Jaundice is the side effect of elevated levels of bilirubin. Jaundice makes babies yellow.... When you are Hispanic you tend to have a yellow skin-tone anyway and you may mistakenly miss that your child is in fact- yellow.
When we left the hospital he was low-risk and we never thought anything of it. At his first appointment the Dr. checked his levels and said that his 'yellow skin tone' is probably because Armando and I are Hispanic.
I got a phone call that night:
Is this Dominic's Mom?
Yes
This is ------ calling from Wee Care Pediatrics, PA Pace wanted us to call you with his lab results.
Okay
What hospital do you want to go to?
Excuse me?! What Hospital?!?
Oh.... yeah. You need to get Dominic's labs drawn- so what hospital would you like us to send these orders to?
I know she calls a million people a day and I know she really didn't mean to scare the shiz out of me, but good hell woman! Start out with: PA Pace would like to get his labs checked by a hospital lab.... Which hospital would you like us to send it to?
So we go to the hospital lab and get checked in, walk to the lab and my first heart palpitation came when the kid walking us into the lab asks some other guy in scrubs, "Hey, do you want to help me with this draw?"
(Someone going to poke your child should never ask someone for help)
Next heart palpitation came when he and other guy sat at the computer and wondered aloud "How do you put this lab in? I've never drawn this lab before... What is it under??"
(Someone going to poke your child should never say they don't know what they're doing)
So now I am worried and so I go back with Dom to get his blood drawn. Expecting another heel stick I pull his sock off... Other guy says "Nope, we need arterial blood for this draw- He wants a CBC, Bili and blah. blah. blah..."
Uncertain Guy decides he is going to be the one to do it... I watched as he cleaned my son's arm.... whole arm... with alcohol. scoped out his wrist.... hand.... elbow.... wrist.... hand.....It took everything in me to not freak out.... I kindly looked at him and said "You get one try, if you miss... you get someone else". Uncertain guy chooses the hand and proceeds to stab my son with a butterfly needle.
No blood
Pulls back---- No blood
Pushes in, pulls back---- No blood
I am starting to get antsy and Other Guy notices- comes over to help. Between the two of them they get 1mL of blood and blow my son's vein... Then they inform me that this isn't enough blood for the necessary tests- he must get stuck again.
Other Guy is now up to bat and he is successful.
The next phone call from Wee Care Pediatrics is not good news. Dom's levels are 20mg/dL- a level high enough to require phototherapy- Bili-lights.
Someone from Intermountain Home Medical comes to the house and sets us up with his little suitcase of tanning lights.
We have to strip him down to his diaper, shove this mask over his eyes and make him lie in a suitcase all night...
Dominic HATED the mask- he just cried and cried the saddest little cry, which in turn made mama cry the saddest little cry... Armando, bless his heart, had to do the mean part and shove him in the mask. I sat in the bathroom and bawled until it was done. Seeing him so helpless in the little suitcase made me very emotional (Crying my eyes out) so I had to sleep in the bedroom while Armando slept on the couch next to the lights, waking me up to feed the poor baby.
Randy standing guard
Poor Baby
Thank goodness he only needed the lights for one day- his levels went down and have been normal ever since.... Mommy and daddy now know what yellow is normal and what yellow is not normal :)
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