The Drama D.A.M.E.s: January 2010

Okay, so here is the WHOLE story... Anna went to the Dr. on the 19th of January because of ear pain. The next day, Wednesday, she was walking funny because her legs were "weak". She also had a fever, so she stayed home Wed and Thurs. Friday she woke up crying that her chest hurt, so back to the Dr. we went. At this point she has had 3 doses of Zithromax. "It's a virus" says the Dr. after he listens to her non-wheezing chest and tests her reflexes. She hangs tough through the weekend, weak, but trying to function normally. Monday she has a fever (still) and is walking even slower so she stays home again. Tuesday, after no changes, Jeff takes her to the Dr. for the 3rd time. They do a chest x-ray and draw blood and prescribe steroids. Her breathing gets better but her legs do not. I talked to the Dr. Friday morning (this was now her 9th day of no school) and he assured me that her test results were normal and it was just a virus. However, because she had no appetite, she was not taking in enough nutrients, and by Friday at 5:30ish she could not stand up or walk without being held onto. I was having a Miche Bag party, the consultant was on her way from Milan and I was expecting a dozen or so women at the house any time (while wearing my LOSER MOM OF THE YEAR HAT). At 6:30, Jeff took her to Wyandotte Hospital, carried her into the ER, where they immediately took her to the peds area and told Jeff she needed to be transferred to Children's Hospital. He calls me and I have to leave my party and all my guests... Cristy offers to spend the night with the two little ones and Ti drives me to Wyandotte. NOTE TO ALL PARENTS IN THE METRO DETROIT AREA: IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS AND EMERGENCY ROOM, TAKE THEM STRAIGHT DOWNTOWN TO CHILDREN'S. IT IS WORTH THE DRIVE AND THEY ARE FANTASTIC! Since she was not having trouble breathing, Jeff said no to the ambulance ride and we drove her down there. A fantastic staff member put Anna in a wheelchair, told Jeff where to park and took us inside. He got us out of the cold air, then found Jeff and they took her straight up to her bed. 3 doctors check her strength and reflexes, they start an IV and draw blood. At first, they thought she might have Guillen-Barre Syndrome and would need a spinal tap to diagnose it. So, no food or drink till we see the neurologist in the morning. After sleeping for while, she woke up at 7, stood up and walked to the bathroom WITH NO SUPPORT! This was after only 2 units of fluid from the IV bag, so they checked her strength and she could lift her legs much higher and push with her feet. NO GUILLEN-BARRE SYNDROME, NO SPINAL TAP! We saw two neurologists who had reviewed her blood work, the confirmed our Dr's diagnosis, a virus caused the fever which dehydrated her. They assured us she was fine, and by 2:30 pm we new we were being discharged and sent home. Somehow I managed to get some pics with my phone, first time I ever documented a hospital stay, and I think I'll do it again.