When E was five weeks old, we had to send him to the hospital due to a high fever (over 103). My poor baby spent three days in the hospital, where he was hooked up to an IV, got round-the-clock Tylenol dosage, and three spinal taps. I heard he was really good about the taps; I don't know, I could not bear to be there so hubby had to accompany him.
What we've learned since is that E just gets fevers. His little body simply runs hot whenever he gets a cold. He has adapted, as have we. He can run a fever up to 101.5, and if you never touched him, you wouldn't think he was hot. He can carry on a conversation, play, and dance while he is running hot. And if he is anything under 101, we don't even bother to call the doctor; we just wait a few days for the fever to pass.
But when he gets a persistent fever that lasts for a week or more, I get the cold sweats. I know there is a reasonable explanation. But it doesn't assuage me. I start worrying that he has lymphoma or a brain tumor or the worst possible disease I can google.
Right now, he has had a fever for a week. We went to the doctor today, and she told me to bring him back if he hasn't broken the fever in two more days. Then it's back to the battery of tests: blood test, urine culture, chest x-ray. None of those tests have ever told me anything about what causes the fevers, which is enormously frustrating. The only consolation is that they confirm he doesn't have lymphoma.
Cross your fingers for E that he breaks his fever in the next 48 hours. And if that doesn't happen, cross your fingers that the blood tests don't come back indicating lymphoma.
