A few weeks ago I received a text from Taylor telling me he was seeing spots and had a headache. I asked him if he wanted me to come pick him up. He said he would try to stay a little bit longer. An hour later he asked me to come get hem. I asked my friend, Jen Earl to pick him up because I was at work.
She told me he didn't look good and didn't say a word (that is not necessarily unusual). An hour later I texted Spencer and asked him to check on Taylor. He called me and said Taylor had a back headache and asked if he could take something. I told him to give him some Excedrin. He called me back a few minutes later and said that Taylor was acting strange and that his blood sugar was low.
I sent him to get a neighbor/nurse for support until I got home. I immediately left work and quickly drove home. When I got home both Barry and Sandy Burkinshaw were there. They had gotten Taylor to drink a Capri sun and his blood sugar was fine. Good. He was, however, naked in his bed, crying out, "Mom, Mom, Mom..." He hadn't taken the Excedrin. Barry sat him up in the bed and I popped one in. He chewed it up. Fine, gross, but fine. I popped in a second one he started chewing then promptly vomited. Gross and not fine.
He wouldn't respond when we talked to him. He just continued his cries. I looked to Sandy, the nurse, for advice. She looked to me, the mom, for the same. She asked if I wanted to call the pediatrician. I was sure they would have told me to take him to the emergency room. She said that if a patient called into her office she would have give the same advice.
That took care of that decision, but how to get him there would be a bit tricky. He was naked. Remember? Irrationally crying and not really cooperative. He spat out that he needed to go to the bathroom, got up (naked in front of a room full of people), and walked into Spencer's room and got into his bed. Spencer and Barry (bless his heart) wrestled some clothes on him. I called Destry to have him meet us at the hospital while they were dressing him. In spite of the frightening situation I giggled a bit when I was telling Destry what was happening. "Yes," I said, "he really is naked." It was almost unbelievable to me as I was saying it even though I had witnessed his nakedness first hand. Destry asked if that was him he could hear crying out in the background. It was. Barry carried him up stairs and into the Yukon. Spencer sat in the back with him and I drove to the Riverton hospital. They have Primary Children's clinics there so we thought that was the best option.
I pulled up to the door, got out with Taylor, and had Spencer go park the car. I sat him down in a chair and walked over to the receptionist. I told her the situation then saw that Taylor began wandering around trying to open doors, all the while still crying, "Mom, Mom, Mom..." Spencer came in and tried to herd him away from where he should not have been. Destry came in shortly after that. Never mind he had twice as far to go as we did and we both probably left around the same time.
A nurse promptly came out to take Taylor back in a wheelchair. He quickly went from disoriented crying to loud yelling.
(This event happened in February 2016, I began writing it in March of the same year. It is now January, 2017 and I am just now getting back to finishing it).
He did a lot of yelling, including swearing and telling me he hated me and that when he got home he was going to kill himself. An occasional, "I am in terrible pain," escaped his lips, but when asked for the source of the pain he could not say. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. We were asked if he used drugs. "No," but by all means, "test him." Destry wondered if a classmate could have slipped him something without his knowing. Spencer reminded him that he went to Lakeview Academy, a charter school for nerds.
My normally calm, docile, needle unafraid child required seven people to hold him down and insert an IV. Destry, Spencer, and I along with three ER nurses and an ER doctor were required to get the job done. The doctor ordered, "soft restraints," which meant that his hands and feet were tied to the bed with soft cloth restraints. I tried to rub his head and offer comforting words. The doctor said I was doing a good job. Good. I didn't know what else to do. It was either that or join him in the wailing.
The doctor ordered a sedative to be given in the IV. No change. More sedative. No change. He ordered a CT scan, good luck with that. One has to hold still for that. More sedative, no change. I heard him mumble that he was afraid that if they gave him any more sedative that Taylor would stop breathing an require intubation. The ER doctor had a pediatrician come in who suggested adding Benadryl to the cocktail of drugs he'd already received. I asked if he could be having a migraine and told them of the text I had received about the spots and the headache he had a few hours earlier. I was told that this was not a migraine. His BG, thankfully stayed stable. We turned off his pump and checked him frequently.
It was determined that he would be transported to Primary Children's Hospital via ambulance. Destry called on a couple of neighbors to come give him a blessing. They made it to Riverton as he was being loaded into the ambulance. By then, he had suddenly succumbed to the massive amounts of drugs that was flooding his body. Sleep was a welcome relief. Still restrained and completely unaware of his situation, or friends were able to give him a blessing before we left.
I rode in the ambulance with Taylor and our friends took Spencer and one of our cars back home. Destry followed us to Salt Lake. There was an enclosed room with windows all around it waiting for us. There was a nurse positioned just outside watching our every move. I honestly believe they were assessing me as much as they were Taylor. Was I to blame for this behavior? I kept overhearing nurses reporting that, "the parents seem good." We answered all the ER doctor's questions while Taylor slept on. He asked what drugs we had in the house, etc. He asked if he'd had a migraine before. I said that he hadn't, but that I get them and his older brother started getting them at about that age. He mentioned something about a confusional migraine and sent us up to a room.
We kept his pump off and checked his blood regularly. It had been a long time since he had any food or insulin. The nurses admitted to not knowing much about insulin pumps, but still wanted to blame the whole incident on diabetes even though his blood sugar had been fine. He had the one low hours earlier that had been remedied with one Capri sun.
He slept until 3:00 a.m. He woke up wondering where he was and why he was wearing Spencer's shorts. I don't think I have ever been happier to hear such words! His blood sugar was low then and that reinforced the nurse's idea that all of this was diabetes related. Grrrr. He had a snack, went to bathroom and was given a shot of Lantus by the nurse because they are more comfortable with shots than with pumps. It was a waste, but sometimes you just have to do what you are told if it is not going to cause any harm.
In the morning an endocrinologist was sent in to visit us. Perfect. I told him that the piece that everyone seems to be ignoring is the headache with spots and focusing solely on the one low glucose reading. I told him that we had been doing diabetes for six years and knew what hypoglycemia looked like and that this was not it. I also told him that the nurses where not really listening to me about the headache, which is really why we were there. That and all of the yelling and disorientation that went with it. He completely agreed and arranged for neurology to make a visit. Someone came in to make an appointment for us to come back to see a neurologist. At first we were told it would be weeks. I told her that was not going to work because we did not want to do this ever again. I relayed to her the events that had transpired, she made another call, and got us in the next week. That was acceptable.
The neurologist told us about confusional migraines. It doesn't even sound like it should be a thing, but it is. He said that they are more common than people think. Google, by the way, says they are rare and more common in girls. He said he may or may not have another one. I said, what do we do if he starts to get one. He suggested giving him over the counter medication when he thinks he may be getting one. I said, what do we do if we end up in the ER and the doctor doesn't know about such things.He said that he will give me a paper with the proper medication on it. Right. I will carry a piece of paper with me at all times until he moves out then he'll do the same. Right. He said he put all of it on the Intermountain Healthcare system and everyone will have access to it. That's better. He said, that the sedative they gave him would not help. Ya, we learned that firsthand.
So Taylor has dreamlike memories of the whole experience. Yes, he remembers wanting to take a shower and Spencer not letting him. He remembers crying for me and being in pain, but says that it is not vivid. I will have you know that the whole horrifying experience will forever be imprinted on my brain. It is something I NEVER want to experience ever again.
I am grateful for a neighbor who showed up at the exact moment we need her to take my girls to her house where they were "wined and dined" for the night. They did not witness any of Taylor's crazy and were hoping that Taylor would have stayed in the hospital one more night so that they could have had one more night of wining and dining.
We can laugh about it now, even Taylor can. The yelling, the nakedness, the swearing, and the overall combativeness was so uncharacteristic of my shy, quiet, center of attention averse son that is funny to think about. I am so grateful for the medicine that keeps him alive and his character that puts up with all he has to deal with.
She told me he didn't look good and didn't say a word (that is not necessarily unusual). An hour later I texted Spencer and asked him to check on Taylor. He called me and said Taylor had a back headache and asked if he could take something. I told him to give him some Excedrin. He called me back a few minutes later and said that Taylor was acting strange and that his blood sugar was low.
I sent him to get a neighbor/nurse for support until I got home. I immediately left work and quickly drove home. When I got home both Barry and Sandy Burkinshaw were there. They had gotten Taylor to drink a Capri sun and his blood sugar was fine. Good. He was, however, naked in his bed, crying out, "Mom, Mom, Mom..." He hadn't taken the Excedrin. Barry sat him up in the bed and I popped one in. He chewed it up. Fine, gross, but fine. I popped in a second one he started chewing then promptly vomited. Gross and not fine.
He wouldn't respond when we talked to him. He just continued his cries. I looked to Sandy, the nurse, for advice. She looked to me, the mom, for the same. She asked if I wanted to call the pediatrician. I was sure they would have told me to take him to the emergency room. She said that if a patient called into her office she would have give the same advice.
That took care of that decision, but how to get him there would be a bit tricky. He was naked. Remember? Irrationally crying and not really cooperative. He spat out that he needed to go to the bathroom, got up (naked in front of a room full of people), and walked into Spencer's room and got into his bed. Spencer and Barry (bless his heart) wrestled some clothes on him. I called Destry to have him meet us at the hospital while they were dressing him. In spite of the frightening situation I giggled a bit when I was telling Destry what was happening. "Yes," I said, "he really is naked." It was almost unbelievable to me as I was saying it even though I had witnessed his nakedness first hand. Destry asked if that was him he could hear crying out in the background. It was. Barry carried him up stairs and into the Yukon. Spencer sat in the back with him and I drove to the Riverton hospital. They have Primary Children's clinics there so we thought that was the best option.
I pulled up to the door, got out with Taylor, and had Spencer go park the car. I sat him down in a chair and walked over to the receptionist. I told her the situation then saw that Taylor began wandering around trying to open doors, all the while still crying, "Mom, Mom, Mom..." Spencer came in and tried to herd him away from where he should not have been. Destry came in shortly after that. Never mind he had twice as far to go as we did and we both probably left around the same time.
A nurse promptly came out to take Taylor back in a wheelchair. He quickly went from disoriented crying to loud yelling.
(This event happened in February 2016, I began writing it in March of the same year. It is now January, 2017 and I am just now getting back to finishing it).
He did a lot of yelling, including swearing and telling me he hated me and that when he got home he was going to kill himself. An occasional, "I am in terrible pain," escaped his lips, but when asked for the source of the pain he could not say. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. We were asked if he used drugs. "No," but by all means, "test him." Destry wondered if a classmate could have slipped him something without his knowing. Spencer reminded him that he went to Lakeview Academy, a charter school for nerds.
My normally calm, docile, needle unafraid child required seven people to hold him down and insert an IV. Destry, Spencer, and I along with three ER nurses and an ER doctor were required to get the job done. The doctor ordered, "soft restraints," which meant that his hands and feet were tied to the bed with soft cloth restraints. I tried to rub his head and offer comforting words. The doctor said I was doing a good job. Good. I didn't know what else to do. It was either that or join him in the wailing.
The doctor ordered a sedative to be given in the IV. No change. More sedative. No change. He ordered a CT scan, good luck with that. One has to hold still for that. More sedative, no change. I heard him mumble that he was afraid that if they gave him any more sedative that Taylor would stop breathing an require intubation. The ER doctor had a pediatrician come in who suggested adding Benadryl to the cocktail of drugs he'd already received. I asked if he could be having a migraine and told them of the text I had received about the spots and the headache he had a few hours earlier. I was told that this was not a migraine. His BG, thankfully stayed stable. We turned off his pump and checked him frequently.
It was determined that he would be transported to Primary Children's Hospital via ambulance. Destry called on a couple of neighbors to come give him a blessing. They made it to Riverton as he was being loaded into the ambulance. By then, he had suddenly succumbed to the massive amounts of drugs that was flooding his body. Sleep was a welcome relief. Still restrained and completely unaware of his situation, or friends were able to give him a blessing before we left.
I rode in the ambulance with Taylor and our friends took Spencer and one of our cars back home. Destry followed us to Salt Lake. There was an enclosed room with windows all around it waiting for us. There was a nurse positioned just outside watching our every move. I honestly believe they were assessing me as much as they were Taylor. Was I to blame for this behavior? I kept overhearing nurses reporting that, "the parents seem good." We answered all the ER doctor's questions while Taylor slept on. He asked what drugs we had in the house, etc. He asked if he'd had a migraine before. I said that he hadn't, but that I get them and his older brother started getting them at about that age. He mentioned something about a confusional migraine and sent us up to a room.
We kept his pump off and checked his blood regularly. It had been a long time since he had any food or insulin. The nurses admitted to not knowing much about insulin pumps, but still wanted to blame the whole incident on diabetes even though his blood sugar had been fine. He had the one low hours earlier that had been remedied with one Capri sun.
He slept until 3:00 a.m. He woke up wondering where he was and why he was wearing Spencer's shorts. I don't think I have ever been happier to hear such words! His blood sugar was low then and that reinforced the nurse's idea that all of this was diabetes related. Grrrr. He had a snack, went to bathroom and was given a shot of Lantus by the nurse because they are more comfortable with shots than with pumps. It was a waste, but sometimes you just have to do what you are told if it is not going to cause any harm.
In the morning an endocrinologist was sent in to visit us. Perfect. I told him that the piece that everyone seems to be ignoring is the headache with spots and focusing solely on the one low glucose reading. I told him that we had been doing diabetes for six years and knew what hypoglycemia looked like and that this was not it. I also told him that the nurses where not really listening to me about the headache, which is really why we were there. That and all of the yelling and disorientation that went with it. He completely agreed and arranged for neurology to make a visit. Someone came in to make an appointment for us to come back to see a neurologist. At first we were told it would be weeks. I told her that was not going to work because we did not want to do this ever again. I relayed to her the events that had transpired, she made another call, and got us in the next week. That was acceptable.
The neurologist told us about confusional migraines. It doesn't even sound like it should be a thing, but it is. He said that they are more common than people think. Google, by the way, says they are rare and more common in girls. He said he may or may not have another one. I said, what do we do if he starts to get one. He suggested giving him over the counter medication when he thinks he may be getting one. I said, what do we do if we end up in the ER and the doctor doesn't know about such things.He said that he will give me a paper with the proper medication on it. Right. I will carry a piece of paper with me at all times until he moves out then he'll do the same. Right. He said he put all of it on the Intermountain Healthcare system and everyone will have access to it. That's better. He said, that the sedative they gave him would not help. Ya, we learned that firsthand.
So Taylor has dreamlike memories of the whole experience. Yes, he remembers wanting to take a shower and Spencer not letting him. He remembers crying for me and being in pain, but says that it is not vivid. I will have you know that the whole horrifying experience will forever be imprinted on my brain. It is something I NEVER want to experience ever again.
I am grateful for a neighbor who showed up at the exact moment we need her to take my girls to her house where they were "wined and dined" for the night. They did not witness any of Taylor's crazy and were hoping that Taylor would have stayed in the hospital one more night so that they could have had one more night of wining and dining.
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