Indie's Neck Saga

4 weeks ago, Indie started having fevers and seemed grouchy.  She also grabbed her ears once in a while and seemed to cry when I moved her into a new position suddenly.  The ENT said it was probably teething, Urgent Care said she was constipated (which was also probably true) then finally a pediatrician referred us to Children's for blood work.  All of her lab results came back normal, but she had high inflammation numbers so we started discussing pediatric arthritis and autoimmune disorders, made specialist appointments, and went back for more labs.  That night I had an epiphany and realized that Indie was not grabbing her ears like I had barely noticed for a month, but her short arms were grabbing her neck, which totally explained the crying when I moved her.

Dave was mowing the lawn so I ran outside and told him that something was wrong with Indie's neck.  I'm not sure he was totally convinced, but I called her pediatrician early the next morning anyway and told her it was Indie's neck.  The pediatrician gave me an early appointment, confirmed that it was possible, then sent us to Children's Hospital for admittance.  It was an awful day with more labs, IV fluids, anesthesia, MRI, lots of conflicting information, and finally a best-guess diagnosis that Indie had a rare bacterial infection around the C-2 vertebrae in her neck.  Once one of the doctors delivered Indie's diagnosis and antibiotic treatment, I asked if we could take her antibiotics home that evening.  Clearly I wasn't getting it because we still had more testing, monitoring, anesthesia and the insertion of a Picc line before we were able to leave 4 days later.

Now we are home and Indie is happy. So happy!  She smiles at everything, laughs just for fun, claps all the time, destroys the house and loves life.  I have had some sad times realizing that she was miserable for a month and I didn't know how to help her (mom guilt is real!)  I have also been so full of gratitude for Indie and her joyous personality.  I am so so grateful that she had a fixable problem and she is home improving with our family.  So grateful that Dave completely took over my responsibilities at home so I could be at the hospital with Indie (but my favorite part when always when they came to visit.)  I am so grateful that we have a strong family that was able to take on this challenge and grow from this experience.  I was humbled by all the people willing to serve our family and really appreciated meals, visits, thoughtful gifts, and so many offers to help with the girls.  I feel so very fortunate and appreciate the perspective I've gained through this experience.

Indie does have a Picc line in her leg, which will be limiting this summer, but we've gotten comfortable with her IV antibiotics.  She also has a neck brace that we're not great about, but we're working on it.  And she does pull off a neck brace like a rock star!

Mother's Day in the hospital wasn't my plan, but I got to spend time with my girls and that's what this mom gig is all about!