Back to the hospital

Timmy was discharged yesterday, with some medication to take to help with reflux. I came home after work, since Lara was going to be leaving the hospital right around the time I was leaving the office. Well, leaving the hospital took longer than Lara expected, and she didn't actually make it out until around 8 PM.

Just over half-way home, Lara heard Timmy being unusually fussy in the backseat, and then crying and moving around in a way that indicated to her that something was wrong. She got off the highway and pulled over by the University of Redlands to check on him. Timmy had gone rigid, and he felt hot and sweaty. Lara tried to get his attention, but his eyes kept moving around, and he was clearly not responding to her. A young lady walking her dog nearby heard Lara crying Timmy's name, and offered to call 9-1-1. The paramedics came, Lara followed them to the hospital, and I drove over to meet them in the Emergency Room.

We (and some friends) had suspected that Timmy might be having seizures, especially over the course of the past week. The trouble is that an infant with reflux will often tense up in the same way due to the discomfort, and the seizure medications are the kind that shouldn't be given if the child doesn't need them. It's clear now, though, that it's something we're going to have to deal with.

While in the E.R., Timmy had another seizure, this time lasting over twenty minutes. But in this case, he was surrounded by doctors and nurses the entire time, witnessing the event and providing increasing doses of medication to get it to stop. Eventually it did, his heart rate and breathing returned to normal, and he was able to sleep for a while.

Sometime around 11 PM (I don't remember exactly) we were transferred back upstairs, this time into a step-down unit. This is an area that is a "step down" from intensive care, but still has an increased level of monitoring for patients. The attention from the nurses and the peace and quiet in this unit are a huge improvement over where we were previously this week. We're actually being seen by neurologists, who know what's going on with Timmy. He's now getting the medication he needs both for the reflux and to help prevent further seizures.

So that’s the latest. We’re still in the hospital, and we don’t yet have an idea of how long it will be. Today they’re simply monitoring him and keeping him on the IV; we’ll just have to wait and see how he does.