Drama at the Hunter House

So Saturday night, Ben put the kids in the bath and walked into the Living Room, where I was sitting.  He had just meant to come out for a minute, but got distracted.  After a little while, I said "the bath water is still running" so he got up to turn it off and check on the kids.  We don't normally leave Brynna unattended in the bath because of how little she is.  That being said, he walked in to find the bathtub full to the brim and Brynna bobbing under the surface of the water.  She was conscience but not struggling.  Most likely scenario is that she fell, but couldn't get back on her feet because of how deep the water is.  She had probably struggled for awhile, but unable to get enough breath to scream, we never heard her.  She had gotten to the point of giving up when Ben walked in.  He grabbed her out and walked into the Living Room, where she coughed up water and then puked up even more.  She was pale as death and tired, but breathing just fine, so we thanked our lucky stars and put the kids in bed.

The next morning, Brynna woke up with a cough.  It wasn't bad, and it wasn't unexpected (she had just almost downed).  But as the day progressed, her cough progressed and she started wheezing.  I took her into the Dr.'s late Sunday night.  The retard of a Dr. (PA actually) tried to listen to her breathe and take her blood O2 saturation level, but every time anyone got near her, she screamed bloody murder (it was between 11p and 1a so she was really tired).  So they couldn't get an accurate measurement and he couldn't hear her very well. They also did a chest X-ray to check for fluid in her lungs and did some blood work.  The Dr said the x-ray looked "really good" (his words exactly) but her white blood count was elevated.  He called the on call Dr for his opinion.  He decided that since her o2 level looked ok enough and her x-ray looked fine, we could go home.  He said that he was pretty sure she didn't aspirate water since a baby's reflex is to hold their breath.  Her elevated white blood count could come from her runny nose (it had been running for 3 days cuz she is cutting a tooth).  I told him that I know she aspirated water cuz i saw her cough it up and puke it up.  He said that we should come back the next day.

So Brynna wakes up after only sleeping 5 hours and tosses and turns for the rest of the morning.  She can't get comfortable and her wheezing is getting worse.  Luckily her appointment was at noon, so we didn't have to wait too long.

combing her hair while waiting for the dr

This time we saw an actual Dr who listened to the whole story so i didn't have to repeat myself a million times (that saved a lot of time).  She entered "near drowning" into her computer which was kinda nice since the guy from the night before wouldn't believe me.  She listened to her chest and heard Brynna wheezing (it helped that Brynna was a bit more cooperative and that it had gotten worse) and ordered a new x-ray and a breathing treatment.  She also told me that if, heaven forbid, this ever happens again, to come in right away because they can die within the first 12 hours of something called dry drowning.  YIKES!!!!  I told her not to worry because my children weren't allowed to drink water anymore, let alone bathe or swim in it.

waiting for her xray

The report from the night before had come back to say that there was a haziness that indicated aspirating water (told you stupid dr) but the dr wanted to make sure it hadn't gotten worse.  The guy running the x-ray was a total jerk and strapped brynna into this machine that holds her in place (like the night before) but instead of letting her out as soon as he was done, he made her stay there until the film developed because he didnt want to have to put her back in.

evil xray guy positioning Brynna

poor baby girl

After the X-ray, the guy gave her a sucker which she sucked on happily, but when we got back to the room, they had to take it away so they could do a nebulizer treatment for her breathing.  She was not happy with that, nor was she happy that I had to hold a mask to her face.  She screamed the entire time.  The Dr came back in after her torture was up to listen to her chest again.  The nebulizer worked and she was breathing slower and wheezeless.  The x-ray looked the same as it did last night (she definitely did not use the phrase "very good" while looking at it).  The Dr said we could go home and give Brynna a steroid to help the inflammation and to do a nebulizer every 4-6 hours for the next 5 days.  If she got any worse, take her back in immediately.

So we went home and I gave her the medicine, but within 10 mins she threw it up.  She had not been able to keep anything down that day and she was not interested in drinking anything either.  When around 4p she still hadn't peed, I tried calling the Dr again to find out about the meds and the dehydration.  Their phones were down, and Brynna was doing fine, so I decided to wait and just take her to class with me so I could keep an eye on her.  After class I got ahold of the Drs office and they told me what to look for and to giver her another dose of the steroid.  If her dehydration didnt get better, or if she couldnt keep the steroid down, to take her back in.  Luckily, when we go home, the drama of the day had worn off and she actually drank, took her meds, and ate without puking.

It took her awhile to warm up to the breathing treatments that she has to do all the time, but tonight she didnt even cry once.  It helps if I put the extra mask on her baby doll and give her the iPod to play with.

she is saying cheese, but doesnt realize that we cant see her mouth lol

my kids all spent the day in just their diapers/undies after yesterday's ordeal

no Brynna, you are not done.  put your mask back on

Brynna is doing much better today and she should be 100% in by the weekend.  This was extreemly traumatic for Ben and I (talk about feeling like horrid parents) and more so for Brynna.  I don't think she will like bath time again for a loooooong time and I dont think I will let my kids have a bath time for awhile.  For awhile it will be get in, soap up, and get out.  Hopefully we will recover from the scare soon enough, but never enough to ever leave them unattended again.  Lesson learned.