At last....feeling better

It has taken me awhile to get this story to paper -- but now that we are settled at home I am ready to get caught up on the goings-on around here.

With a round of antibiotics, Maelyn had finally gotten back her health and seemed to be her old self again. She was even able to get back to daycare and play with her friends, which made her very happy!

A few days later, Thursday the 27th, we noticed that she was a little warm and we were concerned that she was getting sick again. We made an appointment for her at her paediatrician's and headed there in the afternoon. By this point she most definitely did not seem to be herself and her fever seemed to be getting worse. The doctor ordered another round of antibiotics and wanted to send her for some tests -- her urinary tract infection had gotten worse.

With prescription in hand, we headed home. On the way, Maelyn started shivering and I was concerned at how sick she must be for her fever to get so high that she was shivering. The next thing I knew, Maelyn was having a seizure and turning blue before my eyes.

I cannot begin to explain the instant panic I felt -- watching my daughter's eyes roll into the back of her head, her joints go stiff and the colour blue that was spreading across her face. I screamed at Paul to pull over and call 911 -- but he panicked and insisted that he could get us to the hospital. I knew that we were at least twenty minutes away from the hospital, so I kept screaming at him until he finally pulled over on the side of the road.

Paul was on the phone with 911 and I ran around the truck to get her out of her car seat. I grabbed her and placed her on the patch of grass, rolling her onto her side. She had drool coming out the sides of her mouth and I was afraid that she was choking. She still looked blue, but some of her colour started returning to her face.

We were frantically waving people down to help -- I knew that we weren't making any sense for the 911 operator. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world and our brains had gone numb. Fortunately, the second person who pulled over to help was an off-duty EMS worker and he took over the 911 call and started taking her vital signs.

At this point a police officer had shown up and then we heard the fire engines. I cannot tell you how relieved I felt when I knew that people whose brains weren't complete mush were there to help Maelyn.

I stayed right there with Maelyn and I watched as she finally opened her eyes -- but she wasn't really seeing anything. She was staring blankly and not reacting to any stimulation. The firefighters brought Maelyn into the truck where it was warm while we waited for the ambulance. It seemed to take forever!

When the ambulance arrived, Maelyn was assessed and then we headed to the hospital. En route, Maelyn started to come around and finally started to cry -- music to my ears.

In the hospital,, Maelyn was assessed quickly -- and it was confirmed that she was one sick little girl. It turns out her urinary tract infection, which was E. Coli based, had spread throughout her system. Her white cell count was through the roof and they had trouble bringing her temperature down.

Our poor little miss went through so much -- an IV was started, she had to have a catheter urine test done, and then she was admitted to the hospital.

Paul and I figured that Maelyn would be in the hospital for a day or two -- imagine our surprise when we left the hospital nine days later.

Maelyn's fever kept spiking and she would throw up and then her heart rate would spike -- and this Mommy would sit staring at her little miss to make sure she was breathing properly. The first four days in the hospital were exhausting, as we worried for her the entire time. Paul and I both stayed with Maelyn round the clock, taking small breaks when we were completely exhausted. Finally, after a second IV line had to be started, multiple blood tests were taken, and the third round of IV antibiotics administered, Maelyn started to improve.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Maelyn was a trooper. She was very brave and barely fussed at all. In fact, she would let us know when she was going to be sick to her stomach and would tell us to get the bowl. Then she would tell us that she was all done and to clean her up. Although there were the few times she would cry out, "I wanna go home!" our little miss barely complained at all, even though she was stuck in bed for nine days.

The messages, emails and phone calls we received from family and friends while Maelyn was in the hospital let us know how very loved our little girl is -- and we are so very grateful that she is home, healthy, and getting back to herself.