Thread: A night I would rather not go through again - but have too...

Long story short. Ok, shortish....

About a week & a bit ago (on a Saturday), our youngest daughter (Miss 6 & 7/12ths) started running a temp. Not too high, but enough to get noticed & a dose or 2 of Panadol.

She also had a small (pin head size) sore on the inside of her foot. We put that down to new shoes rubbing or similar. Nothing to indicate that it was anything but a minor sore.

On Sunday, we noticed a lump growing on the inside of her thigh, up high near the groin region. This new lump got progressively bigger and started to get fairly sore throughout the day, and so off to the docs on Sunday night to have it checked. (SWMBO is the Practice Manager, so we get top-notch service) He didn't like the look of it, so sent her for an ultrasound & x-ray on Monday.

The scans didn't show anything, so there were no foreign bodies involved. The doc upped the dose of antibiotics she was already on, and told us to keep an eye on it.

Tuesday, the lump was red & hot, indicating an infection of some sort. The doc wanted to see how it went for one more day, but on Wednesday, decided that a kid doctor should look at it. Into the Kids Hospital we go, for the doc there to say that he didn't like the look of it, and he called in a surgeon. The surgeon ummed & ahhhd, and wanted to see how it went for a couple more days, but on stronger antibiotics.

Back to the local GP every day for further checks, and on Monday (yesterday) he decided things weren’t progressing properly, and wanted us back to the hospital.

The hospital called the surgeon back, he took one look at it and admitted her straight away, telling us that they would be operating as soon as they could get her in - meaning that night.

After spending a couple of hours waiting in a hospital with a slightly stressed kid, and a slightly more stressed mother, it was time for the ride on the bed.

The second hardest part of the night was about to begin. I went with her into the theatre, after dressing like a doctor, and stayed with her while she went to sleep. It's tough on little kids, but it is tough on the parents too. I held it together fairly well, suddenly realising how little they really are.

When she came back to the ward, that's when I lost it. She was crying that her leg hurt, that her hand hurt where they inserted the canula, she wanted her own bed, she was hungry, and she wanted to go home. Seeing & hearing all of this, and knowing that there was not a damn thing I could do about it, hit me hard.

We finally got her settled, and she drifted off to sleep. Mum stayed the night on a fold-out bed, and I made the drive home, finally getting in just after midnight. Considering I was at work at 0730 ish, it made for a long day.

Back into the hospital first thing, and round 2 started. The little one was looking much better, was eating & drinking ok, and feeling ok. Then the dressing had to be changed.

Due to the wound, it has to be packed with a dressing. What this means is that the old dressing has to be taken out, and the new dressing put in. This hurts like hell, and the little kid was so brave thru it all - better than mum....

So we got to bring her home after all of this, and now she is sleeping on the lounge right where we can keep an eye on her. She has to have the dressing changed every day for the next week or so, and that side of it isn't going to be pretty.

The worst part of all this, is that in about 4 weeks, we have to go through it again. The poor little kid is booked in to have her tonsils out, due to her having sleep apnea.

In the end, it turns out that the lump on her leg was an infected lymph node, probably caused by an infection from the small sore on her foot, travelling up until it found a place to settle & grow. As the node grew, it was at risk of pushing against her femoral artery, causing a massive problem.

The moral of the story is, keep a close eye on even the smallest sores. They are a fact of life, but the consequences can be huge.

And while I am at it, all of the Doctors, Nurses & Admin staff at the Woman’s & Children’s Hospital in Adelaide are top notch. They explained everything, and looked after Mum & Dad, as well as their patient. If any of them read this, take this as a small sign of our thanks.

Hope it heals quick and that the tonils go without drama.

Our 5 year old had one in Jan but much faster progression and better ending.
Went from normal to screaming and refusing to walk in under an hour. Took him up the local hospital and once he was examined the doctor left the room for a while. 15 mins later he came back in and handed me the case notes, explaining that he had in infected hip requing urgent surgery. Canberra had been called and were waiting for us and surgery would be that night.
Turned out to be the lymph node and a week in hospital on drip antibiotics sorted it out Thanfully.