Wyatt's Spinal Tap

So here is a not about sleep apnea surgery blog...

My poor Wyatt. I blogged before about his neck pain whining. Well he had a rough night. I think the neck pain really is from playing too much DSi BUT by the evening he was suddenly puking and spiking a 102 temp.

I don't think I am a run my kid to the Dr every time they are sick parent, so a lil puke and a fever, no biggie we will deal. The neck pain on top of the other symptoms is what had me worried and apparently rightfully so.

I called our Dr. She sent us to the After Hours Clinic. On the drive there I turned a round and Wyatt was out cold. We'd only been in the car a couple of mins so this scared me. I called his name. His eyes popped open then right back closed. I was trying to wake him up because this behavior just isn't like him even when he is sick. Luckily we live about 5 mins from the after hours clinic so I didn't have to be in the front seat away from him for too long.

I had to carry him in, he didn't want to wake up. I set him in a chair to fill out paperwork and he slept. I picked him up when I was done and he still slept. When it was our turn the nurse took his temp and then he started puking again.

When the Dr came in he tried to get him to move his head, he wouldn't and the ways he would move it he would cringe and cry in pain. The Dr decided we needed to go to the ER. He wrote us a note and said it would help us get in faster, it didn't.

Again Wyatt was sleeping on the way to the ER, it was still freaking me out. I had to carry him into the hospital so I left the puke basin in the car figuring they would have something inside for him anyways. We had to stop in the parking lot for him to puke.

After we signed in they took his temp and blood pressure right away and he got a stuffed bear. He also had to wear a face mask Then it was time to sit and wait. We waited and waited and waited. When we got there only 4 other families were in the waiting room, I thought this was a good sign and was surprised with it being a Monday after a holiday. A woman came around to check our ins info. Then someone else called our name, for a blood draw...

Wyatt has a needle phobia. It took four people to do his shots for kindergarten, seriously. I told the woman we were going to need a hand. She acted put out and asked why I couldn't just hold him myself but found someone anyways. You know how crazy strong kids get when they are scared. Well I didn't want to be the one responsible when I couldn't hold all of him at once while she has a needle in his arm. Wyatt was screaming before the needle even went in. Once it was in he calmed down. I think he realized it didn't hurt like he thought it would.

Then it was back to waiting. Wyatt was laying with is head on my lap this whole time. He puked just one more time. I think we got to the ER about 8:30, it was 11:30 when they took us back to our own room.

Our nurse was very friendly, Nichole. Soon an intern came in, asked what was going on and examined Wyatt. He said he'd go talk with the attending and be back in. The Dr came in and re-examined Wyatt. Wyatt was not enjoying any of the examination so when the whole thing had to be repeated he told the Dr. " he just did this!" with quite an annoyed tone. Really he was just in a lot of pain. They were asking him to touch his chin to his chest and bring his knees to his chin- things he couldn't do without a lot of pain. He wouldn't turn his head to the right at all. Dr said his lymps in his neck were swollen as well.

The Drs wanted to find something so they could call it that and not have to test for spinal meningitis. The only test for that is a spinal tap. So they put in an IV to pump fluids and start antibiotics just in case it was S.M. (Wyatt did shockingly well with the IV too, only a lil screaming and 2 nurses) They also checked his urine and ordered a chest X-ray. All of those test came back clean.

My heart was so sad when the Dr came in and said they had to do a spinal tap, it was all that was left and if it was S.M. they need to know and get things moving quickly. So he went over the risks and how the procedure would happen. Then I had to sign the consent form. I had known all along this was coming, well not the whole time. I had really thought the after hours Dr would send us home. Then I thought the ER Drs would just have him bend a few ways, say it was the flu and send us home. But once all the testing started and I could feel they were concerned then I knew it was coming. I still wasn't prepared mentally/emotionally but how can you be when you know it is painful and just how scared of needles Wyatt is, and he is my baby, I don't want to say ok hurt my baby. Plus, he has to be a lone with strangers awake when it is happening.

I'm by myself here too. Brad is at home still recovering from surgery. Levi is with him in case he needs anything and Lucy was with my Mother in Law.  I am used to Brad and I making these kind of decisions together but I knew it was what we/I had to do.

We woke Wyatt up and kind of explained what was going to happen. They gave him a drug they called an amnesia medicine. They said he wouldn't remember the pain with it. But it didn't take the pain away. I stayed with him while they prepped his back and the drug kicked in. He didn't want me to go but I had to. Right before they started I had to step out into the hall way. The spinal tap was done right in his ER room.

I stood outside his door crying while I listened to his screaming. I had to keep my crying restrained though because I didn't know how long the procedure would take and I didn't want to go back in the room and him see me with a crying face. He didn't scream as much as I thought he might but it still wasn't like it was a pleasant experience.

When it was over I was allowed back in, it only took a few minutes. I could tell that the amnesia meds had already worked. He didn't say too much about the spinal tap and was done crying. As promised he got a popsicle afterward.

They started another bag of antibiotics. Then I crawled in bed with him while he slept the next hour of waiting away. I of course couldn't sleep. I was worried about Wyatt, my head was pounding, I was starving, and freezing ( I had a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops on a trip to the hospital was not what I thought would happen!)

Then relief! The intern came in and said the test was negative. He was being sent home. They decided that it was just a bug of some sort, the neck pain could be from it or it could just be a coincidence and the neck pain is from playing too much DSi in a weird position.

Nichole pulled his IV out while he was still asleep. When he woke up he was relieved and shocked to see it gone. We paid our ridiculously high co-pay and headed home- it was 3am!

This morning I woke up to Wyatt telling his war story to Levi. He seemed like our normal Wyatt. He asked if he could drink and eat, I told him small sips and little bites. He hasn't had a big appetite today but he has ate. His neck is still hurting him, though I think it isn't nearly as bad. But now he has a new problem, his back hurts form the spinal tap. I've been giving him tylenol and motrin throughout the day. We went to see a movie and I noticed he is walking a lil funny, like he is in pain. So we took it easy all day and are hopeful tomorrow morning he will feel better.


A few lil funny things-

Wyatt likes to makeup "rules" as to why things happen. He drank propel and didn't puke, then he drank a juice box and puked so he decided he cant drink juice. He kept telling me all these what he can and can't drink and how much and when rules he had formulated based on his puking/drinking/eating experience throughout the day.

A woman Charlay (or somethign like that) was called Wyatt suddenly sat up and said "Strawberries!" then laid down, I asked him what he was talking about and he mumbled oh I thought I heard someone say strawberries.

The Dr told him to say Ahhhh for lik the 10th time and the tone behind his ahhh was so funny!

At 3am on the way home he started talking nonsense in the car. Something about counting to 3 and pulling a wire.

I was freezing so I swiped a pair of hospital socks- to wear with my flip flops!