pistoy's 1st ER trip

i realized i shouldn't have posted on FB about the ER trip, kasi andaming nag-aalala. andami rin napapost asking how he is. thanks for the concern friends. he's doing better now, i think. didn't mean to make anybody worry. =)


how it started
last week, may parang pimple sa right butt cheek si pistoy. we thought it was no big deal, dahil nagkaron na rin sya ng ganon dati, pumutok lang mag-isa. but after a few days, medyo namumula yung area.

by friday, mama said super-iyak si pistoy nung inupo nila sa carseat papuntang park. tapos ayaw sumakay sa swing, eh fave nya don eh. yun pala, biglaang namaga yung butt nya. namumula at medyo matigas yung area. pag naglalaro sa lapag si pistoy, he sits funny. tinatagilid nya yung upo nya para di nya maupuan yung bukol. that night, iyak nang iyak si pistoy at may fever na, so we gave him some baby tylenol for the pain.

saturday morning (8:30am), we went to his pedia. buti na lang maaga kami pumunta kasi just overnight, namaga yung butt nya, parang pigsa na ang itsura. =( it was red, swollen, very hard, at lumaki yung inflamed area. as soon as nakita ng pedia niya, binigyan kami ng note and pinapunta na kami sa ER ng All Children's Hospital sa downtown. wala daw kasing surgery area dun sa clinic, kaya mas ok na sa hospital talaga gawin. punta kami don, kami rin ang una.

the ER experience
pistoy was generally ok when we reached the ER (9am-ish), so hintay lang kami a bit after i filled up a short form. kami lang ni je ang pumasok sa ER, si mama't papa naghintay lang sa lobby ng hospital.

then they did some standard tests. weight, temperature, blood pressure. pistoy was very curious pa nga, patingin-tingin lang habang kinukuha yung stats nya. then they led us to an examination room. hindi na pinahubad yung top ni pistoy, pina-alis na lang yung diaper. tapos naka-hospital gown sya. i must admit, i was tempted to take pics kasi pistoy looked so cute in his Bugs Bunny hospital gown. =)

a couple of nurses looked at him first, and interviewed us about his health history, allergies, family records, etc. jecobie was crying na kasi antok na sya, at siguro the baby tylenol was wearing off na rin. after a few minutes, dumating na yung doc. kamukha sya ni john travolta. hehe!

the pedia wanted to make sure kung anong meron sa bukol, pwedeng pus daw yon, or inflamed tissue. so pina-ultrasound pa si pistoy. eh pag natatamaan yung bukol nya, super sakit. kaya talagang iyak si pistoy. tipong nanginginig buong katawan nya sa iyak. =( talagang umagos ang luha ng little boy ko, nakakaawa. =( daddy je was carrying him when they did the ultrasound, and pistoy's fingernails were digging in sa pagkakahawak nya, sa sobrang sakit siguro. as soon as the technician saw the "sac", she said something like "oh my God, that's a big one." nakita din namin, malaki nga yung area. naawa ata yung technician kay pistoy, hinatid pa kami pabalik sa examination room from the ultrasound room.

we waited a little more, medyo nakakatulog na si pistoy. karga pa rin sya ni je (poor daddy, nag-alaxan that night dahil sa sakit ng likod sa pagbubuhat). finally the doc said pistoy probably has MRSA, and the skin infection needs to undergo a minor "surgery" to drain the pus and liquid na nag-accumulate. he recommended to sedate pistoy para daw di ma-trauma sa pain, at para mas mabilis ang procedure. at sa dami rin ng pus, mas ok daw na hiwain na para makuha lahat. the doc was reassuring us na pistoy will only be sedated if we give our consent, and that may ibang specialists who will look after his stats (like breathing), to make sure he's not having any reaction to the sedative. we made the decision to go on with it. that was 10am.

since pistoy had some milk earlier, the doc recommended we wait for an hour before they sedate him. at this point, umuwi muna kami ni mama to take care of stuff. i didn't even have my wallet with me. papa stayed sa hospital lobby in case may kailangan si je. mama and i went home, took a bath, grabbed breakfast for ourselves, je and papa.

side note: we were having pistoy and my birthday lunch that noon, and it was too late to cancel. we had the place reserved, and people will be coming at 11:30am, some may even be on their way. so before i headed back to the hospital, i dropped mama sa resto (sa kanto lang namin) to take care of stuff (food, guests). we decided to go on with the luncheon, with or without pistoy and me.

i wasn't there when they sedated pistoy at 11am. hubby je said within 2 minutes na tinurukan si jecobie, naging groggy na sya. then the staff prepared for the procedure. they did it sa examination room, may built-in facilities na rin sila for minor ops. pinalabas si je ng doc when they did the procedure. sabi ni je, in about 10 minutes, tapos na.


the swollen area measured 4cm x 6cm, and the pus area inside measured 2cm x 3cm. they made a 1cm cut dun sa bukol. they took some samples to culture it, to make sure that the infection is not resistant to the antibiotics they will prescribe. then they drained the rest, tapos pinasukan ng "packing" yung area, parang gauze na may gamot. para daw sipsipin yung pus kung may natira, at kung may mapupunta pa dun sa area.

when i got back to the room (11:20am-ish), they were cleaning up the bed and pistoy is still lying on his stomach, groggy, and crying feebly. i stroked his arms and legs, and talked to him that it was ok. he settled down a bit. he must be looking for more familiar voices, since he can't focus well. daddy je carried him, and he just laid his head on daddy's shoulder and slept. it was a good 30 minutes ata before medyo nahihimasmasan si pistoy. he tried to wake up, and ended up smacking his head on je's chest at one time dahil sa sobrang kalasingan pa. the nurse saw it and natawa ng konti. kami rin ni je natawa eh, kasi parang lasing humandusay si pistoy.

pistoy slept well. both je and i agreed that the worst is over.at this point, pinasunod ko na si papa sa room. si mama naman, tawag nang tawag kay papa, tinatanong si pistoy, at the same time giving updates na dumarating na yung mga tao sa resto, and that she's updating them of what happened.

after an hour, the doc checked on pistoy, and asked us to feed him some liquid. if he throws up, he needs to stay and recover. if he doesn't, we could go home. we gave pistoy his milk, and he happily took it. no throwing up after 1 ounce. he was still a bit groggy, he sways on the spot, but he's his usual self other than that. he was drinking his milk, eating his banana puffs. crawling on the bed. he was also calling out "ayt" (lola-mama ayet), naghahanap talaga ng familiar faces and voices. palipat-lipat nga sya ng karga sa aming 3 nila je at papa eh. as soon as he started cruising on the bed rail, and started bouncing to "dance to the beat", i know he's ready to go. that was almost 2pm.

post ER
the nurse took care of the paper work. we will be charged later after the insurance kicks in. our bill will come through the mail. in 10 minutes after the nurse discharged us, we were pulling out of the parking lot.

we headed straight to the resto for our birthday lunch. we were 2 hours late on our own party! =P jecobie was sleepy, it was his nap time na rin kasi, so je carried him lang. when we got there, all the guests have already eaten. after saying hello to everyone, nag-blow na ng cake, then nag-dessert na. di na kami nakakain ni je, nakihalubilo na lang kami sa guests, lahat din kasi nagtatanong kung anong nangyari at kung kamusta na si pistoy. after about an hour, nagsimula na mag-paalam ang mga tao. it all worked out well, kasi pistoy needs to rest din. dumaan lang din talaga kami para makita man lang nila si pistoy. and bukod sa local area na hiniwa sa kanya, he's fine naman. no fever, no pains (yet then, baka may effect pa yung binigay sa kanya sa hospital).


post ER care
so ngayon, may incision si pistoy sa butt, at may nakapasok na gauze. may konting part na nakalabas. bukas (tuesday), we're going back to the pedia for a follow-up. either papalitan yung gauze (juskolord, sana wala nang namuo ulet!), or tatanggalin na totally and let the incision heal.

as of yesterday, naka-upo na sya sa swing sa park, pero medyo nakatagilid. si pistoy na mismo nagtatagilid ng upo nya, para di nya maupuan yung incision. may dressing naman, pero masakit pa rin yon shempre.

but he's doing ok overall, other than pag pinapalitan namin yung dressing or nauupuan nya bigla. he's eating well, playing well. he laughs and still "performs" his tricks. he slept through the night last night, and wala namang fever.

it was heartbreaking to see your kid in state of pain. i know it was inevitable. it was hard for me to leave the room before jecobie was sedated, i wanted to be there for him. but i also know some part of me doesn't want to see him like that. in the end, we were still thankful that the pain was "localized" to that swollen part of his butt. can you imagine how much harder it would be if your kid is experiencing that kind of pain all over his body? if jecobie still had fever before the procedure, there's no way i am leaving his side. 

parenthood is not for the faint of heart. we've been baptized by the ER fire.