adventures in the ER
yup, you read that right. we ended up being sent to the emergency room today for allie. 
we went to the clinic this morning where her doctor checked her over and said her ears were still pretty red and didn’t seem to be responding to the antibiotics we were giving her. another cause for concern was her drop in weight. at the clinic last week in florida, they weighed her and she was around 19 pounds. they weighed her again today and she was a little over 17 pounds. her doctor said that a 10% drop in weight especially in such a short period of time could mean she was losing nutrients and not just water. she weighed almost 17 pounds at her 6 month check-up and is due for her 9-month checkup next week, so i was worried. he also noted that her mouth was pretty dry and her saliva looked more sticky than normal. based on all of that, he decided to send us over to the emergency room at children’s hospital for an iv of fluids along with a dose of even stronger antibiotic through the iv.
so my dear friend lorie agreed to take mikey for the day since i didn’t know how long we’d be in the hospital. i called phil’s cell phone and left a frazzled message for him telling him where allie and i would be and to pick up mikey after he got off work.
after dropping off mikey, i headed over to the hospital. i managed to keep myself calm though i felt like bursting into tears. but i knew crying then wouldn’t help matters and for the moment, i had to get allie taken care of first. as i was driving, phil called me back and told me he left work since it sounded like allie was pretty sick. he met me at the hospital and i was so glad he was there because i wasn’t looking forward to handling the whole ordeal myself.
we got into a room in the ER and i kept asking phil if we were doing the right thing. allie was pretty sick, but i still wondered if we were overreacting. well, better to be safe than sorry, right?
so after going through allie’s whole history yet again (this is her first cold and it’s been a doozy!) they did decide to give her the iv and see if she’d perk up. she spent the whole day laying her head down on either my or phil’s shoulder. poor girl.
while we waited for the nurse to come with the iv, i lamented to phil that i didn’t have a camera with me. phil smiled as he pulled a camera out of his jacket pocket.
and so, we’ve got pictures!
resting her head on daddy’s shoulder…
just after getting hooked up to the iv. we had to help hold her down and try to comfort her as they had to poke her 3 times to find her little vein! 
poor girl was dehydrated as she was crying pretty hard but she wasn’t producing any tears.
she looked so small and helpless laying on the hospital bed.
i laid down next to her and only then did she close her eyes and sleep a little.
and to make matters worse, they had to poke her heel twice to retest her blood since her potassium level came back really high after the first blood tests. she was about cried out then and just whimpered miserably.
after all that, she never did perk up like they were hoping she would after the iv. so they gave us the option of either staying for the night or going home and returning to her clinic tomorrow. we opted to take her home since we knew she’d sleep better here. so it looks like we’ll be making yet another trip to the clinic tomorrow and hopefully today’s antibiotic will have helped heal her ears. according to the doctor, that’s the root problem so once we can get that treated, the other issues *should* also be resolved. i’m also a bit worried that my milk supply is going to diminish since allie’s gone so long without nursing regularly. so we’d still appreciate your continued prayers for her to get better soon!
13 Comments
joannaaaakim
poor allie! we will keep praying for her. good thing phil had a camera, ay? =)
ChristineSong
Oh no. How sad is that to see little Allie in the hospital with an IV on her! Joshua was hospitalized with an IV (they had a student doctor who had to try 3 times to put in the IV) overnight so I totally know how you feel about feeling like you’re going to burst into tears (which I did) and seeing your baby only sleeping when you lie down next to them. wah. I’ll be praying for her! God is near.
lschnell
Still praying! Thanks for the update…and pics (it’s funny how attached us xanga-users are to those cameras!). Hope your clinic visit goes well this morning and that there is HUGE progress in her recovery!
lschnell
Oh, and she’s still such a cutie pie even when she’s sick…poor, cute ‘Alliegirl’.
MominIreland
What an experience! Praying for her (and you!).
mrsstellalee
i can totally simpathize with allie…i was poked 3 times when getting my iv while in labor…the thought of that much pain put on such a tiny thing…wahhh! that was such a scary experience and you/phil handled it really well. hope and pray that today’s appointment goes well and that she is on the mend.
Sjohnson0107
Poor thing! I will be praying for her recovery.
ohmobile
poor little girl! we’ve been praying for her…give us an update soon.
Kavedissian
poor baby, she must have been REALLY dehydrated to have to be poked 3 times and the ER staff are usually the best. I have my mom praying for you all as well. *hugs*
kudos for the camera Phil!! now you can show miss allie what a scare she put you all through for her first Christmas.
cha_f4mily
oh michelle…it sounds emotionally draining. we’ll be praying for you guys. on a different note, you guys are intense…taking pictures and posting. thanks for sharing.
joeandtara
Wow. I can’t believe you’re tracking all this with a camera. I must say, we neglect to bring the camera often. Hunter says “Hello Mikey, we hope Allie gets better soon.”
We are indeed praying. Dakota was sick often her first two years, but it was related to tonsils and allergies. She had her tonsils out by 2 1/2 years. I have NO idea what it is like to not know what the problem is. We have been spared that ordeal thus far with our three kiddos. We have had ER visits with head and body trauma. The visits were to make sure there were no internal injuries, but I wasn’t overly concerned either due to lively attitudes while waiting to be seen!
So glad Phil was able to join you and comfort you. May the God of Heaven above bring you great comfort in your dealings with your precious gifts of life! BIG XXXXXXXOOOOOOOOO.
joesee22
Oh no!!! My thoughts and prayers go out to Allie and to the rest of the family. Phil is too sweet to remember to bring your camera. Please keep us updated!
greantea71
=(
sigh. the tsai family is the only family i know with a camera and a photojournal of family crises
^_^