Day 3 at the hospital with orbital celluliits
Sunday, February 19
Aspen had worn herself out, running around with her cousins, and came to lay by me where I was talking with the adults. I noticed that her left eye was a little puffy before she fell asleep on the big stuffed dog at Adam’s mom’s house. We had come for Sunday dinner but it was apparent Aspen wasn’t feeling her best and so we took her home and put her to bed. She hadn’t felt well enough to go to church that day but all the resting she did must have given her a little energy to play at Grandma’s, although it didn’t last long.
The Thursday before she had began complaining that her left cheek was hurting a little. Saturday it was hurting more but not enough to keep her down. She and Bentley had received some coupon invitations with their valentines to go try hockey for free. Aspen might as well have received a personal hand-written invitation; she really wanted to go! So Adam took the two girls and they had a great time.
Monday, February 20
Monday morning Aspen slept in until 9:00. When she woke up her eye was a little more swollen. It was President's Day, Monday, February 20th, and Adam was off of work. Aspen spent the day on the couch. She came down with a fever and we watched her eye get progressively more and more swollen as the day went on. I was on the phone with the nurse twice, trying to decide what could be causing Aspen's eye to swell and if we needed to take her in to be seen. The nurse mentioned something called periorbital cellulitis. What was that? I couldn’t even understand the words she was speaking. What a mouthful! By evening her eye was almost swollen shut. We continued to give her ibuprofen to lower her fever and keep her more comfortable, and made an appointment to take her in to see the doctor the next morning.
Tuesday, February 21
When Aspen woke up the next morning her eye didn’t look any better. She was crying softly and said her eye hurt. My mom came to be with the other kids while I took Aspen to see the pediatrician. As we pulled out Aspen asked if she was going to have to get a shot, her worst fear. I told her I really didn't think so. I imagined the doctor would prescribe an antibiotic and send us on our way. After researching periorbital cellulitis online, it seemed that’s what she had. It was a bacterial infection. The week before she had broken out with 5 or 6 little sores just below her nose. They had almost all cleared. Just the biggest one remained. I wondered if the sores had also been some type of bacterial infection and if the two were connected to each other or to the strep that had been going around our house. Colter had anal-strep (yuck), and Adam and my mom both had step throat. Dahlia had recently been in for an ear infection, so we had her covered with an antibiotic as well. We were familiar with the routine of going the doctor and leaving with a prescription for amoxicillin, except for Adam who was allergic. Aspen had been the very first one sick, a couple weeks earlier with a sore throat. I never took her in to get a throat culture because it was so mild. Who knows if she actually had strep throat and if it was connected to what was going in with her eye. I’m cautious to put my kids on antibiotics unless they need then, but I couldn’t help but think if she had been on antibiotics, whether or not she had strep, it would have taken care of the infection in her eye, and she would be well. Looking in hindsight wasn’t very productive. We just needed to get Aspen better.
We saw Dr. Johnson. Our regular pediatrician, Dr. Cox was out for the day. After looking over Aspen, he confirmed that she did indeed have periorbital cellulitis. Instead of just sending us on our way with a prescription for amoxicillin though, he said we would need to admit her at the hospital to get IV antibiotics. He said she would also get a CT scan there to make sure she didn't have orbital cellulitis, which is deeper in the eye and more serious. I was a little shocked that our next destination was the hospital! But we needed to take care of our girl.
When the doctor left the room to go call the hospital to tell them we were coming, I broke the news to Aspen that she would have to get poked. She didn't know what an IV was, so I had to explain. She started to cry and I held her. I'm not sure if that was the best time to tell her or if I should have waited, but I wanted to prepare her. During our drive I tried to help Aspen think of things at the hospital she could be excited for. I told her she would be able to order food and watch movies. She asked if Bentley, Colter, and Dahlia could come visit her and if she could get presents to give them when they came. How cute is that! She was sick and scared of what was to come at the hospital, but was thinking of presents for her siblings. She must associate the hospital with presents because each time a baby has been born in our family, the kids have given the new baby a gift and received one as well. She was very concerned about how she would be able to get them gifts while she was stuck at the hospital. She began to devise a plan for Adam to go to the store to get them something. I wasn't sure we would be at the hospital long enough for visitors but I told her we could at least bring home a souvenir for them.
We stopped at McDonalds to pick up some lunch for Aspen and then after making a detour at home to feed Dahlia, we arrived at the Riverton Hospital. We checked in and met Aspen’s nurses, and started watching High School Musical 3 just before Adam arrived. He had left work early to come be with Aspen.
A lady named Christina came to teach Aspen about the IV. She gave her a cloth doll dressed in a hospital gown that Aspen was able to draw a face on with some markers. Then Christina showed Aspen the needle, the tiny plastic tube that would stay in her vein, and the tape to keep everything in place. Then she let Aspen help give the doll an IV so she would understand exactly how things would go when it was her turn. Christina had a tub full of toys and things to help keep Aspen distracted, and asked her to choose something. She decided on a Barbie mix and match book. She tried so hard to focus on the book and breathed deeply while Christina showed her a funny winding toy. The nurses did a good job not taking too long and only having to poke her once. Aspen was so brave. After it was all over Christina brought Tinkerbell and Littlest Pet Shop toys for Aspen to play with. She was in heaven.
Now that the IV was in, Aspen could start on her antibiotics and start getting better. She still needed to get a CT scan, when radiology could take her, to see exactly where in her eye the infection was. I wanted to be there for the scan but needed to get home to feed the baby. The nurse said it would most likely be another couple of hours before radiology could take her, so I left Adam to take care if our little girl, and told him I would try to be back in time for the scan but not to wait for me. She received the scan around 4:30. I didn't make it back but Adam sent me pictures from his phone. Adam called a little later with the results. Aspen had orbital cellulitis, not periorbital cellulitis, and she was being transferred to Primary Children's Hospital where they had an ophthalmologist and an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat doctor) on hand. The infection was deeper in her eye and they wanted her to be more closely watched by specialists.
Adam would be spending the night with Aspen but had come straight from work but, so I packed up a few things for him, loaded Dahlia up in the car, and drove back to the hospital. Aspen was bouncing around and in great spirits when I picked up her and Adam. It was too bad Riverton Hospital didn't have the specialists on hand, because it was only 5 minutes from our house. Transferring Aspen to Primary's added 25 minutes to our commute. Of course we would have traveled half way across the world to get her better, but with additional kids to take care of, including a nursing baby, it would have been nice to be closer to home.
Aspen was asleep when we arrived. We got her checked in, again, ordered her some food, and saw doctor after doctor. They each asked for the "story" of how Aspen's eye came to be swollen shut as well as her health history, and her family health history. The ophthalmologist came in and did all sorts of examinations and tests on Aspen's eye. The big question was if Aspen would need surgery to drain the infection behind her eye. They wouldn't decide that until morning though. We finished seeing all the doctors by about midnight. Aspen would continue with IV antibiotics tomorrow but was to receive nose sprays every 15 minutes for the first hour, followed by once every hour throughout the night. I stayed for her to get her first set, and then left her cuddled up with Adam in her bed. I was worried about Aspen getting much sleep but knew she was in good hands with Adam there. I kissed the two of them and took Dahlia home to put her to bed and to relieve my mom who was still watching Bentley and Colter.
Wednesday, February 22
Aspen called the next morning at a few minutes after 6:00 and wanted to FaceTime. Adam and I had gotten our iphones for our anniversary, and being able to see someone while you talked to them was one of the kids' favorite things! It was pretty cool. We don't normally use it but we it was so nice to have while Aspen was in the hospital. It helped us to feel closer when we couldn't physically be together. A nurse poked Aspen's finger to draw blood, and it had not gone well. To top it off they had to redraw her blood a couple hours later because they couldn't run the test they needed from a finger poke. Adam said it had been really hard for her and that she had cried a lot. The good news was that Adam had convinced them to hold off on doing the nose sprays through the night so Aspen could sleep. While I was on the phone with her the nurse came in to give Aspen her nose sprays. They would be giving them to her regularly during the day now.
Adam was taking the day off work to be with Aspen, but I wanted to run right up to the hospital to be with my little girl. I had three other kids to get ready and take care of though and I wasn't feeling great, so I couldn't. When Crohn's hits me, it always slows me down. My mom came to help me with the kids and to come up to the hospital with us. Bentley spent the morning getting a present ready for Aspen. It was so cute to watch her gather items from the house and put them in a bag with tissue paper. She even had me help her make a treasure map of Aspen's hospital room. She was going to hide the gift in the bathroom and have Aspen go on a hunt to find it. It was adorable.
Aspen spent her morning trying to eat a chocolate shake with her breakfast, getting IV antibiotics, and playing bingo. She even won a singing stuffed animal. Grandma came as Aspen was finishing her bingo game. She brought her a gift and stayed for about an hour. It was so sweet of her to come.
My mom and I finally made it to the hospital in the early afternoon. I think Bentley and Colter had been missing Aspen and were really excited to see her. We arrived at her room just before she and Adam got back from the hospital's playroom. She was so happy to see all of us. She looked great! Her eye was still red but looked a little less puffy. My mom gave her some pink carnations in a vase and Bentley gave her the gift she had brought (I think she forgot that she had planned to do a treasure hunt). I had been wondering what she had packed in the gift bag to give Aspen. It was some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuffed characters that she found in the playroom. Aspen also had a gift for Bentley. She had made her a beaded bracelet with her name on it in the playroom.
The playroom sounded super cool so we decided to all go back. They had toys and crafts and musical instruments and video games; all the things any kid needed to take their mind off of being sick. Siblings were welcome too. The kids played and painted. Colter painted a wooden car with Adam and the girls painted pictures with Bishop Peirce who had come to visit Aspen. I think it made her feel special that he had come to see her. He sat with her and Bentley and painted. He's a good bishop.
We were on our way back to Aspen's room to give her another dose of antibiotics when we met up with Papi. My dad had come from work to see Aspen and to take Colter to his house. He and Bentley were going to be spending the night at my parents’ house so I could stay at the hospital as late as I needed to.
Bentley wanted to stay a while longer and go home with my mom when she left. I think she was hoping we would make it back to the playroom. We didn't but she was able to be there to see Aspen's last visitor of the day: our friend and home-teacher, Jon Campbell. The girls LOVE him! He's silly and teases them and makes them laugh. He brought Adam and me dinner from Jimmy John’s. Yummy and so nice of him! He had been by our house on Tuesday with a get-well gift for Aspen: some popsicles, orange juice, and a computer princess activity set. He had come on Monday to help Adam give Aspen a blessing but didn't know we had taken her to the hospital when he had brought the gift over. My mom was there when he came and had told him. He had been so concerned about Aspen and really made her, and our family, feel loved.
My mom took Bentley home at about 7:00 to spend the night. It was especially good for Aspen and her to see each other. It really touched me to see them think about the other when it wasn't expected or hadn't been asked of them. They have a special bond.
Aspen fell asleep just after they left. I fed Dahlia and then cuddled up next to her while Adam dosed on the small guest bed. I must have fallen asleep too because I was woken up by the nurses raising the bed. We knew Aspen's IV was failing because the vein was looking a little red and irritated and knew she would be getting a new IV that evening. I was worried because the nurses were a little aggressive. Aspen was fighting waking up and I was nervous for when they poked her. She did cry but the nurses were fast and got the IV done in record time. They were also able to put the IV on her arm, where we hoped it was more comfortable than the one she had on her hand.
Aspen calmed down quickly from getting poked. We turned on the tv to watch the Disney channel. I braided her hair and then she had an almost-midnight snack of oreos and milk. She looked so cute in her double-french braid. It was good to see her eye getting better. The antibiotics were working and we would be able to take her home soon. I helped Aspen scrub the oreos off her teeth and made sure she had clean underwear and water to drink. It was almost 1:00 when I kissed her and Adam good-bye. Adam would be going back to work the next morning and my mom would be coming up to be with Aspen.
I was so grateful for my parents’ help, for their willingness to help wherever we needed them. They always take care of my family and me and are such tremendous blessings to us. My dad took Thursday off work to be with Bentley and Colter at his house so my mom could go be with Aspen and I could take care of Dahlia and my own health. My mom was up at the hospital early, and Adam left about 9:00 to drive to Fidelity.
Thursday, February 23
Aspen's first visitors of the day were her friends Sabrina and Reagan, and Sabrina's little brother and sister, Blake and Miri. Trista, their mom, took them up to surprise Aspen. I knew they were going and passed the news on to my mom, so Aspen would be ready for them. They gave her all kinds if gifts and treats. It was really sweet! Then Aspen took them to the playroom to play and do crafts, and for music-time. They had a great time and didn't want to leave. Sabrina and Reagan thought the hospital was so fun and wanted to come be patients there! Aspen told them that they didn't really; that they would have to get poked and that it wasn't ALL fun! She’s right! It's true Primary Children's does an amazing job of taking care of their patients. Aspen talked to me about it a little later. It was interesting to watch her observe how the hospital really tries to make hard situations a little better. Sometimes she's so grown up!
Next, Alexis came to visit, and shortly after, Bentley and I arrived. I left Colter with my dad to have his nap and run around there instead of at the hospital. We all thought that would be best.
Aspen was tired from her morning and was able to take a good nap after Alexis left. Adam got off work at 6:00 and drove to the hospital. He stayed long enough to see Matthew and Annie who came with their kids. And then had to go get Colter from my dad. Aspen and Bentley were excited to see their cousins. Reagan, Alli, and Mason had brought a connect 4 game for Aspen. They all had fun stacking the pieces and knocking them down. They wanted to go back to the playroom, especially Bentley, but it was just about 8:00 and time for Matthew and Annie and their family to go.
Bentley and I stayed until Aspen got her new IV. The vein was getting irritated from overuse again. When the team came in I asked them about a numbing "rocket" our nurse had told us about. She said it popped and fizzed kind of like a rocket (or a can of pop) and it numbed the area so you didn't feel the needle poke. We learned that it also made the vein a little smaller and harder to find. Aspen decided she wanted to try it. They only had one rocket left, so we crossed our fingers. Unfortunately it didn't work and they had to poke her the regular old painful way. I helped her breath through it, holding up my fingers like candles for her to blow out. They also had to put it in her hand again. The last IV in her hand really seemed to bother her. It was the best vein they could find, and they put a little board under her wrist to try to keep her from moving it too much. We hoped this would be her last IV and that she could be done with the IV antibiotics and go home tomorrow.
Friday, February 24
Friday morning I checked in with my mom at about 7:30. The eye doctor had been in and Aspen was looking great. She received her last dose of IV antibiotics at 5:00 AM and one last finger poke for a blood draw at 7:00. She had earned a book for being brave while they drew her blood. They had been taking her blood every morning to check the infection. When she was admitted the blood infection level was a 16. Each day she was on the antibiotics the number had been cut in half, exactly what they were looking for. My mom reported that the level was now down to 2 and she could go home! Yay!
We wanted to make a welcome home sign to hang on the garage door before going to get Aspen. Colter, Bentley and I were at the kitchen table painting when my mom texted that Aspen's eye was hurting. This had happened periodically. The skin was dry and flaky and itched, I think when she rubbed her eye, it would hurt. The nurse said it could also have hurt from the infection. We tried to keep her on ibuprofen and put a rag on her eye when she complained. It sounded like this time was really bad. My mom texted that she was beside herself with pain. I turned off the tv and told Bentley and Colter we were going to say a prayer for Aspen. We prayed that her eye would stop hurting her and that she would feel well and be able to come home. After the prayer we continued working on the sign and then a few minutes later we Face-Timed with Aspen. I told her that we had said a prayer for her. My mom said she had been wailing and moaning when all of a sudden she was quiet. My mom asked her if she was ok and she was calm. Our prayer had been answered.
We got up to the hospital after lunch. She had been IV free since about 10:00 and had been playing in the playroom. Alexis had come up again. We got her checked out and went to sneak in one more playtime in the playroom before Adam arrived from getting off of work. I had also promised Bentley that she would have some time there since she hadn't made it there the day before.
When we arrived home Aspen was excited to see the sign on the garage. She knew we loved her and had missed her. I'm so glad to have her and the rest of our family together in our home. It will be good to return to our normal, and crazy, life once we pick up the pieces (and all the crap that's cluttering our house). Familiar crazy is always better than unfamiliar.
We started Aspen on oral antibiotics (that don't taste very good) and will continue the nose sprays they had her doing in the hospital. We'll be going to follow up doctor visits with her pediatrician and the ophthalmologist to make sure she is surely on her way to a full recovery.
This is not an experience I hope to repeat, but I feel so blessed! So blessed that Aspen is home! So blessed to have three other beautiful, relatively healthy children (we have coughs and colds going around our house). So blessed to be married to the sweetest husband EVER. So blessed to have parents who are willing and able to help during times like these and always. So blessed to have the support of family, friends and neighbors. So blessed we only had to spend days, not weeks or months, at the hospital. So blessed to have doctors and nurses and hospitals and medicine available to us. And so blessed to have the gospel in our lives and to have felt the hand of the Lord in our lives during this experience. I believe we witnessed many miracles, and benefitted from ones unrecognized, as Aspen was diagnosed and treated, because of a priesthood blessing, and fasting, and prayer. We have grown closer as a family and closer to God. I can't think of greater blessings than those.
"I want to write about mine and Adam's first date. It was February 29th- Leap Day! I was working at Zion’s bank in Smith’s grocery store when Adam came in and asked me if I wanted to go to a Leap Day dinner. I didn’t really understand what he meant, but I wasn’t doing anything that night, so I said yes. I soon realized he was asking me out on a date! It was a Tuesday night, but Leap Day was a good excuse to ask a girl out, I guess.
