Friday, July 11, 2008

I don't even know where to start, only because so much has happened over the past year and a half and I haven't written about it publicly. The post-partum issues that I briefly mentioned are more anxiety-related than oh, say, the fact that I still get a little nervous if I sneeze right after drinking a big glass of water. So, the past couple of weeks have been difficult for me for a couple of reasons but I think we're both doing well at the moment. Everything's gonna be all right.

Short version: she had an abscessed lymph node in her neck brought on by staph. The whole ordeal involved me taking her to an ER, a couple of days later to a pediatrician, then a couple of days after that to her official pediatrician who sent her directly to the ORL (ear, nose, throat) emergency room at l'hopital Necker in Paris. They then admitted her, did a scan in the evening and operated on her that same night. They kept her for 4 days since she had a drain inserted and started a treatment of 2 different antibiotics.

She was initially on intravenous antibiotics until the line stopped working, and in spite of the best efforts of 2 nurses and an anesthesiologist had to instead get shots. We were told that the shots were quite painful; not the needle but the medicine itself, and from my observation this is true. Since Monday she's been stuck by needles about 18-19 times, has bruises all over her arms, hands and feet, and gets upset whenever a strange woman comes too close to her. I'm hopeful that with time, her mistrust of people will pass. There was a loss of innocence this week that is heartbreaking for me, but I suppose that is part of being a parent.

The good news is that today at home she was her happy self with me and we laughed a lot together. She's learning to shake her butt to music and help herself to the box of baby cookies. I also have to say that I was really impressed by the staff at Necker and have nothing but good things to say about them. They were very kind to my baby, professional and competent in their work, but in addition to that I felt that they made every effort to respect their patients even if they were too small to be able to communicate. It's hard to explain what I really mean here but I really did appreciate that. There was a respect for babies as a person and that was important to me as one of the mothers.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is frightening. I am so glad everything is okay. Take Care!

Anonymous said...

You are a wonderful Mother and I'm sorry for all the unnerverning events the pass week. I hope for you both nothing but happy times from here on. She is a blessing and a real joy. You both are two lucky people to have a wonderful guy for a Dad and Husband.

Pumpkin said...

I am sorry that you and your family had to go through that.

I am happy that she is doing better. :)

Tarte said...

Oh, poor thing. I hope everything goes smoothly from now on. I know how difficult it is to see your little one go through something like that.

I'm happy that she is doing better and I hope you are too!

-T

Melissa said...

I'm glad stinkerbell is shaking her tail feathers at home. Here's a hug to you both!

C. said...

Glad to read she is back at home and doing well. Sounds like it must have been so hard.

Kathy said...

Hey there! I've been thinking about you since we spoke on the phone. Hope she continues to make positive progress!

Got a class reunion this weekend. 20 years - can you believe it!

I posted a couple vacation photo on the blog today if ya want to look. It's the first I've posted in a month! Just a crazy summer! I'll post more on flicker soon.