Daniel gets a funny hat

A couple of weeks ago Daniel had his second urinary tract infection. Which is really not that big a deal, although quite uncommon for boys, but it ended up being kind of dramatic because we were at the hospital so much.

After he had his regular three-month immunizations, he had the normal fever in the evening, but then the fever persisted for several days. We called the doctor to make sure it was still ok and normal, and they insisted that up to a week of fever was normal. But after five days we started to wonder if it could actually be an infection (his pee smelled strongly, like the last time he had a UTI). In the evening his fever was higher than ever, so we decided to take him in to the emergency room/immediate care.

Even after three urine tests which tested positive for bacteria, and two blood tests showing infection, they were still quite hesitant to treat him. But in the end they decided to give him IV antibiotics for a week, plus oral antibiotics for a week after that, plus preventative antibiotics for the whole summer. His IV was in his head, so he had a funny "hood" of netting on all week to keep it in place, and the IV stuck out like a little antenna. They also did an ultrasound to check for abnormalities in his renal system which could be causing the infections. I had to stay in the hospital with him for three nights, and then keep coming in every day for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I had to miss the Wycliffe conference, which I had really been looking forward to. We had a lot of friends from all over Norway there. Viggo got to go though. Wycliffe's "project manager" for Tanzania was there as a guest speaker, and she mentioned to Viggo that it looks like there may already be a house lined up for us in Babati in Tanzania.

Daniel had quite a fever for the first couple of days we were in the hospital, and I had to keep giving him tylenol to keep it down, and he got IV fluids overnight the first night. The medicine did it's job, though, and he's perfectly healthy now. We're finished with the last dose of oral antibiotics today, and will be going in to the hospital for a follow up appointment on Friday. In the fall, he is scheduled for and x-ray check, using contrast fluid in his bladder, to check for any problems the ultrasound didn't pick up on.

Daniel had a physical therapy appointment last week - starting a little early I'd say. He has developed a significant flat spot on one side of his head because he always sleeps on that side. We've been trying to reposition his head, but it doesn't seem to help much. The physical therapist said he has a tight muscle on one side of his neck, and gave me stretches to do with him, and strengthening exercises for the other side. He is not a big fan of his stretches. We have another appointment with the physical therapist tommorow to see if we're making any progress. Apparently it's not the lopsided head that they worry about so much as the crooked neck, which can continue to be a problem as he grows older if it isn't taken care of now.

I would still say he's a healthy boy, though, and he's growing and developing well. He sleeps though the night consistently, smiles and laughs at us, holds up his head and chest well, and grabs onto his toys and looks at them and puts them in his mouth now. We're practicing rolling over, but so far it is just onto his side.