For our readers who like the whole story . . .

Here is what went down on Monday afternoon when Rosalie was re-admitted to the hospital. She is going to kill me one day when she is old enough to think that talking about diarrhea is really, really gross. (Remember the song from Parenthood anyone?) But let's be medical about this, okay!? The short of it is that Rosalie had some major bouts of diarrhea that put her in some pain and unfortunately left her very dehydrated. On Monday afternoon I called Rosalie's nurse practitioner because she was having this huge wave of diarrhea that seemed a little un-Godly. She wanted us to draw a lab so we could look at her hydration. But before we even drew the lab Rosalie turned an awful shade of blue, had blotchy (or "mottled") skin, and was shaking. She looked like a different little girl. Scary.

We took her to urgent care. I had the same surge of adrenaline in my body that I felt that time I flushed her line with Vancomycin. She was just not herself and she was downing ginger ale like she was pledging a fraternity.

We were given the "move to the front of the line" treatment and landed in the most advanced room of the urgent care floor. The only good thing about being in a freaky situation is that they take care of you really, really quickly!

She was given IV fluids right away, but she was still inconsolable and still having diarrhea. At some moment in this saga the mood went from frantic to funny. Once we realized that she was going to be okay we just had to laugh at the situation. Susannah was sitting there all bug eyed and confused. The double stroller was taking up half the room and the nurse kept trying to finagle her way around it. Rosalie was having one diaper after another. I looked like I wet my pants because Rosalie diapers were leaking all over me. Mark was trying to quench Rosalie's insatiable thirst by running around finding apple juice, water, and soda. At one point the nurse knocked over the ginger ale that Mark had just run over to the cafeteria to buy for Rosalie. It was just a little pathetic at some point. And we had felt like such medical parent professionals! Now we just looked ridiculous.

The bottom line is that she was very dehydrated so we were admitted to the hospital. As much as she was drinking or eating at home, it was just going right through her little body. There were no rooms on 7 Long so we actually landed in the PICU (intensive care). We were in the exact same room as after her crainiotomy. It was actually a nice reminder of how far she has come since last May because many of the children in the PICU are still intubated. They gave her fluids all night long and she looked like a new woman in the morning. A bed on 7 Long freed up on Tuesday, so now she is back on the floor where she is most familiar.

She is still rotavirus postive, so we know what is causing the diarrhea. It has been a balancing act of giving her the right IV fluids, having her eat and drink on her own, monitoring her output, and watching her sodium and potassium levels.

We will keep you posted on what happens next.

Go Rosie, Go! You can kick this!