Family is Forever (Sequel to Running on Insulin)

Chapter 67

The ambulance came a few minutes later and Erin directed them up to Sam's room. They took her temperature, too and saw it was still creeping up over 105. I explained what I could, that she hadn't been awake enough for me to give her anything.

Just then the alarm on my phone went off indicating Samantha's blood sugar was under 70. I started crying because I felt so out of control. Erin was sweet and the paramedics were very soothing as they worked on Sam and tried to keep me calm.

Eventually, they loaded Sam onto their stretcher soaking wet pyjamas and all, and I followed them out. Erin offered to stay in the house while we were at the hospital. I grabbed my purse and gave her the extra house key on the hook. That way she could lock up later.

I had my phone and our insurance information and so we left.

Samantha didn't react to anything in the ambulance. They'd started an IV and we're trying to rouse her, but she wasn't responding to anything. Not really. Not much more than a slight groan.

When we got to the hospital, they made me wait outside for a little to get her registered and for them to start treating her.

When that was done they let me back. They told me she'd had a seizure but that they were sure it was because her fever was so high. They were going to do a CT scan and a chest x-ray as well as blood work. They'd put a catheter in as well so they could get a urine sample and test for a UTI.

I sat beside Sam holding her hand and crying. What was wrong with my daughter?  Did we miss something? I tried to think back to the morning. She'd been a little low energy but had eaten breakfast with no problem. I'd thought she was just tired. Like normal tired. She hadn't said anything about not feeling well.

My phone beeped and I saw Erin had texted. She asked if we knew anything, and that she was going to head home. And to call  if we needed anything. At any time, she reiterated. I texted back a thank you and that so far we had no answers.

They came to take Sam for a CT scan around ten, and took her for an x-ray from there, not bringing her back to the emergency room for almost an hour.

When they brought her back, her cheeks were glowing red and she was radiating heat. I held her hand while she slept. They had her on a glucose drip to keep her sugar up, and were monitoring her blood sugar as well as me checking our app.

Just after midnight Tyler called again.

"Hey sweetie. How's Sam feeling?"

"Tyler, thank you so much for calling Erin. She came over while I waited for the ambulance and helped calm me down," I said.

"Ambulance? What happened?"

"Sam's fever won't come down. I think it's near 106, because the doctors said she had a seizure when we got here and she was already over 105. They've done a cat scan and X-rays and they have a catheter in so they can get a urine sample. Tyler, I'm scared. I don't know what's wrong with her, and she's barely conscious."

"Do you want me to come home?" He asked, worry in his voice.

"Not yet. We're okay. She's going to be admitted and once we get some test results back we'll have a better idea of what's going on. I don't want you to stop your tour and her be fine by the time you get home," I said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

I sighed.

"For now, yes. If it turns out to be something really serious then I'll tell you to come home."

"I'm so conflicted right now. I know you're capable and she's in good hands, but I want to be there with you both."

"I know sweetheart. You're a good papa," I said, smiling. "Ty, the doctor just came in."

"Put me on speaker phone," he said. So I did.

"Hi, doctor. I have Sam's dad on speakerphone. He's out of town."

"Oh. Okay. So, Samantha definitely has some sort of infection which has travelled to her bloodstream. The X-rays show she has pneumonia, but I think the blood infection might be from a urinary tract infection. We won't know that for certain for a couple of days because we need to culture her urine sample. Has she been complaining of having problems or pain when using the washroom?"

"No," I said. "Nothing like that at all."

"Sometimes people have UTIs with no symptoms. My concern is that the infection may have reached her kidneys, which is likely in order for it to have reached her bloodstream. If that's the case, we'll have to keep an eye out for kidney damage. And as a diabetic, that's a risk."

"How will you know if it's in her kidneys or if there's damage?" Tyler's voice came through the phone.

"Once she's feeling better, we'll do a kidney function test."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"We're admitting her now, she should be moved up to a room soon, and we're going to use cooling blankets and ice packs to try and bring this fever down. We're giving her fever reducers as well. Febrile seizures don't usually cause any damage, but I don't want her to have another one. They're not fun. We'll keep monitoring her, and we're putting her on some pretty strong antibiotics to knock out the infection. Hopefully she'll start feeling better by tomorrow."

"So we're not going home tonight." I said.

"I'm afraid not. You're probably looking at a stay here for a good few days."

"Jen, should I come home?" Tyler asked again.

"I can't tell you what to do, Tyler, but I think since we're here, and we know this hospital, we're in pretty good hands. I think we're okay for now. If things get worse, I'll let you know."

"Okay. I have to go," he said. "I'll call back tomorrow and check in on you both."

"Okay," I said.

"Kiss Sam for me and tell her Uncle Josh says get better."

I smiled.

"I will."

I hung up, the doctor said he was going to check on Sam's room and I just sat and held her hand.