So this is what happened...

Last Saturday, KayTar had an episode. On Tuesday, KayTar had a mini-episode. Tuesday, she also started vomiting in the night, she continued to vomit all day Wednesday. She was running fever, lethargic, the whole deal. She didn't keep anything down until about 3, and even then it was only a couple of ounces, 2 ounces to be exact. She had her last wet diaper at noon. She slept from 3-7pm and when she woke up, she was in an episode, and still very sick. The episode ended about 8:30, around the same time her fever broke. I talked to our pediatrician and she said if she didn't have a wet diaper by midnight, we would need to go in. Between 8:30 and midnight, we got KayTar to drink 4 ounces of Pediasure and eat 1 jar of green beans. Still no urine, but we thought it would be a matter of time. The pediatrician let us stay home for the night, since she had taken in fluid. She threw up in the night again, everything she'd had from the looks of it. Still no wet diapers. I made arrangements for BubTar to be taken care of, got ready, and headed to the hospital at about 10:30am.

I was just SURE she would wet a diaper on the way, because isn't that how it works? You get all panicky and react and then BAM, they prove you wrong, usually in public. But no. She's didn't. We were triaged and sent back very quickly. At that point we were at 23-24 hours without a wet diaper. She looked good, though, playful and happy. That KayTar, she looks like she's doing fine even when she's not. It makes exams kind of worthless in situations like this. They hooked her up to the IV, explained it to her (a straw for her hand to drink, because it is SO thirsty!), and it went easily. She didn't cry at all, she just said, "EEEEK!" when they poked her. It was such a different experience being there with her now that she is verbal. It made it easier on all of us. The worst of it was the throat exam and strep screen (which was negative). We were in the ER until about 4pm and then we moved to the observation unit. She finally peed a little after 6pm. 30 hours. And 4-5 of those hours she was actively receiving fluids. There was just no way we could have made up that sort of deficit at home.

She seemed to be doing okay in the obs unit and we even started her refeeding diet. The Pediasure they had at the hospital was entereal, you know, the less yummy kind meant to go right into the tummy, skipping the mouth altogether? She did NOT go for that and promptly decided Pediasure in the hospital was UNSAFE. And even when they brought her something else to try, she wasn't going for it. Josh brought her Pediasure from the house, let her read the label to be sure it was the Good Stuff, and she took about 4 ounces. She also ate a few bites of a jar of chicken and chicken gravy baby food. Man, that stuff stinks. BLECH. I had only eaten 1 pack of those powdered sugar donuts that I bought off the coffee cart and lots and lots of coffee, so when the boys got to the room, BubTar and I went to get some McDonald's from downstairs. Healthy? No. But it was open and it was more filling than those tiny donuts. It was DELICIOUS if you're wondering. Then the boys left and KayTar and I borrowed some videos from the library (Blue's Clues and Bob the Builder) and watched TV until she was sleepy enough for me to attempt getting her to sleep. It took a little while, a few rounds of "I want to go home. I want my BubTar. I want to sleep in my OWN BED." before she settled in, but she did. Then at midnight, she threw up. MAN! DID SHE EVER! It was curdled Pediasure and that disgusting meat jar food. It just kept coming out of her, covering her, the bed, the floor, even my socks and pants. The nurses decided just to bring in a whole new bed because it was so yucky. Poor girlie was so exhausted, she fell asleep while vomiting. I was holding her up and her head was lolling around pitifully. We got her cleaned up and the rest of the night went pretty uneventfully once they started the Zofran drip.

Friday went well. We started her on Sprite, which she drank a couple ounces of and kept down, and then we attempted a few ounces of Pediasure and she seemed to do okay. I was still endlessly nervous about bringing her home, as she seemed okay the previous day too and her intake wasn't up to snuff, even for her...but the pediatrician and the floor doctor were encouraging and I really wanted a shower and clothes that didn't have vomit on them, so we decided to give it a shot at home. Her fluid tank was full and so we had some time to get her intake up to snuff.

She took in about 13 ounces on Friday and didn't vomit in the night. Yesterday, she took in 27 ounces, plus two jars of baby food. She hasn't had anything yet today, and she hasn't had a wet diaper since 11 last night, but I think she'll have something in a bit and that will work itself out. It is times like these that make her oral aversions and feeding problems a real struggle. On a good day, a healthy day, sometimes she won't take what she really needs...so when she is sick, it is really amplified. The doctor in the ER couldn't get her to say "Ahhh!" without it making her gag. Yesterday, BubTar touched KayTar's cheek and it induced gagging. Her senses are on high alert and we have to tread gently, silently willing her to drink, drink, drink. I think she's over the hump, I really do, but the diaper that has been dry for 10.5 hours makes me worry, just a bit. So as I continue to watch her closely, jotting down every diaper, every sip, every bite, I silently hope that not only am I documenting the past, but somehow, in doing so I'm also urging the future into existence, a future of full tummies and lots and lots of wet diapers.