On January 01, 2010 Becky and I gave birth to a beautiful, intelligent, drama-queen! When we found out that we were going to have a little girl I expected
drama. I just didn't expect it so soon. Don't 
get me wrong, typically she is a very mild-mannered and happy-go-lucky little peanut, but something about the beginning of the month. Maybe it is just that time of month... :o) Here is a list of where we have spent the night on the second day of the past three months (since she has been born):January 2, 2010 - Madison County Hospital (Rexburg, ID): Autumn's Birth
February 2, 2010 - Primary Children's Hospital (Salt Lake City, UT): Life Flight/ALTE
March 2, 2010 - Mercy San Juan Hospital (Carmichael, CA): Fever
If she is anything, she is consistent. Typically that is a very good attribute to have, however, I wouldn't mind if she would break this habit and pick up sleeping from 10pm-8am... I can dream... Before I can get into her most recent hospital stay there are a few things to update..
A Few Things
We now reside in Placerville, CA. To some, this may come as a surprise. Oops. The move itself had its own share of drama. This time, however, none of it can be attributed to Autumn. In fact, she did amazingly well on the 13ho
ur trip. The packing and cleaning, although very grueling and tedious, went smoothly and we left at the appointed time on the appointed day. ---SHOUT OUT: Another thank you for all those who helped us, with a special gold star to Becky's father (Monty) and brother (Nick) who volunteered and flew down to Rexburg to help drive the Uhaul to California while myself, Becky, and Autumn drove in the car. Thank you guys!--- Everything went fine the first ten or so hours. About t
he time we, those in the car, reached Tahoe a major snowstorm hit. With the purchase of chains and lots of patience we were able to navigate and make it through the pass and arrive to our current residence safely. Unfortunately the Uhaul, who was about a hour and a half behind us did not make it through that night... or the next. In fact, the Uhaul did not make it in until the afternoon of the next day. Thankfully everybody made in safely. Unfortunately we got a lot more video of it all than we did photos, sorry...Autumn the Hothead
We first noticed that Autumn was spiking a fever on Monday around 6 (about the time all the walk-in medical clinics and pharmacys closed). When she hit 101 we hurried down to the Wal-Mart an
d purchased some Infant Motrin to try to bring the fever down. She had a restless night and the morning found her still warm and only getting warmer. We headed to a Doc-In-A-Box (Rapid Care) only to have them tell us they did not have means by which to do the tests needed for a diagnoses. Next stop was Mercy Hospital in Folsom. They started the standard tests for Sepsi
s (Blood Infection) including blood, urine, and a spinal tap... again... and took a couple x-rays of her chest... again... The x-rays came back saying she had Pneumonia in her right lung, center lobe. They also began her on antibiotics. She was then transferred, by ambulance for the third time in her short life, to the Mercy San Juan Hospital because they have a good Pediatric ICU (Intensive Care Unit)
We first noticed that Autumn was spiking a fever on Monday around 6 (about the time all the walk-in medical clinics and pharmacys closed). When she hit 101 we hurried down to the Wal-Mart an
d purchased some Infant Motrin to try to bring the fever down. She had a restless night and the morning found her still warm and only getting warmer. We headed to a Doc-In-A-Box (Rapid Care) only to have them tell us they did not have means by which to do the tests needed for a diagnoses. Next stop was Mercy Hospital in Folsom. They started the standard tests for Sepsi
s (Blood Infection) including blood, urine, and a spinal tap... again... and took a couple x-rays of her chest... again... The x-rays came back saying she had Pneumonia in her right lung, center lobe. They also began her on antibiotics. She was then transferred, by ambulance for the third time in her short life, to the Mercy San Juan Hospital because they have a good Pediatric ICU (Intensive Care Unit)At Mercy San Juan we found out that her x-ray had been misread... again... *We have become big fans of second opinions, especially with newborns. Outside of Children's Hospitals, most doc
tors do not see a lot of newborns and it is incredibly easy to misread what you don't know* When we got there they took some swabs from her nose to check for viruses while the blood and urine cultures were being grown. For those who may not know, blood and urine cultures are used to detect the presence of bacteria and yeast. They check them every 24, 48, and 72 hours to see if anything has grown on them. They were especially looking for Sepsis and anything that may induce Respiratory Failure. They would e
ventually come back free and clear, but we had to stay for the three days just in case. During this time her fever reached a high of 104.8, which is dangerously high, especially for an infant. On day two the swabs from her nose (rapid viral test) came back positive for Parainfluenza. As impressive as that sounds, it isn't. Basically she had a very bad cold. Because of how young she is and the immaturity of her immune system, her body was not able to fight it off by itself. An IV, lots of fever reducers, and five miserable days later she is finally home and back to her healthy, smiling self. Yay!
tors do not see a lot of newborns and it is incredibly easy to misread what you don't know* When we got there they took some swabs from her nose to check for viruses while the blood and urine cultures were being grown. For those who may not know, blood and urine cultures are used to detect the presence of bacteria and yeast. They check them every 24, 48, and 72 hours to see if anything has grown on them. They were especially looking for Sepsis and anything that may induce Respiratory Failure. They would e
ventually come back free and clear, but we had to stay for the three days just in case. During this time her fever reached a high of 104.8, which is dangerously high, especially for an infant. On day two the swabs from her nose (rapid viral test) came back positive for Parainfluenza. As impressive as that sounds, it isn't. Basically she had a very bad cold. Because of how young she is and the immaturity of her immune system, her body was not able to fight it off by itself. An IV, lots of fever reducers, and five miserable days later she is finally home and back to her healthy, smiling self. Yay!
