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“Nothing that ever pushes you past your limits can change your life. It’s true of work, it’s true of parenting, and it’s true- a hundred times over- of love”- Katherine Center

I am moved to write this blog post so that I can share a few important lessons from a recent experience that turned my mind, heart and soul upside down in hopes that it can help another parent in their time of distress.  It is a story that has a few important points I’d like to make.  1) you have instincts, gut feelings, nudges from God, don’t ignore them! 2) modern DRs don’t know everything, 3) What the heck is Mastoiditis and 4) God sends people to help you, 5) if you are a parent, never travel without medication and travel insurance!

In February, my daughter Cruz was diagnosed with bronchitis, which she caught from another family member who also had bronchitis.  Because this is a bacterial infection and wouldn’t respond to antibiotics, she was prescribed a natural cough syrup instead. She did well on the cough syrup and seemed to be completely healed as our vacation drew near.  My ” Motherly instinct” told me to take her to the Pediatrician just to be sure she was healed and there were no issues that would prevent her from flying safely or comfortably. The pediatrician confirmed my fear, she now had an ear infection. I understand ear infections are very common in children as their ear canals form, but I still felt a ton of guilt for letting her get to this point! Though there was possibly nothing I could have done to prevent it, I felt I had done everything right: exclusively breastfed, daily probiotics, eating only organic homemade food with a variety of nutrients, kept her out of daycare for one solid year and she has always had the best and most rejuvenating naps and nighttime sleep.

This is Cruz at 11 months, while she had bronchitis.

 

I had vowed never to give her antibiotic drugs unless they were absolutely necessary to save her life.  I am learning all the tough parenting choices seem easy until you’re the one in the situation having to make a decision. Of course I consider what other parents would do, whether a small illness could progress into more complications, side affects of antibiotics, or chronic cycles of ear infections or any other illness. All the ” what ifs” sent my mind spinning. Her Pediatrician offered a 10 day antibiotic and said she would be OK to fly in a few days, which coincided with our day of departure so we agreed to do what the DR told us to do.

My husband and 1 year old daughter Cruz and I had a wonderful family vacation in Hawaii on the Island of Oahu for 11 days! We were staying on the Leeward side of the island in order to be away from the crowd of Spring break tourists.  About halfway through the vacation, we both looked at each other and said ” Do you want to go to the Windward side now? ”  It took less than 1 minute to agree that was what we would do, so we changed our plans and we booked a hotel in Waikiki for the remainder of our stay.  Cruz was completely happy and there were no signs of any ear infection after the first few days of antibiotics, she completed the 10 days and all was good, until the day we were set to return home from Hawaii. While at breakfast I noticed my daughter’s ear protruding out from the side of her head.

 

We acted fast because we had to be at the airport in a few hours and we knew about the risks of flying with an ear infection. We now felt very grateful we were staying on the Windward side of the island near all of the best Urgent care clinics and a Women and Children’s hospital! The urgent care Doctor took one look at baby Cruz and said ” I know this is not what parents want to hear, but I need to be really honest with you. This is the sure sign there is something seriously wrong with her ear, and could be mastoiditis which used to be the number one leading cause of death in infants. I won’t even charge you for this visit, just get to ER as fast as you can.”

Obviously that was a very scary moment that led to a very scary week ahead! We rushed to ER. I was panicked, but my husband kept his cool and stayed strong for me and Cruz. We spent about 8 hours in an ER room and spoke with at least 13 different doctors and specialists, nurses, and phlebotomists. We watched Cruz take a needle to both arms and it was heart wrenching. All along, Cruz was in good spirits. Though she cried through needles, she would blow kisses to the nurses soon after.

 

 

Cruz also had to get a CT Scan so they could confirm or rule out mastoiditis. She was so scared, she didn’t know how many more needles she would have to endure, so she cried and flailed in the CT Scan bed. My husband ended up having to lay with her in the bed and during the scan, just after he pushed all of the dye through her IV into her veins. The CT Scan revealed she had fluid and puss that had gone from her ear canal and up into her mastoid bone which should normally be filled with air. The Doctors warned us that if we allow this to progress without treating it, it would erode through the bone and into her brain or spinal cord, causing meningitis or even death. So, of course we agreed to treatment which was a few days of IV antibiotics, and another 10 day oral antibiotic, Amoxycillin. We were discharged from the hospital with instructions to follow up with the ENT before we wanted to fly back to California. This caused us to have to stay in Hawaii a bit longer than expected. Thankfully, our employers were understanding which relieved a lot of stress for us! Also thankfully, Hawaii is not a bad place to be stuck! We ended up having to cancel a first Birthday party for Cruz in California, but we were ale to replace it with a small party in Hawaii, surrounded by all of our local friends and family! I felt so blessed!!

 

Shortly after the Birthday party,  In noticed Cruz had a small rash on her legs and face. When we followed up with the ENT, he said her ears had a ” miraculous” and                       ” unexplainable” recovery, the rash was nothing to worry about, and we could fly in  a few days.  We felt so relieved that she may be at the end of this 5 week streak of compromised health and worry.

The next day, Cruz started to vomit, diarrhea set in, and the rash appeared a bit worse. She also looked to have a yeast infection and diaper rash. We departed Hawaii reluctantly but trusting the ENT that Cruz was fine and we should follow up with her pediatrician once home. That flight was the hardest time I’ve had as a parent thus far. Every minute that passed, her rash grew worse and worse until it blistered. My worry grew with her rash.

 

 

As soon as we landed, we texted her pediatrician, whom, by the way, is AMAZING!! He texted me back right away though it was after midnight!  He told us she was having an allergic reaction to Amoxycillin and we needed to get her some Benadryl ASAP or we should go straight to CHOC Hospital in Orange. I was so disappointed that the ENT in Hawaii didn’t validate my previous concerns.

Panicked, I ran into the first store at the airport and asked if they sold infant medications. There were many Mothers nearby who overheard me and saw Cruz and saw my panic and they all started to scramble to find me someone who may have it on hand. The airport’s regional manager set off on my behalf as well. I couldn’t believe the support I was receiving from strangers!

Meanwhile my husband was waiting for our stroller to come out at the gate. We were in such a rush that the pilot ended up borrowing one of the baggage attendant’s safety vests and he retrieved our stroller for us!

Once at baggage claim, my husband was lucky enough to find a woman who had baby Benadryl on hand! She was a pharmacist so she knew the right dose, too! Praise GOD!!  We got that Medication into her system right away, and then prayed.

After 2 hours it didn’t seem to be working so at 2am we checked into ER at CHOC.

We were seen right away, and the Doctor on staff claimed to be an ” expert” with these rashes, diagnosed Cruz with a ” virus”, and said there is no treatment, no way to know what virus it was, and no way to know if it was contagious either. He sent us away, and I do not look forward to receiving that bill in the mail!

We slept 4 hours then went straight to our pediatrician in Temecula. We LOVE Dr. Pumphrey! Right away he said she is a textbook case of a sever allergic reaction to Amoxycillin. He showed us an actual textbook with pictures and explained that if you can put pressure on a red rash and it turns back to skin color, then it is an allergic reaction and NOT a virus! We immediately took her off of the Amoxycillin and had to start a completely new regiment for her recovery! We texted Dr Pumphrey every 5 hours , all hours of the night and day, and he has given us confidence in medicine, despite all those who have taken it away in the past. I was very disappointed that yet again, a doctor from CHOC Children’s hospital misdiagnosed what could have been fatal!

Once home, while Cruz continued to recover, we were able to hold a small family celebration for Cruz. This time, we celebrated her LIFE and her HEALTH!

I am thankful to God for this experience. I am thankful that we felt a nudge to move to the Windward side, I am thankful for my husband’s decision making skills and ability to stay calm in the most stressful situations, I am thankful for Doctors, I am thankful for intuition, I am thankful for medicine, I am thankful that we had friends and family on Oahu that could be there to celebrate Cruz on her First Birthday, I am thankful for all of the mother’s that stepped up to help me at baggage claim at LAX, and most of all I am thankful for my daughter’s health!