bailey's bad day

We had a terrible Saturday. It started off really nice. We went swimming in the morning, and then Brennon left for ASU to study. Bailey and I were going to hang out at home and relax, but around 11:15 Bailey started to scream so I thought she was ready for her nap because it was 45 min past her normal nap time. So I put her in her bed and instantly I had a feeling to go back where she was playing and check the area. When I did I saw about eight baby scorpions bunched together on the floor. Three of the scorpions were smashed so we think Bailey was stung about 3 times. The scorpions were so tiny I could not spot them out at first. After seeing them there I immediately grabbed Bailey out of her bed and called Brennon.

Brennon said to call poison control and so I did. At this point Bailey is crying hysterically and I could tell that she was in a lot of pain so I put her back in her bed so I could talk to the lady. I told her what happened and she said to wait it out and she would call me back in 30 min. When I went back into the room Bailey was shaking uncontrollably, and she was no longer crying because she had so much foam and spit coming out of her mouth. She was really having trouble breathing and controlling her body. I called poison control again, and the lady on the phone immediately called the paramedics to take Bailey in the ambulance. At this time I am panicking because I can barely hold Bailey because her body is spasming, Brennon wasn't home, and I couldn't stop crying. During all this I got a hold of Brennon and he rushed home as fast as he could. He made it home about the same time the firemen came in. He immediately grabbed Bailey and waited in the door for the fireman to come. When they arrived they gave her oxygen, put some little things on her to monitor her breathing and checked her heart rate. In the meantime Brennon's sister Carli came over to check on us. I couldn't believe what was happening. Eventually the ambulance came and started to load Bailey onto a stretcher. The fireman told them that I needed to hold Bailey, but the ambulance workers said that I could not do that because they had changed their policies and it was no longer allowed. The fireman was very persistent though and said that I was going to hold Bailey and if anyone questioned it he would take the blame. The ambulance ride was fast and I was grateful that everyone was so understanding and kind to us. When we got to the hospital Bailey's symptoms had really picked up and she had to be held down by several nurses to have the IV put in her. She started sweating really bad and throwing up everywhere. While they were holding her down I was trying to fill out paperwork as fast as I could so they could release a new experimental anti-venom. Eventually they administered the drug to her and she quickly began to recover. They had to give her all five doses though because her symptoms were so bad. We later learned that she was stung by a Bark Scorpion which is the most dangerous scorpion in the U.S.

We are so blessed that I called poison control and that she sent us to the right hospital. According to what the hospital said there are only two hospitals in Arizona that administer the scorpion anti-venom. Since it is still in its experimental phases not all hospitals carry it. With it still being researched and tested we had about seven nurses overseeing and taking pages and pages of notes on what was happening. My brother Rusty came and visited us to bring us some lunch and asked the head nurse what would have happened if we didn't come to this hospital with the anti-venom, and she said all they could have done was sedated Bailey and put a breathing tube down so she wouldn't choke to death. She also said Bailey would have been in the hospital for about 2 days because her symptoms were so bad. After a lot of paper work, a crying mom, dad, baby, and 3 1/2 hours later, our poor little girl was finally asleep. I was so grateful because one of the nurses saw me staring at Bailey crying and asked if I wanted to hold her. I said I would love to, so I picked her up and sat with her.



Bailey is doing much better now. We were able to take her home around 4:00 pm. Grandma and Grandpa Adams came from Snowflake to see Bailey, and Grandma Crandell, Amy, and Ben came from Heber. It was so nice to have family there. Later Carli and Justin came and brought us dinner. We are so blessed to have such wonderful and thoughtful family members. The head nurse said that Bailey's symptoms were the worst that she has ever seen before. I am so grateful that our little girl is doing much better. It was the hardest thing for us to see our little girl go through. My heart just ached because I knew she was in so much pain. I am so grateful for all of the nurses, firemen, and doctors that took care of our angel. The nurse said in this case it could have been fatal if we didn't do anything because sometimes babies just give up breathing because it is just so hard on their little bodies.

In the end I thought of our Heavenly Father and what he must have gone through watching his Son die for us. I am so grateful for our Savior and that he looks over our family. I am grateful Bailey is home with us and she is doing great. We love her more than anything.