Saturday, October 20, 2007

Such a long hard week

The first part of the weekend was was normal. The boys and Baylee went to Burns to watch the High School Football game. Saturday afternoon Dallin complained that his ears were hurting. I gave him some Tylenol and told him if they were still bothering him on Monday I would run him to the Dr. That evening we sat in the front yard in sweatshirts and I watched the boys (Jared included) toss the football around. After in got dark we went in the house and I looked at Dallin. He just looked sick in his face. I told him to go take a shower and go to bed. He said he felt fine, but I insisted. I gave him a dose of Advil as he went to bed so that his ears would not start bothering him in the night.
Jared and I went to bed about midnight, and I took a dose of NyQuil.
Around 2am Dallin bursts into our bedroom holding his chest and saying he couldn't breathe. I ran up the stairs to get his albulterol (I just assumed he was having his first real asthma attack after having very mild asthma for years). Half way up the stairs I felt like I was going to throw up and pass out. I am sure it was a combo of being frightened and the NyQuil. I got back downstairs and handed the inhaler to Jared and laid on the bed with a trash can by my head. Dallin took this two puffs with lots of pain. We watched him for a couple minutes. He was in so much pain he couldn't calm down and couldn't sit still. It was then he said it was his right side, right under his ribs. Then we immediately thought appendicitis.
I went upstairs and got his slippers and a blanket and Jared carried him to the car. I woke up Joshua and had him come upstairs with the girls. Jared drove so fast to the hospital (25 miles away). I called them on the way.
We got there about 3am or so. It seemed to take forever to get him a bed even though the ER was empty.
They did his vitals and took blood. Then we started waiting. Around 5am a new Dr. came in and he ordered a chest X-ray. It was after looking at this X-ray it was discovered he had pneumonia in both of his lungs, but the worst was in his lower right lobe (thus making it appear like appendicitis).
And seriously when they said they were admitting him, I was surprised. I thought they would get his breathing under control and them send us home with some antibiotics.
We went to a normal room about 7am.
Joshua got the girls ready for church (he was such a huge help to us) and Dena and Toby took them to church.
Our neighbors the Sheltons called and Jared was so upset he couldn't talk to them. They showed up at the hospital the same time Uncle Dennis and Aunt Cheryl did. The 3 priesthood holders (Jared, Glenn and U. Dennis) gave Dallin a blessing.
Jared stayed the nights with Dallin and I went home and got the other kids in bed and up and off to school in the mornings. The girls stayed with the Sheltons or with Toby and Dena.
Tuesday night Jared went to Joshua's football game. Dallin was continually throwing up and in pain. I finally talked the Dr. into giving him another dose of anti nausea medicine through his IV and some tylenol with codeine. He slept for 2-3 hours and woke up Dallin again. He got better just as quickly as he got sick.
I was shocked when they let us take him home the next morning.
We have been trying to keep him still to no avail.
Yesterday we took him to his follow up appointment and I heard some very scary but revealing things from our family Dr.
He said that the Dr. in the emergency room that diagnosed him with pneumonia saved his life. When his blood count came back at 20,000 with no fever he said the doctors were thinking it was something different (which at the time I didn't think was odd because of the Advil) and I automatically thought he was going to say appendicitis. Then he said leukemia.
I am so glad that the Dr.s never told us that.
He now has a clean bill of health and will return to school on Monday.

Joshua Visiting his brother in the hospital.
Dallin and Jared watching football.



The Girls at the hospital.

3 comments:

{krista} said...

Holy Schmoo Lisa!!! I'm so glad they didn't tell you what they thought it was originally. That would be just horrible!!! What an awful week you had. I hope Dallin continues to recover. {{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}

Heidi said...

ACK! I'm glad you didn't have to sit around in the hospital thinking it was luekemia!! DANG!

So glad he's doing better! He's so cute AND WOW Joshua is a knock out!! What a gorgeous boy! (of course all your kids are cute, but he looks old enough for me to think he's absolutely adorable! LOL!)

Lucy said...

Lisa, that's scary. I remember hearing those words myself and thinking, "People died from this 50...100 years ago. Babies died all the time."

Aren't you glad for antibiotics? And X-Rays?

I'm so glad Dallin is o.k. He's a cutie.