They would call ahead and let them know we were coming.
We got to the hospital and I took one look at the waiting room and knew it was going to be a long day, I just didn't think it would be as long as it ended up being. So I set myself and Philip up in a secluded spot so hopefully no one would bother us. They called us in and triaged us and said they were looking for a bed for him and then sent us back out into the waiting room, where we waited…and waited…for 6 hours…
It's hard enough to keep a 20 month old occupied for 30minutes let alone 6 hours all while dodging children coughing and vomiting. People were everywhere and literally "too close for comfort". Kids kept coming up to play with Philip and I kept asking are you sick? Please don't get too close. I just wanted to run us out of there. Philip was a trooper though and handled the situation amazingly.
We finally were brought back and they started the IV and took some blood and a nose swab.
The nurse came in and said he was positive for corona virus(same thing he had when he was in the hospital for Thanksgiving) and his liver numbers were similar to what they have been. Phew! So it is Not Cholangitis. BUT…
The nurse also said His hemoglobin is low and asked if anyone ever mentioned that before?
Nooo…What does that mean?
Well the doctor came in and said they were concerned he might be bleeding somewhere…Wait. What?
His levels were fine last month when they took blood but somewhere in there something happened to make his levels drop.
Google.Google.Google. Low hemoglobin in toddlers...
One thing kept coming up.
Milk…Lots of it.
And wouldn't you know my little Philip switched to Whole Milk just last month and was drinking lots of it.
Like Lots…30oz a day lots.
So the doctor came in and was explaining some things and trying to figure out the source and that they were admitting us to figure this out. So I mentioned the milk thing and he flat out said there is the source right there! He could possible have a milk protein allergy and it is irritating his insides or Toddlers who drink a LOT of milk tend to get iron deficiency anemia. SO they took some more blood to check iron levels and he is indeed iron deficient. So no more milk for my little guy. He has to go back to formula for now.
We stayed overnight in the hospital ER because there were no beds available. I actually didn't mind because it was a private room and if we went to the floor, I'm sure we would have had 1-3 roommates.
They were debating keeping us overnight again to check the hemoglobin but I told them about my brother- in-laws wedding and they decided to let us go home but return in the morning to get blood work redrawn but if his hemoglobin went down anymore, we would be re admitted right then and there. So I took Philip back to the hospital Friday morning for blood work and hung around to hear the results. After an hour, I called the doctor and he said Philip's numbers were stable and didn't get worse so we could go home! Never been so relieved! After spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in the hospital I didn't want the kids to miss another special occasion. We were all able to attend the wedding and had an amazing time. It was definitely the closest call we've had and by all means embodies the title of this post and was…
Too close for comfort...
