“Dad, I can’t stand up.”
“Dad, my stomach hurts so much.”
“Dad, my neck hurts.”
Every time my son said one of those things, he burst into tears. By then, my wife and I knew this was not an ordinary fever.
It started around the Mid-Autumn Festival. My son had a fever and diarrhea, so we gave him fever-reducing and antidiarrheal medicine, but his temperature kept rising and falling. At around nine o’clock that evening, I checked his temperature and saw 39.7°C. We were terrified. After giving him ibuprofen, we drove straight to the hospital’s fever clinic.
We scanned the required travel and health codes, filled out the paperwork, and then learned that only one parent could accompany the child inside. I had to wait outside, growing more anxious by the minute. Eventually, I said I needed to go in to pay, and they allowed me through.
After registration, his temperature was 39.2°C. The doctor asked questions, issued the orders, and we paid for a blood test. A nucleic acid test was also required. It was free, but the result would take four to six hours, and we would not be allowed to leave until it came back negative. That meant the earliest we could get home would probably be two or three in the morning.
About half an hour later, the blood count results were ready. The doctor said the fever was likely being caused by a viral infection. Since we already had fever medicine at home, he prescribed medication for the diarrhea and a cephalosporin drug, then told us to wait for the nucleic acid result.
Not long afterward, I noticed that the two other children who had arrived at roughly the same time had disappeared. My wife and I discussed it quietly, then slipped out and drove home. After taking his medicine, our son settled down and slept for a while. But sometime after midnight, he began tossing and turning again.
The next morning, he stood in the room and said, “Dad, my stomach hurts.”
It was heartbreaking. When I got up, I found that he had had severe watery diarrhea and had made a mess of the bathroom.
I took the day off work. This fever was completely different from the bouts he had experienced before. I had originally planned to take him to a clinic for an IV drip, including antibiotics, but two different clinics refused to accept a child with a fever. An IV treatment was out of the question.
I carried him home. His body felt like a furnace, and all he wanted to do was sleep. After giving him medicine, I checked his temperature every two or three hours. The first reading was close to 39°C, and it seemed to be coming down. But the second time I checked, it had climbed to almost 41°C.
“Dad, I can’t stand up.”
His voice was trembling. That was when I realized we could not wait any longer. My mother immediately carried him downstairs while I brought the car around. We drove back to the fever clinic we had visited the night before.
I told the doctor that he had already had a blood count and a nucleic acid test. Seeing how serious the situation was, the staff sent us to another consultation room. The doctor told us to give him ibuprofen suspension immediately. I had rushed out of the house and had not brought the medicine with us, so the doctor quickly wrote the order, we paid, and I went to the pharmacy to get it for him.
Only then did the doctor explain how alarming the blood test was. Some of the indicators were nearly ten times higher than the normal range. The inflammation had not been brought under control, so the repeated fever was not surprising.
The doctor gave us two choices. The first was to get medicine and take him to the infusion area for an IV drip, although there was no guarantee that he would recover completely and the symptoms could return. The second was to admit him to the hospital for more detailed examinations and treatment aimed at the actual cause. Even then, the fastest recovery would probably take four or five days.
I discussed it with my mother, who was waiting outside, and we decided on hospitalization. Only one person could stay with him, and the caregiver could not be switched. My daughter’s daily trips to and from school would have to be handled by my mother, so I was the only realistic choice for staying with my son.
When I told the female doctor that I would remain with him, she looked genuinely surprised. Twice, she asked me whether I could manage it alone, especially since I would be caring for a feverish three-year-old. I told her that my son was well behaved and that there would be no problem. I have no idea what she was thinking at the time.
After another nucleic acid test, we completed the admission procedures and paid a 2,000-yuan deposit, with the final amount to be settled at discharge. My son is covered by rural medical insurance, although we had no idea how much of the bill it would reimburse.
We were sent to the pediatric fever ward. The head nurse recorded his basic information and arranged a bed. It took more than half an hour before the IV line was finally inserted and the drip began.
I had said that my son was obedient, and it really was not just a father bragging about his child. From the finger prick and blood draw the night before to the needle for the IV, he showed almost no fear. He even watched the needle go in without changing expression. He was incredibly brave.
It was the first time since he was born that he had needed an IV drip. For ordinary childhood illnesses, we had generally relied on medicine and tried to avoid antibiotics whenever possible. My daughter, who is older, had never needed an IV at all, and both children had usually been in fairly good health.
My son’s first IV insertion video. Tested successfully on China Unicom; other carriers unknown.
On the day he was admitted, he received five bottles of IV fluid. The treatment started at around four in the afternoon and continued until about ten at night. His temperature was checked every two hours. Sometimes it was a mild fever, and sometimes it was high. Whenever it rose, he was given ibuprofen suspension. Once the effect wore off a few hours later, his temperature would shoot up again.
A nurse came in every two or three hours throughout the night to check him. The cycle of fever and medication continued until the reading at around five o’clock the following afternoon. That was the first time his temperature had returned to normal. It remained stable through the third day.
The hospital also collected urine and stool samples for testing. On the second day, he underwent chest and abdominal imaging. The results showed mild tracheitis and severe abdominal gas. The main cause of the fever appeared to be inflammation in his throat. Each time the fever came on, the pain seemed to begin around his neck and spread outward. Without hospitalization, I honestly do not know what we would have done.
By the third day, the fever had disappeared completely and did not return. The diarrhea was still a problem, but the bloating gradually improved after the first two days of bowel movements. That evening, after his temperature had normalized, he finally regained his appetite and ate a large bowl of beef porridge.
He had barely eaten during the days he was sick. At admission, he weighed only 24 jin, or about 12 kilograms. Before the illness, he weighed more than 27 jin, so he had lost roughly three or four jin in just a short time. He was already on the smaller side for both height and weight. I could not help wondering how many bowls of rice it would take to put the weight back on.
Once the fever and bloating had improved, I asked the attending doctor whether we could leave. At first, the doctor refused, explaining that children are generally observed for another 24 hours after the fever has gone before discharge. I kept asking, however, and eventually the discharge request was approved. The doctor reminded me to watch him carefully at home, give him his medicine on time, and return for a follow-up examination after a few days.
The nurse gave me the discharge documents and told me to settle the final bill at the admission desk. The IV treatment continued until nearly noon that day. After packing our things, I took my son to complete the discharge process.
The total cost was 2,542 yuan. Rural medical insurance reimbursed 1,169 yuan, leaving 1,373 yuan for us to pay ourselves. Nearly 1,600 yuan of the total came from laboratory tests. After three days and two nights in the hospital, I could only say that getting sick is expensive.
The next few days were still important. I kept hoping the fever would not come back for another round. Whether it is an adult or a child, being ill is exhausting for everyone involved. The medicine has to be taken on schedule, and his diet needs to be controlled while he recovers.