The Princess and The Virus

Metapneumovirus.  Ever heard of it?  Neither had we!  The hospital has been running tests and lab work for all kinds of illnesses, viruses, etc., and the one thing they've discovered is that Chrissie for sure has Metapneumovirus.  Here's a little blurb about it taken from eMedicine:

"A complete physical examination may reveal rhinorrhea, congestion, cough, tachypnea, wheezing, or rales. A high fever with myalgias has been described in some patients. Respiratory failure may ensue, requiring mechanical ventilation."

Sounds exactly like our Chrissie.  Apparently Metapneumovirus is quite similar to RSV and flu, but different enough to make those two tests come back negative.

Chrissie continues to remain stable in intermediate care, although she is still on continual oxygen as well as IV fluids.  (She has been fever-free for over 12 hours now without any fever reducing meds.  She's also still being given steroids, antibiotics, and a couple of other IV meds along with major respiratory therapy such as breathing treatments every two hours with a special one hour long treatment every 12 hours.  This means they're doing everything possible to get Chrissie well so she can go home, but Chrissie does NOT like it!!!  (And we'll probably be here for a few more days, so pray Chrissie will eventually calm down about simple routine procedures.)

In fact, Matt has nicknamed Chrissie "The Brown Hornet".  Better not let her small stature and big brown puppy dog eyes fool ya...Chrissie will come out of nowhere and sting ya, just like a hornet, if you're not on guard!!!  She is one fiesty girl when it comes to medical staff!!!  The moment anyone walks in the door to her room, she immediately goes into defense mode.  Chrissie gets her "stinger" out and lets everyone know she's madder than a hornet!!!  The staff have been quite shocked to see this precious little brown-eyed beauty react with such magnitude to a simple temperature reading or listening to her lungs/heart.  Not one single thing has caused "real" pain, but one would think Chrissie is being brutally attacked every time a nurse (or anyone whom she doesn't know) enters the room, even for simple things like a temperature reading.  There's lots of screaming, kicking, thrashing and wailing coming from our room anytime there's medical staff anywhere in our room. 

Everyone knows our little princess here, and they all know the girl gets what she wants!!!  (Although she still hasn't found a way to get "pretty" clothes...the polyester blue hospital gown isn't cuttin' it for Princess Chrissie, but she's still got it on, bless her heart.)  The bed's too cold, Chrissie's too hot, the pillow is too sweaty, the IV bandage is too big, the finger oxygen oximeter is too sticky, and the list goes on and on and on, and, although we still haven't found the pea under the mattress, Princess Chrissie is sure there's one hiding that we haven't yet discovered!!!  (We searched high and low for that pesty pea that causes so much irritibility, and we discovered it's not a pea at all, but a virus called Metapneumovirus, and it causes much the same irritation as The Princess and The Pea!)

Stephanie brought the kids today to visit Chrissie, and my mom ("Nana") stopped by as well.  These visits brought smiles to Chrissie's face, and she enjoyed playing with the Playdough and other toys my mom brought for her.  She made everyone pink playdough apples, and she told everyone where and how to sit (and sometimes she even gave instructions of what to say and how to say it!) in order to make Princess Chrissie happy.  The siblings were happy to see Chrissie and we were so grateful for the two hours of hospital joy Chrissie experienced this afternoon.  (Thanks Stephanie for bringing everyone!)

Yep, the princess knows what she wants and how to get it.  And we're blessed to be able to oblige.