Ended up in the Hospital

So for those of you who read the last post, my reprieve from Yale was short-lived. When I sent Catherine to bed, she had no temp. Checked her again when I went to bed, still no temp. At about 1 a.m. I heard her hacking away. I got up to check her and her temp was 102.5 - Dr. Elisha said to head on up. I arrived with her at about 2 a.m. I will admit, this is our 4th time in the Children's ER, including the time she was diagnosed, and the upside of being an oncology patient is that you are treated like a high roller in Vegas - they are awaiting you with open arms and you never wait.
Catherine was very good during the admit process in the ER and even on the drive up there. She was looking forward to the playroom and the playgroups they have. Her hopes of a fun stay were very much dampened by a diagnosis of RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) - basically a very nasty cold with a big name. We all get it, but it is more common and more dangerous in infants, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. Because it is so contagious, we (me too) were basically isolated in our room. When the nurses and docs came in they had to wear gowns and gloves and the one time a day they let me out to get my Dunkin' Donutes coffee, I was ordered to just go in and out of the hospital - no hanging out and no socializing with other parents so as to not infect them. Not an easy stay for either of us. At first they didn't even want to bring toys in from the playroom for Catherine, but I made a big stink and reminded them that it was their job to clean them when she was done with them and they gave in to me. Luckily she tested negative for any bacterial infections and she was afebrile for 24 hours straight - the only problem was that her counts plummeted - her ANC went from 1500 upon admit to 500 the next day and then 300 on Saturday. Dr. Elisha let us go home, but since her counts were low we were told that we would have to still go up to the hospital even though they knew what was causing the fevers. We will go back to Guilford Tuesday for a check and until she tests negative for RSV we will have to enter the office through a separate entrance directly into a room so as to not come into contact with the other patients.
So both kids will be home from school this week (figure I should just keep Alex away from anything going around too). Should be fun-filled and I am sure I will need a drink by Friday!