Dear Atticus,
Where to begin my little bird...
On Monday evening at 530pm, your Dad was finishing feeding you your bottle and thought you felt warm. I did not think so you always feel hot. You went to sleep after that and we continued our night of bath time and bed time with Harrison. At 830pm I heard you stir and wanted to put you in your pajamas for the night. When I took off your clothes you protested and your torso area was so hot. I took your temperature and it was 102. I found my information from your pediatrician and it said any temp under the age of 3 months to call immedately. So I did and the answering service would have a nurse call me. We received a call back in 2 minutes. They verified your name and mine and said to go to the emergency room ASAP. We arrived at our local hospital at 9pm. Since I did not know what to expect your Dad stayed home and put Harrison to bed like normal and your Grand met me at the hospital. We were seen within 20 minutes and the doctor was in and giving the standard checks for a high fever in a newborn. First they did a chest X-ray then they put in an IV to start antibiotics and drew blood.
After 5 attempts they got one in. I am so thankful you will never remember that or any of this experience. After the second attempt I could not even talk to you to comfort you. There really was no comforting since you were being used as a pin cushion. Once it was in the next was a lumbar puncture to retrieve spinal fluid. The doctor performed this and at first your fluid was clear and he was happy and by the third vial he could see what he thought was white blood cells and was concerned. He told us you would have to be admitted to the hospital and would be transferred to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. We waited on the doctor to check out all of your initial tests and we were able to provide a urine sample without a catheter. There was no way I was going to make you go through that unless it was necessary. Soon the EMTs were there with the stretcher to strap you onto it and the doctor confirmed his diagnosis of meningitis. At that time he hoped viral but your CNF and blood must be left in a petri dish and watched for growth as this would confirm whether your meningitis was bacterial. By 1am we were on our way…
All of your Aunts were all alerted to the happenings and Lauren was working the night we were transported. She is a nurse in the NICU so you were not her patient but she kept an eye out for us. During the transfer Grand went to our house to be with Harrison and your Dad met us at Vandy. We arrived by 130am and immediately you were wheeled into a room with 5 nurses and 2 doctors. Your temp was 101.7 and they gave you Tylenol. The EMT gave his report and the doctors began asking me lots of questions. Every person that came in asked me the same series of questions about your condition. After they all left us, Lauren came in to see us. It was a relief to see her and have a hug from someone that cares about us. Your Dad was not far behind and we then were met with 2 doctors that would be on the floor of the hospital we would be sent to. You ate and tried to rest during this time. We were in our room by 330am. We attempted to rest and your doctor team would be in during morning rounds for a treatment plan. The plan at that time was to continue antibiotics and monitor you while we waited on the CNF culture results. They were not committing to any diagnosis yet.
We spent the next two days giving updates and receiving a huge outpour of love and prayers from all over. News travelled fast and we are so blessed with the village of friends in our lives that offered food, clothes, prayers, hugs, etc. It was completely overwhelming. The entire experience was and has changed my perspective on many things I find myself stressing over. We would walk the halls at the hospital and hear words like cancer and see little ones crying in a room all alone day and night. We are beyond lucky to have two healthy little boys and things like a bad nights sleep or a minor tantrum are the common woes of a parent. I hope and pray we are never faced with what we saw over our stay at Vandy. I will happily be awaken by your cries or your brother's kicks beside me in bed because that means you are alive and well.
We received the good news on Thursday morning that you could go home and in fact you had viral meningitis. Your poor little body had a rough couple of days but you were fever free and we just were going to continue to give you TLC at home. We are so happy to be home again with Harrison and continue with life. You have been resting and eating like crazy. You received a clean bill of health at your follow up with your pediatrician and we will now just be more mindful of hand washing and keeping your brother away from your face and hands.
Our 4th of July was spent with friends by the pool and it was the best time. I cannot wait for next year when you can join us all in the water and watch the fireworks show your Dad and the guys put on. They did a super job. I was in and out of the house during that time because Harrison was scared. Thankfully they did not disrupt your rest.
I am overjoyed you are home and well. You gave me such a scare. My life would be shattered if something happened to you. You are a little superhero.
I love you,
Momma
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