Stomach Flu

I was hoping this blog would become very uneventful.  Monday I took Daphne to her weekly transplant clinic appointment and everything was looking very good.  Unfortunately, Monday night Daphne started throwing up.  She threw up quite a bit that night.  Tuesday we took Daphne to her pediatrician who immediately had her admitted to the hospital for dehydration.  It was nice being able to skip the emergency room.  It was a big disappointment to have to go back so soon. 

Daphne did learn how to drink pedialite out of a bottle during this hospitalization. 

She was given IV fluids to help re-hydrate her.  When we got to the hospital she started to get diarrhea as well.  During our first night there she also spiked a fever of 39.2⁰C.  The fever quickly went down, but it took quite a few days for Daphne to tolerate her feeds again and to get her electrolytes back where they should be.   The day before the stomach flu Daphne weighed 8.17 kg.  The next day she weighed 7.62 kg and after a week of diarrhea she got as low as 6.92 kg.  After that low weight they started replacing her fluids much more aggressively.  The next day she popped back up to 8.09 kg. 

All of this also happened the day after Brad went back to work.  Everyone was so helpful though.  Brad’s mom helped with Rowan everyday.  Brad’s sister looked after Rowan too and organized meals to be delivered to us.  Brad’s aunties also visited the hospital lots so I could take naps, which I really needed.  Daphne has started to prefer sleeping with mommy.  That meant we shared the tiny hospital parent cot most nights.  In the past I have insisted they give Daphne a full size bed for nights like that.  But now I do prefer the crib for safety.  I want to be able to leave her in a safe place if I leave the room to shower or make a cup of tea. 

Rowan is really having fun dressing herself these days!

Daphne was discharged Thursday after 9 days of hospitalization for stomach flu.  I was told that there were a number of transplant kids back in the hospital for stomach flu.  Edmonton is crawling with it.  Strange that no one in the family has been sick with it though.  Daphne will just be picking things up so much more easily than us.  Any advice on ways to boost immunity would be very much appreciated.   I felt pretty guilty that I let her get sick so soon after her initial discharge.  We are doing a major toy clean at the house to get rid of any lingering germs.  I have also started to pray much more specifically for Daphne’s protection against illness. 

Using a wrap instead of a stroller is a much better way to go for walks with an IV pole.