nothing original

We had quite a traumatic scare that we’re still recovering from. Saturday evening, Feb. 5 around 8:30p, L somehow managed to get into his meds and ate a few pills. We don’t know how many he took. It’s a 3-month supply with 540 pills. We started the bottle recently, but can’t remember when. I called Poison Control about side effects, but while I was on the phone with them, Logan started acting “drunk” and thought it was funny that he had no balance. We immediately took him to the ER at Highline Medical Center. We called grandma and she took Vanessa.

At the check-in at the ER he was unusually “clingy.” We got right in. Once there, nurses started coming in, L freaked out. Chris laid under him to help hold him down. During the course of putting on nodes to record vitals, L became increasingly agitated. He soon went into a “spastic cycle” where it was like he under a demonic possession or a person undergoing drug withdrawals (except he overdosed). Then he began to vomit. He went through the cycle a few times then vomited again. He must have vomited four times before the nurse gave him antiemisis medication through this IV line. They took blood and did an EKG; everything came back normal despite the visual evidence. They decided to transport us to Children’s Hospital for better care since they were not equipped for child care. Chris went home to change while we waited for the ambulance to arrive (L had thrown up on him). Close to midnight, an ambulance came and got us. I rode on the gurney and held L on top of me. They had to put a new set of  nodes on L for the ride. The ride took about half an hour. Chris followed us in my car.

We got to Children’s and a nurse and resident doctor were waiting for us. They had a new set of nodes to put on. They had spoken to Poison Control and none of them were sure about the half-life of Lamictal. They thought that maybe within 4-6 hours, L’s symptoms would pass and that we may be able to go home that morning. Since the low end of 4 hours was soon, and given that we were just transported, they decided to keep us to the 6 hour end of the spectrum. That would be around 3 a.m. In the mean time, they took another set of blood draws; again, everything seemed to come back normal.

As an aside, we were told by the ER doctor that while we waited, the cafeteria would be open and that the bacon was excellent. Chris went and got us each a breakfast sandwich. Apparently, the guy that can run the grill is only there during the graveyard shift.

When 3 a.m. arrived, L seemed to be doing better and the ER staff thought about discharging us. They took off all the nodes and the IV line from his right arm. L helped us dress him, lifting his legs and bottom, but when it came to sitting him up and putting on his shirt, L had no stability. He tried to get off the bed, but kept falling over onto  his side. The decision was changed to admit him for further observation. It apparently took a while to find a room. Another hour or so of waiting and we ended up on the surgical floor with a roommate.

More vitals were taken, new nodes were placed, and soon they left us to rest a bit. We all took a “cat nap.” The daylight of the morning soon arrived; shift change happened. We got a visit from the attending physician and we were told the same info, but she wanted to get a hold of neurology to see if any of the doctors would be available to come to check on L. That didn’t happen; didn’t expect it since it’s a Sunday. More blood taken out, another EKG. We later received a visit from two resident doctors and later one of the fellows and all thought again that we would be able to go home that afternoon. Again, that didn’t happen, the fellow doctor came back apologizing and told us that L’s CK (creatinine kinase) levels were really high (CK is a byproduct of muscle activity). He was at 4200. The nephrology department was consulted and they wanted L to be placed on an IV (of basically sugar water) to help flush out his system. They didn’t have any information about the Lamictal levels because they run the test only on Tuesdays (WHATEVER!). Another IV line was placed, this time on his left hand; we also put on a urine bag. Once the IV was started, I sent Chris home to get our phone charger and a change of clothes for Logan.

We spoiled L a little. We placed our phones on “Airplane Mode” and let him play with our phones; he didn’t want his iTouch anymore – not gadgety enough. He still managed to change the phones back to the regular setting. Such a smart cookie! Is there any wonder how he figured out how to get the childproof cap off his medication? Just by observing me or Chris, he figures out how to work items like the phones, using the mouse for the computer, opening his medication bottle.

After a few hours on the IV, they took the urine bag. There wasn’t much in there and it was very cloudy, but that told us that his kidneys were working and filtering. We’d have to stay another night to make sure the IV flush worked and that he keeps urinating. We had to keep his used diapers so the nurse could weigh them.

I managed to get a shower which felt really nice – even if I had to wear the same clothes. L ate a little of his food, mainly because of the IV, but he did manage to eat half a cold cheeseburger, a couple of snacks (Teddy Grahams and Apple-Cinnamon Cheerios), and slowly drink apple juice. It was great to see him slowly coming back to normal. We got a new nurse for the night and another set of vitals were taken.

Monday morning brought about another nurse, a new set of residents, fellows and doctors, EKGs and blood draws. L was greatly improved by midday: his CK level was down to about 1200. Still high, but dramatically down. The IV worked. We were discharged around 3 p.m. with instructions to make an appointment with Neurology (they had to leave a message) and his pediatrician (which they did for us). Since we were there, we went to the Neurology Department and managed to get a 4 p.m. appointment for the following day (Tuesday). The discharge papers said his appointment with Dr. Dong was for Wednesday at 2 p.m. It’s a good thing I called to verify. They had his appointment scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday!

As a side note, we saw Steve Kinholt in the hallway. He is a math faculty at GRCC and is on sabbatical for a year to teach the kids at Children’s.

His appointment with the neurologist was good. They said his Lamictal levels were down and that L can restart his meds on Wednesday but wanted to do another blood draw to be sure. His appointment with the pediatrician was also good, he really understood the information about the CK levels (he went on some sort of diet that caused this CK levels to rise as well). L’s pediatrician and neurologist know each other. I guess they both when to UCLA to study medicine. That’s a nice combination. We’ll start L back on his meds tonight. This afternoon he started showing symptoms of not having meds in his system: falling over while sitting on the toilet, falling down when running across the room (not too uncommon, but still…).

Lastly, I had a prescheduled IEP meeting with his preschool teacher. I brought L with me and he was not happy about being there. He’s not progressing as he should be. It could be because he’s obstinate, doesn’t understand the concept, or he might think everything is a game. He’s consistently needing prompts to do routine things like hanging up his coat and backpack when he walks into the classroom. They’re thinking of putting him in extended school year (a.k.a. summer school). That would be good for him. The teacher has noticed that he was good at the beginning of the school year and was becoming more independent, but after a vacation break he needed more prompts or bribes during transition.

V hasn’t fared through this very well. She stayed at grandma’s house the two nights. She was good for grandma during the time at the house, but she was terrible at school. I received an e-mail from her teacher saying that a female security guard had to escort her out of ceramics class. She loves ceramics! But a classmate was no longer there and with all the disruption at home was too much change for her to handle. So, she didn’t get to go to ceramics on Tuesday. I also heard that she spit on the bus driver Tuesday morning as she got off the bus. She was written up for that as well.

Things will return to normal soon. I have to get back to work and L will go to school tomorrow. Given his behavior at the IEP meeting today, the teachers and therapists know tomorrow will be tough. Hopefully, V’s behavior will also return to normal.