There was no post on Monday. Instead, the DW and I felt like we had stepped back an entire year to where we were at last September with Peanut in the hospital at the UIHC. Here’s how we got there…

About a week ago, Peanut came down with what we first thought was the stomach flu. Sissy and the DW had a day they felt queasy so we figured it was just a bug running through. Peanut would vomit, once or twice a day – normally in the evening – and had obvious intestinal discomfort. We kept her GI doctor in the loop and waited for things to clear up. But, it didn’t. After 5 days, Peanut started refusing any food that was offered and was willing to just sit with Lulu… Peanut never turns down food and the two of them never just sit together. Something was wrong.

Without any signs of improvement, Sunday morning Peanut’s GI doctor told us to bring Peanut to the UIHC. By early afternoon, Peanut was admitted to one of the pediatric units, had an IV for replacement fluids, and full battery of labs underway. (I always gauge how sick Peanut is by the number of staff in the room at one time. At one point on Sunday, the number was 5 or 6 and I was starting to get a little nervous. The only saving grace was that there was only one doctor in the ranks.)

While waiting for lab results, the DW and I worked on distracting Peanut. I don’t know if there could be a worse age to have a child in the hospital. She wanted to crawl around – but couldn’t. She wanted to chew on her IV line – but couldn’t. She didn’t want to be held all the time and she didn’t want to sit in her crib. Thankfully, between the Disney Junior channel, the huge collection of toys and books stocked by the hospital, and a floor mat, Peanut had enough new distractions to be ok with the restrictions.

Late Sunday, we learned that Peanut was suffering from a c diff bacteria infection. C diff is resistant to antibiotics and is common in in-patient settings – hospitals, nursing homes, etc. It spreads by spores that can survive most of the typical household cleaners – when you see cleaners that kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, c diff is one of the 0.1% they don’t cover. Most onsets of the infection occur while the patient is on some form of antibiotics that kill the majority of the bacteria in the gut and allows c diff an open field to flourish. It results in severe diarrhea with a distinctive odor (check), abdominal pain from excessive gas (check), and general flu like symptoms (check). Ironically, c diff is commonly found in the colon – Peanut doesn’t have a colon.

Peanut was discharged on Tuesday afternoon, but she may still have several weeks or even months of recovery from the infection depending on how she reacts to the treatment. Unfortunately, this will delay her reconnection surgery for at least some time. Hopefully, this is just a bump in the road.