Ella, Ella, Ella....
The last 24 hours of your life have by far been the nuttiest so far (with the exception of your birth!) To start, I thank God that you are safe and healthy.
Ok, so yesterday I went to daycare to pick you up, and every was normal. The assistant said that you had just woken up from a long nap in the swing, and that she would change your diaper before you left. While she was changing your diaper, your were shaking your hands a little (like shivering) and your hands were blue. I thought you must be freezing! I held your hand, and it was warm. The assistant agreed it looked blue. I brought you to the front desk to ask the other lady if she thought your hands looked blue, and she also agreed. She mentioned that I should call my pediatrician and just ask her about it. So as I left, I put a call in for the nurse to just ask about it. I was totally not worried about you because you were your normal cheery, adorable self. Not to mention, your hands returned to their regular color by the time we got home.
I came home and started dinner. Daddy was biking with some friends from work. At around seven, I got a call back from the nurse. She said, "I don't want to worry you, but if Ella's hands were a bluish color, that's not normal. Especially with her being so young. I would recommend you get her to an emergency room right away because that could mean a lot of different things." Well, I freaked! I'd never been to an ER before, and what if I was overreacting?? I called your Mammy, and she said if the nurse recommended me to go, she would go. Of course I agreed, and as soon as your daddy got home, we left.
We started out at the North Cypress Medical Center, where your pediatrician's office is located. After waiting about an hour, they took your vitals and said that it would be about SEVEN HOURS before they could start running the tests. No way were we waiting that long...if it wasn't that urgent, why not just wait and go to the doctor in the morning. They suggested we take her to Cy Fair Hospital, which is where you were born. So we did...and the wait was only about 30 minutes at the most. They were very quick, friendly and thorough.
The first thing they needed from you was a urine sample. I didn't know how they were going to get a urine sample from someone who pees in a diaper, but they always find a way!! They did an in-and-out catheter - you were screaming, but your mommy and daddy were right by your side. Well your mommy was....your daddy couldn't take it. He turned white as a ghost and nearly passed out! Poor daddy....all the nurses were so impressed that your daddy had such sympathy for you. It tickled everyone....except him!! Then you had an x-ray of your chest. Then they put an IV in your hand, and you were actually pretty good for that. The last thing they did to you was an EKG. They put all these little stickers on your with wires, and they monitored your heart rate. You were a trooper through it all.
After a looooong wait for the results, (like 4am) the ER doctor came in to give us the lowdown. He said all the test they ran on you came back negative, and that you seemed perfectly fine. But said he wanted to send you to the children's hospital in downtown Houston for a few more tests just to be safe. With you eating well and acting so normal, we figured that you were fine - so we just asked if we could take you home. The doctor said he wanted to call the pediatrician on call at our pediatrician's office and ask for their opinion before they discharged us. A little while later, the ER doctor came back in and was adament about your transfer. Your daddy tried to reason with him, but he went all General Hospital on your daddy, telling him, "You don't understand!! This could be a life-threatening condition if we don't rule everything out with the proper tests!!" Well, how could we argue with that??
So, off we went. You and I rode in an ambulance to the hospital, while daddy followed behind. Mommy had never been in an ambulance (well, she has but she was out of it when she did, so she really didn't remember it). We went really fast. They got us in our room really quickly, and by 5:30am, we all finally got to sleep a little. The hospital was really GIANT, and the nurses all loved you. At around 8am, we all went downstairs to have your EEG. It was a procedure where a lady put all these little sensors on your head, and she monitored your brain waves to make sure you weren't having any type of seizures. Of course, you were an angel. When they were putting on your sensors, you looked like you were getting a perm. Then they wrapped your head, and we went through the procedure. You were a great....until they pulled the sensors off. You weren't too happy about that.
At around noon, the pediatrician on duty came in, and she said she's looked over all the tests you have been through, and you are perfectly healthy. She said the only thing she can think for the blue hands could be constricted blood vessels brought on by temperature or sleeping positions. She said that is very common in infants, but that it was good that we ruled every other possibility out because blue lips or mouth is really bad. In other words, had we seen this lady the day before, we could've saved us all a lot of hassle. But of course, you are soooo worth it.
We are just sooo glad you are healthy, and that nothing is wrong. The hospital wouldn't discharge you until the results were completely in from the EEG. We didn't leave children's hospital until 6:30pm!! We were all SO POOPED! We love you so much, and we're so glad you're ok. You gave us a little scare there!!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
