Not-Quite-Wordless Wednesday (H1N1 Strikes Again)

Poor Emmerson has a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza. She's been sick and miserable for three days now and counting.


(Emmerson watching a favorite video)

She was fine right through Sunday night, eating and playing like her normal wild and crazy, unstoppable self. She'd had a bit of a cold the week before and a slight, occasional cough, but that was it. But late on Sunday night, I checked on her after the World Series game -- my normal pre-bedtime routine -- and she was very hot and uncomfortable, and her breathing seemed rapid and shallow. We had a pretty sleepless night, and finally at 6 a.m. Monday I decided to take Emmerson to the ER because I was concerned about her labored breathing.

Apparently, that's a good time to go to the ER, as we were basically the only ones there and we were tended to immediately. However, we also were immediately treated as if we had the bubonic plague, with one nurse rudely demanding that Emmerson keep on a little mask even if it meant taping it to her head. Another nurse had on a full plastic face mask. Emmerson was too sick to care, for the most part. The ER doc also was concerned about Emme's breathing, along with her whimpering and moaning, so off we went for a chest X-ray. Fortunately, it was clear. By that time, her fever was 102.5, not outrageously high, but concerning. The doc also swabbed her throat. Three hours after we went to the ER, we went home. Later that day, we got the swab results -- confirmed H1N1. Just a few days before that, on Thursday, Emme had had her first dose of the H1N1 vaccine -- but by then, she'd already been exposed to the virus, likely at daycare, where several other kids were out sick.

I was able to get Emmerson started on Tamiflu on Monday evening. The ER instructions were to rotate Motrin and Tylenol every four hours, so she'd have, say, a dose of Motrin, then four hours later a dose of Tylenol, and four hours after that, a dose of Motrin, and so on. She also is getting albuterol to help open up the breathing passages in her lungs. Although Tamiflu can cause some vomiting, Emmerson hasn't experienced that, fortunately -- but it does apparently taste pretty nasty, and she can't stand it.

Emmerson's fever continues to come and go. She is stil pretty listless, although she does perk up watching her favorite videos (Yo Gabba, Laurie Berkner, and some family wedding videos). She has hardly eaten anything since dinner Sunday -- some Cheerios, some mandarin oranges, a couple bites of toast, and this morning a couple strawberries with some milk. I think she must have aches and pains because she acts sometimes as if she is in pain. One very nice lady we chatted with while waiting to get our Tamiflu prescription said she had H1N1 and that her chest really hurt with each cough, and I imagine Emmerson must be feeling the same, as she cries out when she coughs.

It's been very hard to see Emmerson so sick and miserable. People who brush off H1N1 need to see the results of a child sick with it. I'm so glad that we have access to world-class health care and ER service just minutes away. I only wish that the vaccine had been available sooner for us. I haven't been able to get the vaccine myself, and the ER doc warned me that I am likely to contract H1N1 as well. If that happens, I certainly hope my case is mild (right now I have symptoms similar to a cold). Emmerson's illness struck quickly in the middle of the night, and given her previous bout with RSV and pneumonia, I wasn't taking chances so sought help quickly and got treatment started quickly. We're fortunate that we were able to do that. It's frightening to think about the people who don't have this same kind of access to quality health care. Take care of your kids, and remember that vaccines work.