This morning I got a phone call from one of the residents at the hospital. Riker's heartrate and breathing were elevated and they were concerned about what it could mean. It could be a sign of infection which is exactly what we're scared of at this point. It could also mean she's having heart troubles. An EKG and blood tests were ordered to find out what was wrong. They were hoping that it wasn't anything major but worried, nonetheless.
When they called, I was trying to get into the car with Valentine so that I could bring her to school. During the 2 1/2 minute conversaton with the doctor, I had to call her back inside 3 times. Poor Valentine, even when I'm giving her attention, I am still focused on Riker. Of course, I was horrified that I wasn't at the hospital for Riker. I hate choosing which child needs me most.
The doctor indicated that she was stable so I requested to be contacted immediately if anything changed. I told the resident that I was still planning to be there for the afternoon but would drop everything if anything changed to make them more concerned.
After an hour and a half, I was getting really nervous so I called her nurse for an update. Thankfully, her tests had come back without any alarming results but it did show her platelet and red blood cell counts to be low. At this point, the concensis was that the low red blood cell counts were causing the issue. Less red blood cells mean less oxygen so the heart has to pump faster to compensate.
So the next decision that had to be made was which transfusion to do first - platelets or red blood cells? In the end, platelets were given first to prevent a "spontaneous bleed." Every decision made in the hospital is a delicate balancing act of risk and benefits.
Thankfully, this seemed to work and Riker overall had a very good day, despite the fact that she refuses to sleep :)
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