Have any of you had a really sick child? It is probably the worst and scariest thing you can go through. So.....this is how is all started. Robert woke up Tuesday morning at 6am saying his throat hurt so I gave him some Motrin and he was fine. Brian thought it might of been because he left his window open all night and it was chilly. Anyway, he seemed fine and I kept his play date that morning. Wyatt came to play and Robert was his normal self. They played pirates, skateboarded and the usual boy stuff. Wyatt's mom came to hang too and I made the kids some homemade brownies. Well, as the brownies were cooking we went and sat outside while they played. I noticed Robert was laying on the ground with the soccer ball and not really playing. When we came in to get the brownies out of the oven Robert laid on the couch and fell asleep within 2 minutes. I thought to myself "Oh crap..... he's getting sick." Robert will be sure to tell you he "DOES NOT TAKE NAPS". He woke up an hour later with a 103 temperature. My pediatricians office has after hours from 5-7 so I called and got him in. Robert was laying on the couch screaming to me that he needed to go to the Dr. He was one sick little boy. He refused to walk so I had to carry him everywhere. When we got the Dr's office an hour later he was complaining of a terrible head ache and he said his neck hurt. He wouldn't really move his head and he was having trouble staying awake for the Dr's to talk to him. The Dr's were no joke....the had him admitted to the hospital before we even left the office. I knew if was bad when I heard the Dr talking to the hospital on the phone outside our room. He came in and said that Robert was "text book meningitis". My heart stopped. He said we were to go to the ER and they would do a spinal tap then he would stay for a couple days. I called Brian from the office and told him to call a friend up the street to come stay with Shane and Cecelia. I went into mommy survival mode.
When Brian got to the hospital I took his cell phone and called my sister Kara. Robert was asking for "Yaya" (what he calls Kara). Unfortunately she was the first person I called. I had held it together pretty well up until then. I called her and said "I am at the ER with Robert and they think he has meningitis and they have to do a spinal tap". At that point I lost it and sat there crying for a second. Then all I could get out was "I need you, come." Then I hung up. I then called my mom and Brian's mom. My mom came out to relieve my friend and stay with the other two kids. When I got back they called Roberts name. We then played musical chairs for a while as they decided whether they were going to do the spinal tap in the ER or in his room in the pediatric ward. It was very frustrating. When we were finally taken to an ER room one of Brian's friends showed up from church and they gave Robert a priesthood blessing. I am so thankful that I have the priesthood in my home and a worthy husband who can give his child a blessing. Yaya showed up and Robert perked up a little bit. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have her. The Dr's came in and administered some medicine to make Robert "relax" and go to sleep for the spinal tap. As you can see in the first picture, they had to stick him several times to get the IV in. That probably was the worst part-- Robert looking up at me screaming and crying telling me to make them stop and there was nothing I could do. They asked us to leave the room while they did the procedure. When they were done they said that his spinal fluid was exceptionally clear and it probably wasn't bacterial meningitis. Viral meningitis takes a couple days for the results to come back. It was actually quite funny when Robert was coming out of the the "sleep".
We knew he was OK when we finally got to his room and the first thing he said was "This is a girls room. There are butterflies on the wall." And sure enough the border on the wall was butterflies. He informed the nurse that it needed to be sports. Oh Robbie, Robbie. He also immediately noticed the Nintendo as well. Brian then stayed with him while I ran home and got some clothes, Robert's sleeping bag he wanted and some pajamas for him. I went back and relieved Brian and he came home to sleep and help my mom the next morning with the kids. When Robert woke up (or should I say when the nursed came and woke him up) and they took his temperature it was almost 103. They gave him some Motrin and it went down to 101.6. His Dr came in to see him and said they had almost definately ruled out meningitis. They allowed me to take him home if I promised to make him drink and count how many times he peed. They made him drink a huge glass of apple juice and use the bathroom before he left the hospital. We came home yesterday and he slept for 4 hours. He then went to bed at about 10pm and slept until 10am this morning. He still has a fever and still is one sick little boy. BUT NO MENINGITIS!!! :) I have never been so scared in my life.I must say things like this put things back into perspective. I am so thankful to have three beautiful children and a husband who honors his priesthood. We have a couple more days of being sick as they think it is just some horrible virus. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to one of my babies. I am so thankful to be near my family. I will keep you updated on Robert's recovery! Thank you for all your prayers and support.
