A Night at Dell Children's Emergency Rom

Thursday night we had our first serious scare as parents.


I planned to take Friday off of work to visit daycares in Austin. So Amelia and I set off from Houston at her normal bedtime (so she can sleep most of the way in the car) headed for Austin. We arrived around 11pm and Amelia was wide awake. She was in a playful mood and was very excited to see Martin. We got inside and she played for a while before I tried to get her settled for bed. Around 11:30 I was changing her and noticed her lips were blue. Then all of the color drained from her face, hands and feet. I felt her feet and they were ice cold. Earlier that evening she had a slight fever but I attributed it to the multiple teeth she's cutting right now including two molars and I treated it with some Tylenol. Then, almost instantly she started shaking vigorously. Immediately Martin and I freaked out and called 911. The fact that we were not sure where the nearest emergency center was, made the situation worse because we had to rely on an ambulance. The 911 operator kept us calm and kept asking for updates on her condition while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. During the phone call, her color returned to normal and her shaking went to a mild shiver. Still, we were panicked by the episode. The EMT's arrived and they were unbelievably great. Both had young kids of their own and observed Amelia but kept us calm at the same time. Her fever at that moment was around 101. They attributed all of the symptoms to febrile seizures (seizures induced by a high fever), but they weren't sure. We took the ambulance to Dell Children's Medical Center - the Austin equivalent to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. When we arrived at Dell Children's, the nurse's assessed the situation and took her temperature which had gone up to 103.6. They gave her some Motrin and sent us to the waiting area. Once the Motrin kicked in, Amelia was up and about trying to get into everything. She was in such a good mood we almost considered leaving thinking it was just a fluke incident. But we stayed because we felt it was something more serious. We were in the waiting area until 3am before we got a room and a doctor. When we got to the room they took her temperature again and it was 101. The doctor came in and asked us about what had happened and we retold the story. She explained that the blue lips, loss of color in Amelia's face and extremities was called shunting - it's when the body brings all of the blood to the center of the body to protect itself.  And the shaking was febrile rigors - just like when you have the flu and your body shakes violently.  She was convinced it had not been febrile seizures since she had remained attentive to us the whole time without losing consciousness but she was going to seek a second consult from a more seasoned physician.  At this time we noticed Amelia was getting very warm.  Her temperature had spiked back up to 103.8.  The doctor was concerned and wanted to rule out any possibility of illness so she ordered chest xrays.  To get a toddlers chest xrays the child has to be strapped into this clear vice with their arms straight up in the air by their ears.  And it's freezing in the room!  It was so sad to see our little girl in this acrylic vice, shivering and crying.  The xrays came back negative for infection or pnemonia.  Next, they had to rule out a urinary infection.  Since you cannot command a 14 month old to pee in a cup, they have to catheterize them.  The doctor reassured me that they do this all day long on very small infants and the nurses are quick and efficient.  First nurse was unsuccessful but she recognized that she couldn't do it after the first try and spared Amelia any more grief.  Meanwhile, Amelia is crying uncontrollably and I'm also on the verge of tears.  We decide to give Amelia some cold water to help the process.  Next nurse comes in and gets it on the first try - thank goodness.  Luckily that test also came back negative for infection which meant her kidneys and bladder were clear.  Since all areas had come back clear, it was determined that she had a viral infection and all we can do is make her comforatable and dose with Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours.  At 6am Friday morning we went home.  And Martin got in the shower to go to work and I went to sleep with Amelia.  Unfortunately we did not get to do daycare tours.

What a crazy night for us.  I am so thankful to God that everything turned out to be ok.  And that we had wonderful medical care from the staff at Dell Childrens and the EMT's.

The Dell Children's ER waiting room.  The Motrin had kicked in and Amelia was on the move.  Meanwhile, Martin and I need toothpicks to keep our eyes open.