Erm, hello? Mother over here not very amused by this!!!!!

Wow! Where have the last 2 weeks gone. Things have been a little bit manic and upside down.

When I last wrote as you know I was in lots of pain, I didn’t however mention that my little boy was poorly. He had come out in some spots, at first I thought it was chicken pox, but soon discovered it wasn’t. He was covered head to two in little spots, he wasn’t quite himself either. His temperature had rocketed to 39.3. We took him to out of hours where calpol and ibuprofen was recommended and told it was just a virus. The following day the temperature dropped to 34.1, after ‘googling’ it, it made us aware that a low temperature can cause hypothermia, so another call to 111, and another visit to out of hours, where we were told to keep him wrapped up. How bizarre, his room was 25 degrees, he had a sleepsuit on, was wrapped up in a 2.5 tog sleeping bag and had a hat on, and yet all night we couldn’t get his temperature to reach 35 degrees. I just knew something wasn’t right (guess this is what they call mothers intuition!), so I took him to the GP. My baby boy is far too precious to me to ignore these symptoms and the fact he just isn’t quite himself. The GP agreed it was just a virus, and I was satisfied with his explanation and agreed with his suggestion to keep him out of circulation for a week.

However, the day after I last posted, I washed him at 8am as usual and he still had the rash which he had, had for 5 days. Less than an hour later I noticed the rash on his leg had changed, I pressed on it and it didn’t disappear. So out came the glass and the glass test reached the same conclusion, the rash was not disappearing. So by this point I was a little worried however my little boy was still alert and responsive and with everything I know about meningitis (albeit very little) the rash is generally the last symptom by which point the they would be very poorly. I therefore made the call to phone my GP practice, who I have to say since joining them in December have impressed me no end. I was seen very promptly, and the Dr was a little concerned but as he was so alert, was in two minds what to do about it. He suggested going to the hospital to be on the safe side and I completely agreed, you can never be too careful. Especially when he is only 6 months and can’t tell you how he is feeling. I don’t really know how I held myself together; I can honestly say I have never been as scared as I was at that point and for the next couple of days.

We went straight to the hospital, and he was looked over by a dr who wanted to take bloods and also suggested possibly carrying out a lumbar puncture. I agreed to the bloods but had to speak with hubby before deciding on the other test and I needed to know more about what it involved, risks etc...

The bloods were traumatic! They struggled to find a vein anywhere and ended up having to go in at his wrist, where they canulated too, so had to splint his arm up to keep it straight. The blood went everywhere, he was screaming. And then when they tried to tape it down and bandage it up, because he was sweating the tape kept slipping off. The Dr seemed to find this amusing, or at least that’s what I got from him laughing. ‘’Erm, hello? Mother over here not very amused by this!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!’’ I was so angry.

After that and speaking to my husband we did agree to the lumbar puncture but I did ask if anyone else could carry this out, my confidence in that Dr after the bloods wasn’t all that good. Unfortunately, not, but we had to make sure they found out what was wrong so that he could be treated. I couldn’t go in the room with him, and still feel awful for not doing that now. Instead, I sat in the room next door, hearing him cry, it was complete torture, and I just wished I could take it all away from him. Sitting in that room, it took me back to when I was a teenager and my first experience of hospital. I am glad unlike me that my little boy is too young to remember! This was the type of experience that has made me cautious and untrusting of hospitals ever since. They had a similar difficulty with my blood and that went everywhere too. They told my parents to prepare themselves for the worst, as they didn’t have any idea what was wrong with me. It wasn’t until I was sitting in hospital with my little boy that I had any idea how they must have been feeling. OMG, this is hell. This is the part about being a parent I am not liking.

He got through the lumbar puncture like the brave little boy he is and then they began daily IV antibiotics. We stayed in hospital on the same ward I did 14 years ago, for 2 nights and the best part of 3 days. We went home knowing most of the results were clear but we would need to go back the following day for the results of the blood cultures and he would need to keep the canular in, in case they needed to continue with the IV antibiotics. The poor little boy, the arm which was bandaged up due to the canular was the thumb he sucks, so he couldn’t get to it.

The following day we went back and the cultures were clear too. They put the whole thing down to a virus. The canular came out and he got his thumb back. He also got a trip to ‘Toys r us’ and some new toys for being our brave little boy.

What a hard experience, and I am sure I am still catching up on my sleep, words can’t describe how happy I am that my little boy is OK though. I am truly blessed to have him!

I am still suffering with my pain and managed to get to my emergency rheumy appointment, we didn’t go for a steroid injection and instead we are trying a new painkiller, Gabapentin. So far, so good, no side effects to note and it seems to be taking the edge of the pain, making day to day a little more manageable.

I feel like life is just about getting back to normal now, the hospital stay really turned things upside down.

Thanks for reading again, will keep you all posted on any more developments in my life, which now isn’t all about my arthritis, but what comes with being a wife and mother too! Which reminds me, we have also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary in the last 2 weeks too. Love you hubby, thanks for being my rock xxx