Harrison

My input on the hospital saga…

The diagnosis from the Childrens Emergency Department at Auckland Hospital was ‘Periorbital Cellulitis‘ - which I believe was dismissed by the North Shore Hospital staff because of the very fast onset (within an hour).

By my count, at North Shore we saw 5 nurses and two doctors, all of whom seemed perfectly happy in the belief that the swelling (not limited initially to the eye, but rather the whole right side of his face). When we arrived at Auckland Hospital, around an hour and a half after having been given an oral antihistamine and steroid, we saw a total of two triage nurses until nearly 2am when a doctor arrived to tell me they would be putting an IV in, but did not examine Harrison at all, or ask any questions or take any history.

When, nearly an hour later, the doctor returned to take us to have an IV placed, I asked where the Cellulitis diagnosis came from and was told it was made by North Shore. Needless to say the IV procedure was very distressing for Harrison - when the vain was missed in the first attempt he had to be wrapped tightly in a sheet to keep him still for the second go in the other hand. After that procedure Harrison would not allow me to put him down. He had spent the night sleeping on me in a reclining chair.

My suspicion is now this - the North Shore hospital diagnosis was Allergic reaction, which was treated with an antihistamine and steroid. The notes that the ambulance driver looked at confirmed this, as the information she noted on her forms was ‘Allergy’. When we arrived at Auckland Hospital, I believe that the first Triage nurse we saw observed the localised swelling around the eye (at this stage much of the other facial swelling had gone) and assumed Periorbital Cellulitis, and wrote that on the notes from North Shore. From that point on no further diagnosis was attempted by any staff at Auckland Hospital until nearly 5am, after initial IV antibiotics had been administered, when the Med. Reg. from Starship actually read the history and confirmed things with me and was convinced that it was not Cellulitis.

Within 10 minutes of arriving at North Shore hospital we saw a doctor. Treatment was swift and informative. At Auckland, where we were sent solely for observation, a different diagnosis appeared, and didn’t see a doctor for nearly three hours, and not exam was made at any stage beyond occasional pulse and oxygen measurements.

I understand the pressure of emergency medicine, but I feel quite let down by the treatment we received from Auckland Hospital. Delays I can cope with, but feeling entirely left in the dark with no information sucks and is unnecessary. Additionally the attitude of a number of the staff was bordering on downright rude and was certainly dismissive.

From the beginning…………………….
Last night Harrison went to bed at about 8, then he woke up at about 9, so we got him up to give him a bit more bottle and dylan noticed that Harrison’s face was all blotchy. On closer inspection his right eye was swollen shut and was obviously really itchy. So after waiting on hold on the medical helpline thingy for too long we took him to the North Shore A&E.
So we had about 4 nurses and a couple of doctors look at him and they thought it must be an allergic reaction so we went through about 3 - 4 rounds of the same questions…..what has he eaten, has he been bitten, any new bath products, etc.
So they gave him some antihistimine (sp???) and then told us that an ambulance would pick us up and take us to Starship so they could observe him overnight.
So we got in the ambulance and off we went (Grandma and Grandad followed in my car). When we got to Auckland Hospital we saw a nurse who looked at the chart and said he had ….something optic cellulitis. She then took us to a rooom, said he would go on IV antibiotics, the Doctor would be along soon, explained what could cause the thingy, brushed off everything we said, and left.
Harrison was asleep in his car seat - so he was okay.
then, after an hour Dylan tried to find someone to see what was happening. Of course it was the same nurse. She told him they were all busy and it would probably be another hour. It was about 1:15am so Dylan opted to stay in the horrible little room with Harrison while I went home to get some sleep.
So at about 2 a doctor came in, said it was that optic thingy and went away again. Then he came back an hour later to put the IV line in. And, surprise, they didn’t get the vein the first time. So they got to poke another needle into Harrison while Dylan held him. Then they gave him some antibiotics.
At about 5am a medical registrar talked to Dylan and said he didn’t think it was the cellulitis thing and went to try and find out why someone thought it was. (It changed from an allergy to cellulitis while we were on our way there apparently.)
So this morning, I went back and we played with some toys and read some books while we waited. Then a doctor turned up, had a look at Harrison and said it was probably a virus. (His eye was much better by this time.)
So we got discharged with a prescription and we have to keep an eye on him to make sure it doesn’t get any worse.
Harrison and his Daddy are now asleep on the couch, making up for last night.

So lots of different doctors, 3 different ideas, no real answer.

And Harrison seems fine to us, hes happy and not in pain and not scratching at his eye anymore. In my opinion it was an allergic reaction, and at some stage we will take him for allergy tests.

There are things that all parents should learn - my new thing for the day is to not leave a half eaten chocolate bar anywhere that Harrison will be able to see and get it.
Harrison was at his Grandma’s for the day while I did stuff like shopping - easier without Mr Wigglybum. So I had eaten my half a moro and then went to pick him up, leaving the moro “safely” on top of the back of a chair. When we got home I had to ring my mum, so I did it in the office so I could look at something on Trademe at the same time. I should have noticed that it was quiet, almost too quiet. Then Harrison turned up to give me part of a chocolate bar wrapper. He had chocolate all over his face, hands and clothes.
Harrison likes chocolate!!
(I blame his nana for giving him a toffee pop which has led to him being able to sniff out chocolate/caramel things.)

Harrison is slowly learning to walk. He doesn’t do it very often - obviously crawling is quicker and easier at the moment.
He had a lovely time on Saturday with Nana and Aunty Em while Dylan and I went to The Food Show.
Apparently he behaved himself and “someone” gave him a toffeepop, which he very much enjoyed.
At the moment he is exploring the house, he likes to go on the treadmill and also to take the phone off the hook and “talk” on it.