Heart Murmur, Reflux, the Flu ... OH MY!

Our sweet Miss Parker has really come into this world with a bang. Maybe she will be our drama queen because she sure does like to make a statement.

First, at birth she scared us with a Heart Murmur. Full story: http://morrisonlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/miss-parker-gave-us-little-scare.html)

Second, at 3-4 weeks she was diagnosed with a bad case of Acid Reflux. Full Story: http://morrisonlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/one-tough-week-with-old-faithful.html

Third, at 5 weeks she was diagnosed with the flu. Full Story: below.


On Saturday, March 10th, Parker woke up at 3:30am to eat. I was thrilled that she has slept that long before waking up to eat for the first time. While feeding her, I noticed that her head was hot. I checked her temp and it was 99.9. If a newborn has a fever over 100.4, then that's considered an emergency and you must get them to the doctor. I prayed over her and she fell back asleep after eating. She didn't wake again until 8am to eat. She still felt hot, and her temp had risen to 101.2. It never fails, kids always get a fever on the weekend. I called her doctor and the triage nurse told us which Urgent Care to take her to that could handle an infant under 12 weeks.

Long story short, when we were seen by the doctor (thankfully newborns see a different doctor than the other 200 people in the waiting room so we got in fairly quickly) he told us that he would have to run some standard tests to find out why she had a fever. He then said it could be as simple as a virus or as bad as Bacterial Meningitis that's eating away at her brain. REALLY?! Why in the world would you say that! Sure, those may be the facts, but that is not what two worried parents need to hear. From that point on I tried not to completely lose it.

We were there for 3 hours while they inserted an IV in her tiny arm, drew blood, took a chest xray, and tried three times before finally getting a urine sample to test for a UTI. While we waited they gave her IV fluids to keep her hydrated because her temp had risen to 102. I shed many tears as we waited to hear some results as to what was wrong with Parker. By that afternoon, most of the tests had come back negative, which was good news, but we still had no answers. The last of the blood work, the info we really needed, was messed up in the lab and the results were inconclusive. REALLY?!

At that point, the doctor called across the street to St. Francis and got us directly admitted to a room for further testing. Thankfully, he knew some of the doctors over there so we were able to bypass the ER, etc. After we checked in, a team of two doctors came in to talk to us about what was going on. They already had all of Parker's paperwork and they knew exactly where we left off at the Urgent Care.

They took a sample from her nose to test her for RSV, the flu, etc. The test would take 3 hours to get the results ... so, we waited. After 2 hours, the two doctors and their boss (the head pediatrician) came in to tell me that they rushed the test and would have an answer in 10 minutes. They did this because they needed to proceed with further testing if that test came back negative. The test came back negative. The next test was a Lumbar Puncture (or Spinal Tap). They do this to test the spinal fluid and check for Bacterial Meningitis and something else. I was allowed to go with Parker for this test, but I chose not to. Greg had gone home to check on the big girls, and I needed a moment to myself. I watched everything else that they did to my innocent newborn that day and I couldn't bring myself to watch that test as well. So, I handed her to the doctor and I lost it. It was the first time that I just let go and cried. I cried hard and I prayed hard. The test only took 15-20 minutes and Parker was back in my arms.


Around 9pm that night, a nurse came in the room and said that Parker had the flu. The flu? How? That test was negative. Apparently, when the test is rushed it can come back with a false negative reading. After the test was able to run its full 3 hours, it came back positive for the flu. We had never in our lives been so thrilled to hear it was the flu. Our 5 week old had the flu and we could not have been happier ... considering the alternatives.

So, we spent Saturday through Monday afternoon in the hospital. By Monday, Parker and I were both ready to go. Here is a picture of our sweet girl once she started getting a little more peppy:

The brace on her right arm was protecting the IV that was left in there in case she needed antibiotics, fluids, etc. Thankfully, it was never used at the hospital.

We left the hospital with Tamiflu and directions to bring her back if she ran any more fever. We have lived the last week "in a bubble" inside our home to allow her to get back to 100%. Not to mention the fact, that my sweet girl gave me the flu and I'm still recovering from that. :)

Thank you to everyone who prayed for Parker's health. You have no idea how much we needed those prayers. This was one of the scariest things we have gone through and I'm not sure that we could have gotten through some of it without those prayers of support. Thank you also to everyone that helped take care of the girls and us, and to those who brought us food. You know who you are and you are amazing!

I read a Parents Devotional on my phone. While in the hospital, my devotional verse was Psalms 46:10 - “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Amen!