Well, I have been out of touch because Skylar has been in and out of the hospital since Saint Patrick's Day (3/17). On that day, Skylar vomited than proceeded to scream in pain for almost an hour. She looked pale and was cold and clammy. I took her temperature 3 times and it was quite low (in the high 95s). I called my pediatrician and they told me to go to urgent care.
M was out of town so I called my Mom and she immediately drove to my house. We loaded Skylar up and headed to urgent care. She continued to cry. The wait there was almost 2 hours and Skylar would not nurse. She also had diarrhea. By the time we were seen she was very lethargic. The Dr thought she was ill and dehydrated and advised us to go to the ER for IV fluids. We headed to the hospital but stopped at home to change Skylar because she had soiled her clothes. At home she was limp. I changed her diaper and found bloody stools. I started to cry and headed to the ER.
We were seen promptly, the Skylar passed another very bloody stool and was almost unconscious. I really thought I would lose her. One of the nurses had watery eyes. They started an IV, took a chest X-ray and called the Children's Hospital. A transport team was sent. We spent 5 days and 4 nights at the hospital and underwent numerous tests. Everything was negative. We had no explanation. The Drs were, however, interested in her cyst. (Remember they found a cyst in utero?) She improved and they finally released us under the assumption she had an intestinal blockage that cleared. We were so happy to go home but nervous because the diagnosis was not clear.
5 days later Skylar started to have abdominal pain. Her stomach would grumble loudly and she would scream in pain. I called my pediatrician and they thought it was gas pains. They continued and I knew something was wrong. The pains started to occur every 5 - 20 minutes. Then they started to awaken Skylar from her sleep. I went to the pediatricians first thing in the morning. They sent me to the ER at the Children's hospital.
It seemed like they didn't take me seriously. But, at my insistence, they did an ultrasound and a CT scan. The CT scan showed that the cyst that they thought was ovarian was actually near her intestines and obstructing her small bowel. Her body was cramping to pass food through her intestines. They scheduled surgery for the next day. They removed a 2 inch cyst from her small intenstines as well as part of her small intestines. They said she was likely in pain for some time. (Poor thing -- no wonder she was fussy) We spent 7 nights in the hospital (it was hell -- there are no private rooms and I never left her.) But now she is recovering well, eating, and passing her food.
She has smiled more in the past 2 days than she ever has. I am exhausted but relieved. I love her so much! This ordeal proved it to me even more. I am so proud to be her mother. She is so brave, strong, and special. This experience made us a stronger family and I am blessed to have such a strong support network.
Now I must go and try to get my first night's sleep in 7 days! Wish me luck...
