New Year, New Hospital Visit

This year, school resumed on January 2nd. It was brutal. We were coming off of two trips, the holidays, a very late New Year's Eve, and a late bedtime on January 1st due to the Sugar Bowl football game (UW won against Texas, so the boys were at the Beppus until 10:00 watching the game). So, when Brayden complained that he did not feel well on 1/2, I sent him to school anyways. I preached that he has got to start going to bed earlier and getting better sleep.

The following night, he woke me up in the middle of the night. He was having bad dreams. As soon as I felt his head, I knew he was having fever dreams. I gave him Tylenol and let him sleep in my bed. I did not take his temperature, but I knew he had a fever.

Because of his CKD, he cannot have ibuprofen. He can only have Tylenol every six hours; therefore, I was not able to control his fever with the infrequency of this dosage. By lunchtime, I measured his temp at 105. I remember his kidney doctor mentioning that if his fever ever went above a certain threshold, that he would need to be seen. I could not remember the threshold, but I was certain that 105 was above it!

I took him to the Urgent Care Clinic at Seattle Children's Hospital in Bellevue for a 4:30 appointment. He was swabbed for strep, influenza A, influenza B, Covid, and RSV. They also drew blood to check B's CBC and renal function. We learned that Brayden was positive for influenza B within an hour, but then we had to sit and wait to hear from the nephrology clinic in Seattle about the treatment plan. B's creatine was up to 1.8 (his baseline is about 1.2-1.3). By 7:15, the urgent care doctor came back to our room and announced that the nephrology team wanted to directly admit B at the Seattle location. Poor Brayden quickly started crying. I do not blame him. Those long days at the hospital back in the summer of 2022 are still too raw in our memories.

B-man did not look good at Urgent Care.

Thankfully, the urgent care team allowed me to drive Brayden from the Bellevue location to the Seattle location (the other option was ambulance, which seemed a bit ridiculous). I used the opportunity to swing by our house and collect some things - iPhone charger, iPad, toothbrush, blanket, etc. We arrived at SCH around 8:30 and were quickly directed to our room. Strangely, it was next door to the room Brayden had for 2.5 weeks in 2022. It was so strange to be back, yet I did not recognize a single nurse during our time there.

Brayden was set up with two IV bags, he was given his first dose of tamiflu, and he had another dose of Tylenol. We settled in for the night, but it was a rather long night with constant interruptions to check his IV every hour and vitals every four hours.

Around 4:00 AM, a nurse came into our room and asked Brayden if he needed to use the bathroom. She encouraged him to try because they were pumping so many fluids into him. I had to assist B to the bathroom due to his IV (and we had to collect/measure all of his urine output). At this time, I noticed how swollen he was. Like really swollen. His hands were so swollen that he could not make a fist. I started to panic and called for the doctor. Why was he retaining fluids? Were his kidneys shutting down? The on-call doctor came in to look at him. He seemed a little bit concerned and said he would speak to the nephrologist. From 4:00 - 9:00 AM, I laid on my futon and let my mind wander to dark places - scenarios of Brayden's kidneys failing and needing a transplant ASAP. Oh crap! We have not done all of our kidney homework. We have not found a match for Brayden. We thought we had more time. And on and on my mind went. 

Around 9:00, the attending nephrologist came in to look at Brayden. In an instant, she mitigated my fears about B's kidneys shutting down. When I told her I was concerned, she said, "Did they not tell you that one of Brayden's IV bags was pure saline?" Ummmm, no, they did not. I guess I missed the detail that B's sodium levels were low the night before so the pumped him up with sodium overnight. The swelling was intentional! I am sure the nephrologist could visibly see the relief wash over me.

Brayden slept most of the day on Thursday. I don't think our light was on in the room the entire day. Coupled with the dark, rainy day outside, it was a very depressing day. Around 5:00 PM, Brayden woke up and asked to take a shower. We were able to have his IV removed because he had not needed additional fluids all day. He showered, brushed his teeth, and walked with me to pick up our food delivery (Thai). He ate some dinner, drank a lot of water, and snuggled next to me to watch "Rat Race." By the time we went to bed, I could tell he was getting his spunk back. We both slept a lot better the second night. 

Feeling better - showered, new clothes, and sitting upright

Hands are still swollen but getting better!

On Friday, the nurses came in at 6:15 AM to draw blood. We learned by 7:30/8:00 that his creatinine was coming down (it was 1.6 on Friday), which was a great sign that he was recovering. Plus, he did not have a fever. By the time the doctors did their rounds that morning, they told us that Brayden could continue recovering at home if he wanted to be discharged. We gladly took them up on their offer and get the heck outta there. 

Peace out, SCH!

Brayden did not go back to school until Tuesday, 1/9. Bloodwork on 1/11 confirmed that his creatinine was back to his baseline of 1.3. Crisis averted! 

While Brayden was sick, I was absolutely beating myself up because B had not gotten his flu vaccine. When he saw his pediatrician for his 11-year well check in December, he was due for several vaccinations and boosters. The pediatrician suggested that we take care of some of the more pressing vaccines at that time; I could take B to the pharmacy for his flu/covid shots at a later date. Of course, I had not gotten around to the flu shot at the time he tested positive for it. I was feeling so very guilty about this... until Tommy tested positive for influenza B as well... and he HAD received the flu vaccine. I felt bad for Tommy, but my guilt subsided a ton!

Not the best start to the new year, but let's hope we've checked off our hospital stay for 2024 already.