Maryella has had a fever between 102.7 and 104.1 for the last 4 days. I took her to the ped yesterday because she was really not herself. Her ped saw this and sent us to the ER. We spent over 5 hours there last night, and still have no answers. She has a rash that keeps popping up when the fever gets real high, and she has lesions on her throat. They tested for strep, and the rapid test came back negative. Her ped wanted them to get a urine culture and they didn't. She also wanted IV fluids and they didn't do that either. They gave her this stuff they called "magic mouthwash" - benadryl and malox to coat her throat so she'd drink more. She drank 4.5 ounces from 2pm to 9pm and the second dr we had at the 7pm shift change thought this was "good." For a kid that drinks a bottle every 3 hours religiously from the day she was born, that's not good! The second dr was such a moron. He did nothing that the first one planned to do. Her discharge papers say it's hand, foot, and mouth. It can't be. 6 doctors looked at her hands and feet yesterday, and that is the only place she didn't have a rash. When I asked the nurse if the doctor put that just so he didn't have to admit that he didn't know which virus she had, she said yes. I completely understand that it's harder to identify viruses than bacterial infections, and I'm fine with that, but don't tell me it's something (especially something she clearly doesn't have) just so you don't have to admit you don't know what it is! I was livid, but just wanted to get her home to bed. Which really didn't matter, because she didn't sleep most of the night. Her peds office called this morning to see how everything went, and when I gave them the run-down of the visit, they were pissed. I am so completely exhausted and frustrated at this point. They're almost positive that it's viral, so there really isn't much they can do. If she doesn't show improvement by tomorrow she has to go back to the ped and then they'll send her to a different hospital. Her temp is a bit lower today, but she won't drink. She's had 4oz of fluid all day today, and one wet diaper. The diaper wasn't even that wet. I changed it more because she was in it for a while than because it was wet. I've offered milk, water, pedialyte, and popsicles in hopes of keeping her hydrated, and she refuses it all. I'm watching her like a hawk, but I feel so helpless. I just hope that this goes away, because I really don't want her to have to go through any more poking and prodding, and I hate seeing her this miserable and lethargic.
If you got this far, thanks for listening to my vent!
