Primary Children's - Kezia

Sigh... I was hoping this would be an after-the-fact ER visit post. I guess it is not so.

So - here's the scoop on my precious baby girl:

Since Sunday, Kezia hasn't been acting quite herself.

By Monday, she started with the cold sweats. She would just be so sweaty - soaking through her clothes & then shaking from the cold. Her hands & feet were freezing. She wasn't urinating like she should.

Wednesday Jason & I took her to the Dr. Strep & UTI came back negative. He was worried about a bacterial blood infection & sent us to Primary Children's.

We got here at 1pm yesterday. Thankfully, the ER wasn't busy and we were able to get into a room. So - a couple hours and an insane amount of questions later, they started the blood work and urine sample. Let's just say that it was a toss-up who cried more - me or Kezia. It is so, so difficult to watch them do these things to your 8-month-old baby.

At about 5, another Dr. came in & said that her initial blood work came back fine, but she wanted to listen to her heart. She said it was way too fast & they hooked her up to the monitors. Her heart rate was almost 300. Normal is about 120. So... a bunch of people came in fast & they used a medicine called Adenosine to "reset" her heart rhythm. They had to use it twice, and it was a pretty scary experience, but the 2nd time, her heart rate came back down to normal levels.

So - they diagnosed Kezia with Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). I guess it is a fairly common heart condition in young kids. Basically people with SVT have an alternative electrical pathway in the heart - one without a pace regulator, hence the super-rapid heart rate.

They attributed the cold sweats & lack of urine to the SVT because her heart was beating too fast & not being effective in its pumping, so they kept us overnight to monitor her.

At 3am, she had another episode. As a way to "shock" the heart into getting into the right rhythm again, they used a pack of ice & smothered her face with it. Three times. Let me tell you how that feels as a mother to watch your baby get smothered & not able to breathe. I would not wish that on my worst enemy. She did eventually come out of it, but needless to say, nobody got more than an hour's sleep last night.

Kezia's cold sweats have continued even with the treatment of her SVT. She's soaked about 20 of their nice blankets since she's been here. So - they are still running tests - this girl has had about everything short of an MRI - x-rays, ultrasounds, blood work, EKG, Echo cardiograms, etc. Everyone has been really good to us here at Primary Children's. It's a strange feeling because I appreciate what they're trying to do for her, but they just keep hurting my baby & it is just so hard to watch. Still, we feel very blessed that we've caught the SVT and it doesn't take much to look around this place & know that your situation is so much better than so many. Also - I just have to say how much I love my family. When there's a need like this, they all just step in line & are willing to take our girls for us so we can focus on Kezi.

Anyway, if you remember, please add Kezia to your prayers. We're waiting on a few tests, but the other tests have come back fine & we hope to be out of here within the next couple of days.