Mono

We dropped off Lincoln with Bac Lang before our BMW trip on Sunday. He was under the weather and a little warm. It turns out he was feverish the whole time we were gone and didn't eat or drink anything.

When we returned on Tuesday afternoon he was pathetically lethargic. He ate the rice I fed him, but threw it up a couple of hours later. Later that night the threw the rest of it up. I stayed home with him W. Quoc's mom watched him Th, and he slept all day morning and afternoon.

I decided to take him to the pediatrician Th afternoon. Dr. Segula ran a cotton swab test and said he didn't have the flu. She ordered some blood tests, stat. Dr. Hay called late that evening and asked how he was doing. When I said he still wasn't eating or drinking anything and was still lethargic- for 5 days now, she reported that the test results came back with high inflammation and recommended we take him in to the the ER. It was a slow night and perhaps it helped that we said the doctor instructed us to take him in because after we checked in, he was seen within minutes. They took his temperature and weight and brought him to the back.

That's when the nightmare began. The nurse took his blood, which he was already scared about because he had already been poked twice earlier that day. Then she Velcro-ed him down to put in a catheter. Several times. His penis bled. When that didn't work, she called for another nurse to help. They worked together and then they went to get a feminine catheter- that was larger and harder. He cried and screamed and trembled. There was gnashing of teeth. I too, trembled. I didn't think I could take any more of it, but needed to be strong for my baby. They tested for the flu by inserting 6-in long tubes up each nostril, then they put in an IV and taped a thin board onto his arm to keep it outstretched. Then we took him to get x-rays where he was contained in a seat that would enclose him vertically with arms raised in a clear plastic tube. He cried from Mama, xuong'! Mama be^'!

When he came back to the room, we asked the nurse for saline in his IV. She finally returned with it, and I was relieved that he would finally get some fluids.

It turns out he had mono, a condition without treatment. He was at the tail end of it, needed to wait it out and could return to day care by Monday. The torture was all in vain. He was so traumatized at this point that as soon as the he felt the nurse' gloved hands on him he would scream. To top it off, he never got a drop of saline- something about the tube being bent. WTH?

Exhausted, we headed home. At least we got a prescription for anti-nausea.

Lessons Learned:

• Never leave my child overnight if I even think he might be ill.
• If he gets sick, take a flight home immediately. A sick baby needs his mommy.
• Pack for the babysitter: whole milk, medicine, his blanket
• Ask if the babysitter can clear his/her schedule to babysit. Be clear about time and location.

To do:

• Get a new pediatrician.
• At the ER, take charge. If all tests are needed, perform the least invasive ones first.

The toils of a parent. I wish this on no parent. My heart goes out to the unknown parents out there who have had to endure watching their child go through this extent of ER torture. I love Lincoln more than ever before.