Happy to be Going Home

I stayed in the Giraffe wing of Children's Hospital. That is the surgical wing because they weren't sure if they would have to do surgery on my shoulder or not. Luckily, NOT. After 5 nights in the hospital, we finally got to go home! Instead of being wheeled out in a wheelchair like big people, I got to ride in a little red wagon, cushioned by my new fuzzy blanket that I got from the nice nursing staff. On our way out, we saw a giant giraffe in the hallway. It was pretty neat, but I was just happy to be going home.

On Furlough

Family picture at Home-Sweet-Home during our 6-hour furlough from the hospital.

So, on the fourth full day in the hospital, the doctors were finally able to get my infection markers stabilized enough to take me off of the high levels of continuous intravenous antibiotics. They felt I was in good enough shape to switch over to oral medication (taken every six hours and they stressed that it was every six hours... NOT four times a day, but every six hours on the dot) and they let us leave the hospital for a 6-hour furlough. We had to be back in time for them to give me my next dose of yummy tasting medicine.

It was really nice outside today. On our way home to shower and pick up clean clothes (just in case we had to stay at the hospital a few more days), we stopped at Magnuson Park to enjoy the sun. If you look really closely at my left arm, you will see the bright red sock covering the pick line that is still in my hand. Of course there was a huge pile of gravel near the play ground and this is where I chose to spend my time playing with the boys and the Tonka trucks. My shoulder still hurts a little, so daddy didn't get very far from me just in case I lost my balance. Whew! Sure was nice to get out of that room for a few hours!

Viral Sternal Osteomyelitis, what's that!?

Well, here I am in my hospital bed. Just a little behind on my blogs, but I hope to be able to catch up now that I am isolated to my little room. So after a couple of days in the hospital, they finally know what is wrong with my shoulder. I have Viral Sternal Osteomyelitis. What is that you ask? It's an infection in my clavicle bone and in the tiny little joint where it connects to my sternum. And how did I get it? Don't know. I've seen several doctors and the best explanation as of yet: BAD LUCK.

It all started Tuesday morning when I woke up. Mommy picked me up out of bed and I started to cry because my left shoulder was hurting. Maybe I slept on it wrong... So I went to school and I cried all day. Finally I convinced Miss Bobby to call Mommy and let her know. Daddy picked me up and we went straight to the doctor's office. They sent us off for some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. Mommy met us at the Doctor's office and just as they were about to send us home, mommy asked them to take my temperature. It had spiked up to 101.7 so my doctor sent us off to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. By this time it was 7:30 pm, way past dinner time and just into my bedtime. The waiting room was packed. We didn't get to go back into an examining room until three hours later. I was sent for more x-rays, an ultrasound, and vitals galore. They poked me to draw blood and inserted an IV for fluids. Hungry and thirsty, they wouldn't let me eat anything just in case they found they would have to sedate me for some sort of procedure. My blood tests came back and my white blood count was fine, but something they call CRP was way above normal and this told them that I had some sort of infection. Now they just had to figure out what was causing it. I got to lay on a stretcher and Mommy and Daddy took turns sleeping with me.

Finally around 3:00 am, I was checked into the hospital and moved from room to room until they found us one that had a pull-out bed for mommy and daddy to sleep on. I think in total, we occupied 5 different rooms. This last one is comfortable. There is room to move around. We have a private bathroom with a shower and a window so we can tell if it is 10:00 pm or 10:00 am.

Since none of the other tests revealed anything wrong with my shoulder, I was scheduled for an MRI. I was allowed to eat breakfast Wednesday morning and then at 5:00 that evening I went in for the exam. Because I am little and squirmy, they gave me something to help me sleep through it. It knocked me out right away. They said I would be back with mommy and daddy in about an hour, but I was so sleepy that I wanted to sleep longer. They let me wake up on my own and I was back with mommy and daddy soon after I opened my eyes.

It didn't take long for them to see the preliminary signs of an infection on my clavicle. They started me on IV antibiotics at midnight and they are testing oral antibiotics too. If the orals seem to be doing their job, then I can go home sooner rather than later. If not, I might have to stay in the hospital for a while longer.

To top it all off, Daddy and I are sharing nasty coughs and I have a runny nose. During my exam this morning, they detected yet another ear infection in one ear and I might have caught pink eye from Daddy, who probably contracted it here in the hospital. He woke up this morning with the classic signs of pink eye. I should know... I had it just a few weeks ago myself. Luckily the extraordinary amounts of antibiotics I am on for my shoulder should knock all of these other infections out. Turns out, the sniffles and coughs that we came in with work to our advantage. We have been ''isolated" in order to keep from spreading our germs. This also means that we don't have to share a room with anyone else and the nurses bring us almost anything we want.

Happy Valentines Day!! Party

Here is my class. There are 13 of us ranging in age from 12-24 months.

We have two teachers: Miss Ashley and Miss Paulina.

You can see our Valentines Day folders hanging under the windows in the back of the room. We got cards, balloons and candy. Yum yum! Oh, and the snacks...

See my plateful of yummy snacks? Strawberries, apple sauce, coo-kie-coo-kie, and crackers.

Here I am with Miss Paulina helping me wash my hands. I love washing my hands. Anything to get into the water.

Dentist, Doctor and Pink-Eye

Mommy stayed home with me today so she could take me to the doctor. She thought I had an ear infection like I so often do. I had been growing increasingly fussy over the weekend and just didn't feel well. I've been battling a cold for three weeks now. I got it a week before I started daycare and now that both mommy and daddy are back to work and I am in daycare, I just haven't been able to shake it. Since we couldn't get in to see the doctor until after my nap, Mommy decided to see if we could get my dentist check-up out of the way. Kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

My check-up went well. I have a mouth full of teeth. Everything except for all four of my second baby molars. The Dentist said those could come in any time now and could be part of the reason my sinuses are acting up so much at the moment. I did so well at my check-up that he gave me a token I could use to get a prize from the machine on my way out. I chose a "ba" or "ball" as mommy pronounces it.

After my nap we treked over to my pediatrician's office. The coolest part was getting to play dress-up in a toddler-sized hospital gown decorated in tigers. I pranced around the room showing off my new dress. I was very proud of it. The doctor checked my ears and said everything looked good there, but after looking into my eyes he confirmed that I have conjunctivitis or pink-eye. Lovely. No wonder my eyes have been feeling and looking so tired lately. He gave us some eyedrops and sent me home with instructions not to touch my eyes... yeah right, like that is going to not happen (and that's what he said too as he gave us the instructions). Anyway, one drop in each eye, four times a day for five days... Not liking the drops, but they seem to be helping. I can go back to daycare on Wednesday and see all of my new friends.

The list of childhood diseases I am destined to contract just keeps on growing.

Starting the habit early...

After spending a fun day with Mommy and Daddy, we strolled to one of the three Starbucks coffee shops within walking distance of our house. Here mommy and I are enjoying our steamed beverages. Mine? A yummy kid's vanilla steamed milk!