Our Hospital Scare: Rotavirus

The Scariest Day

This post is not for the faint of heart. For the past 5 days I have been cleaning up vomit.  Mark, my 4 year old went to bed at 8pm on Wednesday night only to be woken up with a belly ache and lots of vomiting.  It lasted til about 3:30 am.

My daughter Julia was hit next.  Friday evening she went to bed with a bad headache and a pale face and by midnight the vomiting began til 3am.

Both times with the big kids once they woke up the next morning they were able to eat and drink (although they didn't have a huge appetite) without any more vomiting.  It took a full 24 hours and then they were bouncing all around as normal.

The third victim was not so lucky.  Micah, my 7 month old,  was having a happy Saturday until right after lunch around 1:45 he vomited everything he was fed.  Oh, no, I thought, not my Micah!  When the big kids got the virus I knew they would be fine by morning time.  But as the day lingered on and Micah couldn't nurse or sip water without vomiting I continued to get more and more concerned.  

By 6:30 I called the dr and left a message for him to call us.  By 7:45 I was talking to a nurse explaining Micah's symptoms when she heard that not only was he not able to nurse/eat all day long but that he wasn't wetting any diapers she said we needed to head to the ER immediately.

When you hear your child MUST go to the ER panic mode sets in. At that point he was still having spasms and throwing up from the sugar water we gave him.  My knees locked and I could barely pack the diaper bag.  I didn't know who to call first.  I called my mom to watch the big kids who were already in bed.  I called John to come home since he was at CVS getting pedialyte for Micah.  By 8:30 we were on the road to St Peters.  The whole car ride I was so afraid Micah was going to stop breathing.  He looked so limp and lifeless in his car seat.  He was definitely dehydrated.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not for I am with you.  Do not be dismayed I am your God.  I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This favorite bible verse of mine was being quoted again and again.  I wanted to believe that God knew what He was doing but I was so scared.  I hate being so helpless and out of control.  I know God had everything under control but I sure didn't like what was happening to us.  It was so hard to just trust God in that moment.

My husband was so calm (it was quite annoying).  I was a basket case and he was so orderly and calm and knew just what to say and do.  Thank God for him.  

At the hospital we had the best staff take care of us.  They all fell in love with Micah.  Micah had no fever, his vitals were fine, and he wasn't too dehydrated.  They gave him zofran to stop the spasms and they wanted me to try to feed him to see if he could keep it down.  If he kept it down we wouldn't have to do the IV and could go home.  Thankfully he was able to nurse and fell fast asleep.  Oh, I was so happy.

So, what did I learn from all this?  I stink at emergencies!!!!!!!!  I panic and fret and worry, and God tells us not to be anxious, to trust Him, to rest in Him.  I am just so thankful we were able to bring Micah home and that he is doing better today.  He still has diarrhea now which is super sad but at least he can keep foods down and is starting to get stronger.  

This Rotavirus is no joke!  We are praying that we don't get it from the kids.  We have Lysoled everything from door knobs, to sinks, to toilets, to counters.  We aired out the whole house today.  Every window was opened.  We did about 8 loads of laundry.  And we all washed our hands til our skin was raw.  

Thank you God for restoring our help.  Teach me not to panic Lord, and to trust you better.