was open and were told to watch closely, try to get liquids in her to keep her from getting dehydrated and to call back/go to the ER if she continued to throw up after 12 hours. It was a long day (with a lot of laundry) and Priya was unable to keep anything down. We watched her go from crying a little bit as she got sick, then bouncing back to her typical self in between episodes, to becoming increasingly lethargic and weak. We eventually called the doctor back and were encouraged to take her to the ER so off we went.

Fortunately the wait wasn't too long to get in to see a doctor - only about 30-45 minutes. Priya just snuggled in our laps while we waited. Then she was finally given a bed (and her monkey blanket Drewey came along too). I've wondered many times what she would be like in a hospital if she ever got sick. I imagined her crying and wanting to run around and not stay put. But she was very different from that. She just laid there, quietly studying her surroundings, sucking her thumb and sleeping on and off.
She was eventually given an IV so that she could be rehydrated and was given medication to stop the vomiting. They had to tape up her arm and put a brace on it to keep her from bending it. This process was quite scary for her. But once it was complete she was calm again. They proceeded to run a series of test including x-rays as well as blood and urine tests (the most painful for her).
After all the tests were done and 2 bags of IV fluids had been administered there were still concerned that she hadn't perked up or changed at all during her time there. They told us they were going to admit her and move her up to Pediatrics so that they could run more tests and continue to observe her. They were concerned about elevated white blood cell count and the possibility of appendicitis.
They did an ultrasound and after about an hour came back and told us that they'd changed their mind about admitting her. They had ruled out appendicitis and thought that she'd be more comfortable at home. They were still concerned but instructed us to return the next day for a follow-up appointment and possible further tests.

After 8 hours in the ER we were released and got home around 1am. Priya slept with us during the night and has remained either on our laps our in our arms for almost the entire day today. This morning we to take her to her pediatrician for her follow-up appt rather than take her back to the ER. She experienced a lot of poking and prodding yesterday at the ER which was tough on her and very scary. Her pediatrician was involved in her case via phone and we trust him a great deal with her care. We knew that she’d feel safer with him and that the appointment would be much shorter (ie. 30 min vs. 4 or so hours).

Priya has only thrown up 1x today which is a HUGE improvement from the 40-50 times that it happened yesterday. So that is a very good thing. She is very achy today, very weak, tired and has a fever. She wants to be held while awake and sleeping so we are taking turns snuggling with her and trying to comfort her. Her doctor thinks it’s probably just a really bad case of the flu/gastroenteritis and that the elevated white blood cell count was a result of the trauma/stress of throwing up so much yesterday. She is on a liquid diet and is expected to be back to her normal, cheerful, energetic self in about a week.

It's heart-wrenching to see your child in pain and so fragile. She is normally so full of life and enthusiasm. But we are thankful that her situaiton isn't more serious. She gave us a scare but God has been watching over her and we are so thankful for His protection.