Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Footloose and Fever-Free



So after five days of high fevers, crying (both of us) and too many unanswered questions, Chloe is finally on the mend! She has been fever-free for almost 24 hours without the help of Tylenol or Motrin. I am so relieved.

Initially we thought that a UTI was cause of her fevers. And while that was probably the true at first, it ended up being a little more complicated. The doctor started her on antibiotics for the infection and after 3 days she was still running a temp near 105. Obviously that should not have been the case. So we went back to the Dr.'s office where her exam showed nothing. He then sent us to the hospital for bloodwork and chest x-rays. It all seemed a little drastic, but I really wanted some answers so that we could get her well.

Well, the bloodwork showed a couple of slight abnormalities, but they were all consistent with a viral infection. However the chest x-ray revealed the real problem. She had developed a spot in her lung that had gotten infected. There is a name for it, but I can't even begin to pronounce it. Basically, if not enough deep breaths are taken, over time some of the tiny hairs can start to clump together and can get infected. Apparently this is pretty common among people with more severe, long-lasting illnesses. Chloe has always been a fairly shallow breather and the high fevers from the UTI just exaggerated that. I was worried about this being a recurring condition, but the doctor assured me that the lung infection is just a result from her other illness. Luckily he was able to give her one prescription that will take care of the UTI and the lung infection. After only 12 hours on the new meds she was like a new baby! She is still not 100%, but she is well on her way.

Thank you for all of your concern. Betweeen a UTI, a viral infection, an infected area of her lung and a nasty case of teething, it has been a pretty rough 5 day for our sweet baby. This was quite a doosy for her first time being sick! It is scary when a little one is so sick and can't tell you what is wrong!

3 comments:

Thalita Dol said...

Yey! I'm happy she is better!!

I can imagine how hard it was...
For her and for you!
I remember well when my brother was little, he always had ear infections and my mom always cried along with him...

It's so nice to see little Chloe smiling!

Kisses from Brazil!

Anonymous said...

We were so glad to see her smiley self last night!

Stacy said...

Oh, she's been through alot to get well, but glad she is on the mend. Lung things are scary. Anya had RSV when she was less than a year old and that was no fun. Cute shot of your adorable little girl!