God is Good!

Londyn and Zander decided that last Wednesday evening was a good night for their first ER visit. They were both running a fever, although Londyn's was higher and had been for some time. She was running about 101.3* F an hour after Tylenol. Zander was around 99*. Being only six weeks old, we decided it was better to be safe than sorry. So, Nanny Wu and I bundled them up and took them to ER at Shawnee Mission Medical Center.

After a urinary, chest x-ray and blood draw, Zander looked fine. They decided he had an "upper respiratory infection", a fancy way of saying a cold. Londyn, however, was a completely different story. The ER doc called a pediatrician and after much discussion decided they also needed to to a spinal tap, since they found nothing in the initial results of the urinary test and blood draw. The bad news was that she needed to be admitted to Children's Mercy. They don't like to fool around with babies that little. I decided to let the doctors at Children's Mercy do the spinal tap, since they are used to working with little ones, and Shawnee Mission obviously (at least to me!) wasn't.

Heartbroken, I drove my baby girl to Children's Mercy and my mom took Zander home. Neither twin was impressed. Upon arrival, we were able to go right to her room, by-passing Urgent Care. Two nurses and the doctor met us there. The doc explained the whole lumbar puncture procedure, which helped put me at ease. They took Londyn and the doc was back in less than 15 minutes, saying she slept thru the whole procedure. They hooked her up to an iv to replace lost fluids and to give her antibiotics.

Not having slept for about 27 hours already, I was very tired, but unable to sleep, due to all the emotion and turmoil of the last few hours. I just held my precious baby girl and prayed.

She awoke around 6:30 to eat, but cried in pain for almost an hour and a half. I was unable to console her. Finally, the nurse came in and took her. As soon as he did, Londyn relaxed and drifted off to sleep. He talked to us for a few minutes, but when he'd move, she'd start crying again. He felt like she had a headache from the LP. So he swaddled her and gave her Tylenol. She slept for four hours and woke ravenous. After eating, she acted more like her old self.

Meanwhile, Daddy showed up to be with us. His job is still giving him fits. They didn't think he needed to take off and is trying to keep his holiday pay from Friday. God knows our needs and I know Douglas did the right thing in being with us. So, whatever the outcome, God is still on His throne and has our address. He will supply!

We had to stay there for 48 hours until all her test results came back. Saturday morning, I expected the doctor to make her rounds around noon. Imagine my surprise when she strolled into the room at 8:20, saying discharge papers were completed! All Londyn's test results were negative; the cause of her fever was ruled a viral infection. After three rounds of antibiotics (which don't do anything for a virus) and lots of rest, our little Londyn was back to normal. Her little black eyes just snapped when we put her in her car seat to take her home.

As we were standing at the nurses station, the doctor asked us to stop by the family consult room; she needed to talk to us before we left. She stepped away to take a page and Douglas asked me if I had stolen something! When she returned, she informed us that the lab had just called at 9:00 stating that there was one cluster of bacteria in Londyn's spinal fluid. Our hearts sank thru the floor- does this mean we will have to turn around and go right back into that room??? The doctor smiled and said that it was not the type of bacteria to cause an infection, but rather was a contamination from Londyn's skin when the needle was inserted. She said she just wanted us to be aware of this, and we were still free to go. As soon as she left the room, we made a mad dash for the door!

Coming home was so nice. The twins were glad to be together again. They hung out the rest of the day and would just touch each other to be sure they weren't alone. What precious gifts God has given us!

I give God all the glory for His healing hand. Even when we go thru a trial, He is our comfort and strength. Thank you all for your prayers- they helped make a difference!