Petunia's Latest Adventure

Tuesday night - Tubbs has a fever and vomiting. We get the ear thermometer out but the batteries are dead. We remove the button batteries and set them on the counter next to the thermometer. We tell ourselves that when we run to the store for more children's Tylenol we will pick up a new batteries.
We forget.
Wednesday - 10am
Petunia is sitting up on the kitchen counter and Luke is giving her the last dose of antibiotic for her ear infection. Then I then snatch her from the counter and take her to the changing table to get a diaper change. I lay her down, change her diaper and glance up to her face just in time to see a button battery in the back of her throat. I yank her up, lean her forward in an attempt to get her to spit it out.
No such luck. She has swallowed it.
I was in disbelief. I calmly walk out of her bedroom and announce to Luke, "...she just swallowed a battery."
(Earlier in the morning we were contemplating a trip to Bear Valley to play in the snow at Grandma and Grandpa's. The boys were both sick with fevers and misc. ailments, so we weren't sure what the plans were for the day.)

After I announce the battery consumption Luke says, "Well, I guess we'll be spending the day in the ER."
In my head, I was thinking it was just like swallowing a penny, and it would pass. Silly, silly me.
I call the pediatrician. The receptionist tells me to take her to the ER.
All righty then.
No one had showered yet and there wasn't time now. While I'm in my bedroom throwing clothes on, Luke gets Petunia dressed and ready to go. He starts the car, buckles her in, I throw my hair into a bun and I take off to the ER.
On my way I call my home teacher from church, who works at the hospital, tell him we are on our way and ask for help.
What a blessing he is to us! Our gratitude and love for him, for all he has done for our family, just cannot be put into words.
After I arrive at the ER, I sign her in and wait for Triage. As Petunia sits on my lap, I pull out my phone and begin googling "swallowing battery."
http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Baby-swallowed-battery-hidden-danger/0rm2kHROTUO-lQflqVLQyA.cspx
Time to freak out. But there is no time.
Petunia vomits on the lobby floor. No battery.
I start to panic again.
I give myself 30 seconds to cry and mentally smack myself back to reality.
A few minutes later I am called back to Triage. My home teacher arrives while I am answering questions and signing papers.
I calm down and try really hard not to cry again.
How did I let this happen?
They take us back to a room and order an x-ray.

The battery is about the size of a nickel and its lodged in her esophagus. I didn't know if this was good or bad because it hadn't been ingested.
I am informed that it needs to be extracted as quickly as possible but there are no Pediatric Gastrointestinal doctors available to do it. This meant we needed to go to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera.
Luke calls me to get a status. I let him know whats going on and he calls his parents and they make arrangements to pick up the boys. I am thinking to myself we may not be home tonight, so I ask Luke to bring my toothbrush with him.
We wait for the ambulance to arrive for transporting Petunia. While we are waiting, Petunia has to get an IV put in.
This escapade took three nurses and Luke and I, to hold her down. They couldn't find a vein and when they thought they found one, nothing was coming out. So they had to try again. As I am holding her legs down I can feel my face burning. The tears are coming and I am wishing I could fast forward time.
The nurse next to me rubs my back.
10 long minutes later, the IV is in.
The ambulance arrives and they get her strapped in.

I decide to let Luke ride in the ambulance and I follow behind in our vehicle.
I text my family to let them know whats going on. People are calling me and I can't answer because I am a sobbing mess. Thank goodness for technology because I was in no condition to talk to anyone or answer questions I didn't know the answers to.
122 miles later we arrive at the ER of Valley Children's Hospital.
Its 2:30pm.
I am feeling calm....and confident.
Petunia seems to have a smile on her face. I think this is going to move quickly and we could be home tonight.
Great!
They order another x-ray. Same response and we are told several times, "We need to get this thing out!"
Great. Let's get this thing out!


While we wait for the GI specialist to consult I head to the cafeteria...thinking I have plenty of time. I didn't eat breakfast before I left the house and I was starving.
I eat some pizza and head back upstairs to learn that she's been moved to pre-op exam upstairs. The ER nurse takes me to Luke and Petunia and I can feel myself getting anxious. But then I see Luke holding her close in his arms.


Amazingly, I feel calm again. The anesthesiologist explains whats going to happen and seems very confidant the doctor will be able to remove the battery successfully. A nurse asks me to give Petunia a syringe of magic pink syrup to "calm her" and would help them get a new IV in quickly. The nurse says the affect is like drinking two margaritas really fast....and I wanted to ask her for some syrup for myself! :)
I give her the syrup and we wait 15 minutes for it to take affect. It was the only time I want to see my child drunk. It was pretty funny to watch her demeanor change.


Luke and I say a prayer together. The nurse takes Petunia from us at 4:30pm.
When they take her I feel relief, because I knew that as long as I was holding her, I couldn't help her.
These people were going to "fix" her.
A nurse escorts us to a waiting room. An hour passes and we don't hear anything. We are going on 90 minutes. Finally, the GI specialist and his colleague come get us and call us into the hallway.
They were able to retrieve the battery and they hand it to us in a sealed container.
Thanks...its what I've always wanted.

This is what the battery looked like seven hours after being in her esophagus. (It was in perfect condition before she popped it in her mouth)

Then he hands us a photo. This is the battery in her esophagus before pulling it out.

Great....now where is my kid.....(is what I was thinking.)
Apparently, small coin-shaped batteries can cause harm if they do not pass through the body quickly, as the chemicals inside can leak out and burn the surrounding tissue, or they can cause a small electric current which can also do harm. Button batteries are not sealed, so if swallowed can leak into your system after two hours.
In Petunia's case, there is extensive damage to the esophagus and the doc was concerned there might be a hole. They were admitting her to the hospital and she was not to consume any fluids for at least 24-48 hours.
Another LONG hour later we are able to retrieve Petunia from post-op and we "check-in" to our room.
Our deluxe sleeping accommodations :)


Poor Petunia.
Poor, poor Petunia.
Now we wait.
The next step is a contrast x-ray (with a name that's more than 10 syllables long) to see if fluid leaks from her esophagus.
We call the boys and tell them we won't be home tonight.
I send texts to family. I was in no condition to talk on the phone.

Good night Petunia. (I was not a fan of her metal "cage" as we called it.) :)

Thursday
I am cranky. I don't think either of us slept more than 2-3 hours each.
All night long nurses are coming in and out to take her vitals. She is connected to an IV and two other machines to track her oxygen levels and pulse. All three machines would randomly start beeping and I would either have to go get a nurse or one would come in and try to fix it or reset it.
We wait to see the doctor. A resident comes in who knows nothing. I don't even know what the point of it is. (I also need to state that I haven't had one nurse yet who was very friendly or helpful. The night nurse was a hag. Yes, I just said it. A hag. Apparently since she is nocturnal, the rest of should be as well.)

After breakfast heads out to find a Target while Petunia and I take a nap.
Of course as soon as I fall asleep, the GI specialist arrives.
Finally!
He informs me the esophogram will be performed Friday because she needs as much time as possible to heal. I am disappointed because I am still optimistic...and want to take her home today!!
30 minutes later the GI specialist calls back and says the procedure has to be scheduled either today or Monday because Friday is a holiday. He schedules it for 3:30 today.
Great news.
I email Luke and we are excited to finally find out how much damage has been done to the esophagus. He returns with misc. toiletries and change of garments for us and Petunia. He always brings her a coloring book and crayons to help occupy her.
She was very happy.


3:30pm arrives and we take Petunia to the Imaging unit for the esophogram.
The nurse takes FOREVER (in my mind) to figure out how we are going to position Petunia for the x-ray. We have to wrap her up like a mummy, hold her down UNDER the x-ray machine and get her to drink some crappy clear liquid from a bottle. The "contrast" syrup will allow the doctor to see if there are any leaks in the esophagus and how narrow her passageway is.

Its almost 2011 and I am wondering why they are still using sheets and masking tape to constrain an infant for a medical procedure. Its crazy. And its really hard on Luke and I.
I am really, really done-done-done having to hold her down while she screams in bloody terror. The nurse is taking forever!!
When they position her under the X-ray machine Luke holds her head, The nurse takes her legs and I have to squeeze the bottle under the machine and try to get her to drink.
It tastes awful, she is screaming....so she isn't drinking anything.
So, I squeeze the bottle to get the liquid to drop into her mouth, forcing her to drink it.
Its awful. The radiologist lets this go on for about 4-5 minutes before he says he can see the contrast. He takes some shots and we're done.
Poor Petunia.
We pull her out, unwrap her and set her free.
Thank goodness she has forgiven us quickly. She snuggles in and we wait for the radiologist to review the films in case we have to do it again.


The GI Specialist calls us back later and the results are good. No leaks.
YAY!!!!!!!!
Great news.
The next step is to give her water/pedialyte.
She wants nothing to do with either. She won't drink out of a bottle or a sipper cup. There is a Starbucks next to the cafeteria so we take her down to get a cup of water because she loves straws.

Its a hit. She drinks the water and it makes us happy.

Friday - New Year's Eve
Another sleepless night. The night nurse, Pablo, wreaks of woman's perfume. He is in the room every 2 hours...along with all of the beeping machines.
This could be the day. The day we go home.
While I am cleaning up in the bathroom I hear Petunia start screaming. She stepped on her IV line which is in her foot and there is blood on the floor.
Luke goes to find a nurse. Thankfully the night nurse is gone!
Enter Julie....the most fan-tabulous nurse ever! She is a breath of fresh air after all the weird-os we have been dealing with. She saves the IV but unattached it from the saline bag so Petunia can wander free. She keep the line in though in case we need to use it. All day long Julie checks on us, makes Petunia laugh, plays with her in the hallway. It was an answer to my prayers. Really.
I thought I was going to snap and today we have this wonderful nurse who seems like we've known her forever.
Julie is a pediatric "traveling" nurse originally from the East Coast, so she changes assignments about every 13 weeks. We feel so blessed to have met her and have her for Petunia's nurse. When Petunia progressed to soft foods she got her a Popsicle, cut it into pieces and fed it to her.

She rigged up a bottle for her that would use a straw and not leak. I was so impressed...and Petunia drank and drank out of it.

The GI specialist makes his rounds before lunch and says he wants to progress her diet slowly. She will definitely be staying another night.
Bummer.
We call the boys and let them know.
Keeping our fingers crossed and praying tomorrow is the day.
Luke and I take turns taking Petunia for walks all around the building. We find a playroom downstairs which is a nice change for her.

A nurse down the hall also offers Petunia a little car for her to cruise around in.


Petunia crashes at 6:30 and we let her sleep---hoping she was out for the night.
We locate a Cheesecake Factory about 10 minutes away and we decide to order for pick-up. Luke brings back dinner and a piece of Red Velvet cheesecake for dessert. So good!

When Julie took off for the evening she came by to say goodbye. We thanked her for looking after us and all her help.
I cried. (Again)
(Yes.... I didn't want her to leave ....and I really wasn't looking forward to another rude night nurse. Of course I also didn't want to spend New Year's Eve in room 1504.)
She gave me a hug and said she might be back in our unit tomorrow morning, but wasn't sure.
Petunia wakes up at 9:30'ish and she is ready to party until midnight.
Not me. I was ready for bed.
It made for a very long night. Needless to say, Luke and her were walking the halls until 1:30am.

Saturday - New Year's Day
I am up early with Petunia...as usual. I shower and freshen up. The hospital provided us with some deordorant: Teen Spirit. Luke forgot to buy himself some deodorant Thursday, so he was rockin' the Teen Spirit too.


I have not washed my hair since Tuesday morning! Heaven help the curls. I have been wearing it in a bun for four days. Luke bought shampoo/conditioner but no hair pick or mousse. So, I had to live with what I had. I was also in the same pair of jeans I arrived in. Luke bought me pajama pants Thursday, so thankfully I didn't have to sleep in the jeans.
We are ready to go home! Is today the day?!
Julie pops her head in and unfortunately she is in the unit down the hallway. She won't be our nurse today but we promise to come say goodbye before we leave.
The GI Specialist arrives around 11:30am to check on Petunia.
We get to go home!!
Wa-hoo.
We call the boys and give them the good news. (They are ready to be home. They were spoiled at Grandma and Grandpa's but they are sick. Tubbs has been vomiting, had headaches, nasal congestion...and both the boys have had fevers. Thankfully Grandma and Grandma gave them the love and attention they needed and catered to their every whim.)
Now we have to wait. Apparently the resident has to sign our discharge papers.
Where was the resident?!
I was about ready to just leave the hospital without the papers. It was raining outside and we had a 120 miles drive ahead.
Freedom is so close!!
While we wait for discharge papers we visit Julie in the next unit and exchange Facebook information. (Amazing how a social network like this can connect you to people you meet and keep in touch. We look forward to hearing where she ends up next.)


There is a family from Taft (30 minutes away from home) in the hospital room next door. On Friday, the older son helped Petunia and I find the kids' playroom downstairs. The family was sleeping at the Ronald McDonald House and this morning they brought back a pink/white blanket for Petunia that was donated.
We loved the blanket and it was so nice of them to think of her. I also couldn't help but be appreciative of the volunteers who assembled the blankets and donated them for kids like Petunia. Its such a blessing....I only wish we had it a few days ago. It was so toasty!


Finally, after two hours of waiting, the resident arrives to check on Petunia. She signs the discharge papers and we practically RUN out of the hospital.
Hallaleujah!! We are headed home. We cannot wait to see the boys.
Doctors orders: Only soft mushy foods and non-acidic liquids for 1-2 weeks. We watch for signs of infection and come back on January 17th for another esophogram. .
Two minutes into the car ride Petunia is out.

A very tired girl!
We are so very thankful for the thoughts and prayers of our family and friends. With Heavenly Father's strength and love, they helped us in our moments of need. We love you!