First Trip to the ER

So we have been fighting illness after illness here at the Patterson household since about November.  It seems like everyone is well for about 3 days and then it starts all over again.  This week has been no different.  The stomach bug began about 2 weeks ago when Mallory woke up in the middle of the night vomiting (3/9/15).  After two hours she was back to bed and no other signs or symptoms.  Three days later (3/12/15), the exact same thing with Samantha.  She felt fine the next day.  Two days later (3/14/15), I came down with it which lasted about 18 hours or so.  One week later (3/20/15), Taylor began vomiting while having milk before bedtime.  She proceeded to have diarrhea the next 2 days and a small amount of vomit on Sunday evening at dinner.  On Monday morning (3/23/15) when I walked in to the girls' room, Taylor lifted her head and said, "Hi" with a cute little smile.  She then laid her head back down and didn't get up the whole time I was getting the other 2 ready.  Once dressed, I didn't put her down until I took her downstairs.  I had to leave her standing there while I brought the other two down and she didn't budge an inch.  I put all three in their high chairs for breakfast.  While they were eating, I noticed Taylor's hands and feet were turning purple.  This happens to her after her baths when she is cold but never like this and they got really purple.  This made me really nervous.  

So after being on hold 10 minutes and hanging up with the pediatrician, I decided to take her to the ER.  Our family friend Joyce went with me in the car with all 3 and Brian met us there.  She vomited as I got her out of the car.  Once in the ER, she was alert, fatigued, and her feet and hands were back to a normal color (of course).  The nurses and doctor were great with her.  They did all of her vitals which her heart rate was in the 140s and tried to see if she would drink anything.  They took her blood and found her CO2 was low and her BUN was high indicating she was dehydrated from a stomach virus.  Apparently purple hands and feet are a sign of severe dehydration.  So they hooked her up to an IV to get her some fluids.  We were there until 3 PM pumping her full of liquids.  Brian and I switched off holding her.  She has never watched so many cartoons and gotten so much cuddle time one on one.  I think she kinda liked all of the attention.  

Once she woke up from her nap, she perked up slightly and we were able to take her home.  She had 3 more diarrhea diapers when she got home and drank only a little bit before going to sleep so we were worried she may get dehydrated again.  But she woke up feeling better and so far has been doing fine.  She is eating and drinking more which is good news.  She is definitely more tired but acting like my normal Taylor again.