Another one of those days..

So on Tuesday I had to take Parker in to the ER. He still wasn't feeling well. He was vomiting, constantly, screaming, and now running 100.9 fever. Anytime we go to the ER-unless it's extreme emergencies- we have to go to Children's, which is an hour and a half away. So one of my best friends came with me. We both packed bags just in case and we hit the road. Our first problem occurred when we got to the Luiling bridge. As we are approaching, I see a cop car sitting at the foot of the bridge with his lights on and a huge sign. As we get closer I see it says "Road Closed". Seriously? As if that sign couldn't have been put before the exit to let people know the bridge was closed and to take the West Bank? So we get detoured down river road, which is the longest road ever and I have to take the Huey P. Long bridge. I am freaking out! Silently of coarse- ok maybe not so much. I have never even been on this bridge before- for obvious reasons- much less driven on it. I tell Kandice to say a prayer and then I take a deep breath. Not so bad after all, but I will still take 1-10 from now on! So we get to the ER and they take us straight back because our team had already told them we were coming. It was actually quite nice. The doctors listen to him, test for RSV, do chest x-rays, blood cultures, dialysis specimens, and check his electrolytes. (Remember this for later) Everything comes back "fine" and we are sent home. Basically, we are told its a virus and there is nothing they can do for it. We have to ride it out, but give Tylenol every 4 hours for fever. Frustrating, right? So, remember I talked about Parker's electrolytes? These are his calcium, phosphorous, potassium, iron, magnesium, sodium, etc. Your kidneys regulate these for you in a sense, and since Parker has none, he is a human "chemistry set" like Jason says. We have to monitor these like crazy because in the blink of an eye they can go drastically up or down. Well when the on call nephrologist-kidney doctor-called the ER to check on Parker's electrolytes, he was told they were all "normal". So the next day his team gets in to the office, double checks them again, and of course, they are not normal. His calcium is dangerously low. His calcium has always been really high so his dialysis solution was always low-cal. This brings us to today. We have to go up there for repeat labs. Sandy and I leave the house thinking everything is fine so we don't pack bags and we head to the city. We go straight to lab for blood work and then go upstairs to dialysis. Well his calcium was still super low. Actually "dangerously low" were the exact words. If he bottomed out any more than he alraedy was, he was at risk of seizing. So of course now I am freaking out! Then they start talking about admitting us to do a calcium infusion through IV. If they do this it's possible we could end up in the PICU, because the floor may not be able to handle this. At this point my head is spinning, and the tears are flowing. I have hit meltdown city! Luckily, we were able to give him calcium orally and do another blood test. He immediately started looking better. It was actually crazy how quick this worked. The doctors eventually decided to let us come home, because he was not symptomatic. We are giving him calcium carbonate by mouth three times a day and are now on regular calcium dialysis solution instead of low-cal. We have to go back to Children's Hospital Thursday for more labs to make sure his calcium is coming up. Another long day in the city, but well worth it. I am happy to report that besides his viral symptoms, he is feeling and looking much better. Please keep saying prayers!
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