Two Steps Back. Day 64: June 7, 2012

Dallas' beautiful smile, even with a 102 temp.  

So, remember how I said that it seems that Dallas is taking one step forward and two steps back?  Well, it's happened again.  Dallas had been doing so well over the past few days, we thought things were really starting to look up, when all of a sudden... BAM... we get slapped in the face by reality.  


Last night, Dallas took his midnight dose of Methadone and Atarax and did just fine.  At 2am, Dallas yelled for me.  I went into his room, "Mommy, can I have some apple juice?".  "Of course, I will go get you some".  So I went and got his apple juice and brought it back up, gave him a kiss on the head, and realized how hot his head was.  Then I felt his hands... burning up; as were his arms and legs.  I went to get the thermometer.  His temperature was 103.7!  No way.  I took it again.  103.4!  So I went and got Dallas some Motrin.  He seemed to do just fine with it.  I woke Travis up, and he went to lay down with Dallas.  


This morning around 6am, I gave him his dose of Methadone and Atarex.  He seemed to do ok.  I checked his temperature again... 102.8.  You've got to be kidding me!  So I gave him more Motrin.  He took two sips and started throwing up.  Not a good way to start the day.  


So we got him up and gave him a bath this morning.  We hoped that this would help bring his temperature down.  He didn't want to take a bath, and it did not go well today.  The spot on his chest/belly that is raw hurt him very badly.  He was also complaining about his neck and back hurting.  After about 45 minutes, we got him out, dried off, and re-bandaged and dressed.  


I called Physical Therapy and had to cancel the appointment and reschedule for a later date.  I also called his pediatrician so he could go in to see her.  Maybe she knew what was going on.  So they set an appointment time for 11:15am.  Travis went on to work.


Took Dallas to the doctor.  His weight is up to 50.6lbs.  That's good!  His fever was at 102.2.  Still hasn't changed much.  They did a strep test.  He did NOT enjoy that.  Results came back negative.  She checked his arm, where the staple is, said it doesn't look infected.  So she said that we could go home; to just try and keep his temperature down, and if we have any more problems, to call her or take him into the ER.  They gave him some Tylenol in the doctor's office, after about 1/3 of the dose, he began throwing up everywhere.  Then we left.  The car ride home wasn't much better.  He threw up all over himself.  Poor baby!  So I pulled over and cleaned him up.  


After not getting any conclusion about what could be causing Dallas' fever, I decided to consult with Dr. Zeller.  Gave her a call, and spoke with the nurse on duty.  She had Dr. Zeller call me.  She thinks it's a viral illness.  So of course, there's nothing to do but wait it out.  She said that if he continues to throw up and is unable to drink liquids and keep his Methadone down, we may have to bring him in for IV hydration and IV Methadone.  I asked her about breaking his Methadone up into three doses, given over an hour and a half time span, and she said that was fine.  This way, if he does throw up, it won't be the entire dose.  I also asked if she would call in an RX of Zofran for the nausea.  She doesn't seem to think it will work if it is a viral infection, but it's worth a shot.  Hopefully, he will start holding liquids down, especially his Methadone.  


Dallas rested most of the day, waking up for an hour here or there.  He didn't eat any dinner, or anything at all for that matter.  He's only had a few ounces of liquid today.  His fever has stayed about 101.5 all day.  I went and got his Zofran after Travis got home from work.  We convinced him to take it, and he said it was starting to make his belly feel a little better.  He drank some Pedialyte and was able to hold it down, along with his Methadone.  That's GREAT!  He still didn't eat anything, but having fluid intake is a step in the right direction.  


During bath time tonight, it appears that there may be another staple in Dallas' arm.  I really hope I am wrong, because one staple is more than enough, but I think there is another.  Dallas also didn't do too well with his bath.  He didn't want to take any of the TubaGrip off, nor did he want to take the Xeroform off.  After a good hour of trying to convince him, he finally let us remove all the bandages.  Rather than putting his TubaGrip back on tonight, we put one of the stretchy neoprene-type shirts on.  This provides a little compression, but not too much.  We think the TubaGrip is getting too tight; it's leaving indentions on his skin that doesn't subside for hours.  HOPEFULLY his compression garments will be in within the next day or so.  It will be MUCH easier then, and will provide better compression and support.  


Dallas' next PT and OT sessions aren't until Monday.  They didn't have anything available for tomorrow, and they didn't want to schedule it just in case he was still sick.  I was hoping that, if for nothing else, they could measure him for a facial compression mask.  I think I'm going to call tomorrow to see if I can bring him by so they can measure and order one for him.  He REALLY needs compression on his face; you can see that it is getting redder and is drying out more and more without it.  


Dallas went to sleep about 9:30pm tonight, so maybe he will get a good night's rest; he definitely needs it!