The Past Five Days

WOW! It has been non-stop around here for the last few days. Most of you already know what happened, but here is the way it all went down...
Friday night Nick and I were relaxing together, re-capping the week and getting ready to go out on the lake Saturday morning on our friend's boat. We couldn't wait to see Dalton with the wind in his face enjoying the boat and the lake. He had worn his life jacket around the house all day and threw a big ol' fit when we took it off to get him ready for bed.
We gave Dalton his medicine at 10:30, just like every night, then got ourselves ready for bed. As soon as we laid our heads down, Dalton began screaming at the top of his lungs. I ran in to see what was wrong and found him covered in vomit with a diaper full of diarrhea. We got him all cleaned up and brought him into bed with us. He would not drink anything and his upset stomach just kept getting worse. We called his pediatrician and the on-call doctor sent us to the emergency room here in the Woodlands to get him on some fluids and monitor his heart rate to ensure his heart condition wasn't acting up. By the time we got back to see a doctor, Dalton and I were both covered in his vomit and diarrhea, and he had been through 3 diaper changes and 2 changes of clothes.

They put an IV in and started Dalton on fluids, and the heart monitor showed that he was, in fact, in tachycardia. His heart rate stayed between 215 and 245 for about an hour and a half, then he "converted" (came out of it) on his own by holding his breath. In the meantime, the ER doctor had called an ambulance to take us to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. They informed us that they are not capable of properly caring for a child with SVT and that anytime Dalton becomes ill and needs immediate attention we should go directly to TCH. At about 4:00am, Dalton and I loaded up in the ambulance and went for a ride. Nick followed - nervously I'm sure - in our car. Dalton actually kind of enjoyed the ambulance ride. The EMT became his buddy and Dubbs even gave the guy a high five and said thank you once we made it to the hospital. We checked in at the ER, got more fluids and waited...Dalton's tummy issues continued, and they determined it was a stomach virus that was going around with the kids. Since his heart rate had stabilized, blood pressure was good and he didn't have high fever, they sent us home after a couple of hours. We got home a little after 8am Saturday morning and were all exhausted! We spent Saturday and Sunday trying to catch up on sleep and keep Dalton hydrated and calm.

Monday morning I took Dalton to his pediatrician (DR. Tamm) for a routine follow-up since he'd been in the ER over the weekend. All the while, his vomiting and diarrhea was slowing down, but still definitely a problem. It took Dr. Tamm about two minutes to determine that he was exhausted, dehydrated, and in tachycardia...again! So off we went back to Texas Children's Hospital.

We arrived around 11am Monday morning. Once again, Dalton was in tachycardia for about an hour and a half after we arrived, then he got really mad when they were trying to get the IV in, held his breath and converted on his own again. Poor Dalton, it took four different nurses until we finally got one that successfully started the IV. The first three people each blew a different vein, the last guy blew one more before getting it in...it was gut wrenching to watch, and of course all three of us were crying. We got to our room around 3:30pm and they kept Dalton overnight for observation. Despite the wires, monitors and noises, we all stayed in pretty good spirits. Dalton's nurses were wonderful, and they of course doted all over him. He managed to do a little socializing with them. He flashed a weak little smile when he could and even did a few animal noises for his nurses.
But because of Dalton's stomach virus, we were quarantined to his room. So he couldn't enjoy the playroom down the hall, and was quickly sent back to his room when we tried to push him down the hall in a wagon. The saddest part was watching him watch out the window in the door at the other kids riding by in the wagons...poor Dubbs. Mommy and Daddy did A LOT of reading to him and played hide and seek in his room when he was up to it.



By the next morning (Tuesday) he was feeling much better, but still not eating and drinking well. His heart rate never went back up, and I think his tummy trouble is starting to get much better, although it's not totally gone yet! They let us go at about 3:15pm. Dalton and I dropped Daddy off at his office for a meeting, then braved the flood waters, heavy rain and ridiculous winds to get home and made it at about 4:45pm. We all slept great last night and are just praying that Dalton will eat, drink and keep that heart rate stable!