Tag Archives: Emergency room

What a ride

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We didn’t make it to Florida this past weekend as Lily was too weak to travel. It wasn’t because of her tummy (which was the big concern last week at this time) but because she was battling a fever.

I got a call from school last Wednesday telling me that Lily had asked to go to the nurse. When the nurse took her temperature it was hovering around 100 degrees. Not too bad but the poor kid was feeling miserable. And she wanted to go home. So I rushed from work to get her.

By the time we got home, she was her normal, bubbly self. But over the course of the next 24+ hours, she would swing from feeling fine to just plain awful. At one point she had the shivers so bad that I had considered taking her to the ER. (Sidenote: high fevers can trigger seizures and as Lily is already prone to them, it was imperative to keep her fever regulated.)

On Friday (the day we were supposed to fly out) I took her to the doctor where we ruled out strep, the flu and UTI. Likely just a viral infection. I was hopeful that we could get to Florida on Saturday but when I checked her temperature that morning, it was not good.

So we’ve been home in NYC on this cold and blustery weekend. Cuddling up a storm, watching movies, and enjoying the visitors who have come to help out and cheer us both up.

This is the first morning in four days that she’s not been feverish. So tomorrow she goes to school. I’m still taking the day off work. I need some time to recuperate!

We are both so sad to have missed seeing our family in Florida. But I’m so grateful that we were only battling a regular kid issue. Kids get sick from time to time. And Lily handled it all with such grace. She’s amazing.

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An almost visit to the ER

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I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Rett Syndrome is no fucking joke. Even for a relatively healthy and high-functioning girl like Lily.

Even though her team of caregivers and I actively manage her food intake and output, she still gets terribly backed up from time to time. Last night, however, was exceptional. She was in so much pain and was trying so hard. None of my standby tricks worked.

It was a tough call to make – do we spend the night in the hospital or do we ride it out at home? I’m so grateful to have a plugged in network of Rett moms to turn to in moments like these. And also so grateful to have had Shamekia the nanny (soon to be nurse) on hand with me for much of it. Stephen was on standby. And John came over to drop off supplies from the pharmacy. I felt very supported. But also very scared. And helpless. It’s in moments like these that I wish I went to medical school. I made the right decision last night to stay home. But that might not always be the case.

Thankfully Lily woke this morning with a smile (we finally had some success unclogging her late last night). She’s the most resilient person I know. She’s my hero.

Passing out on me last night after a tough few hours.

A visit to the ER

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Rett Syndrome has robbed so much from my child already – her voice, her ability to use her hands purposefully, her ability to breathe normally, her independence. The latest: it’s been robbing her of her ability to pee.

With Rett Syndrome – everything, and I mean every function that the human body needs to thrive – has the capacity to fail.

Lily was feeling absolutely miserable last Sunday. She hadn’t peed in over 24 hours though her liquid intake was normal over this time period.  And I was hopeful that she had a UTI, as this could explain the urine retention, but alas the results came back negative.  So I guess we got one answer – it wasn’t a UTI.

So I turned to the Rett Syndrome family support group to see if they had any suggestions and one mom sent me to this article.  I remember hearing that some girls with Rett have trouble peeing from time to time, but I never knew the extent of how dangerous it could be.

Next step? Adding another specialist to the list – a pediatric urologist. And likely I will need to learn how to catheterize my sweetie. We can’t go to the ER every time she needs to pee.