Kaitlin Does Not Have Hantavirus... or Does She?
a.k.a.  The Great Homecoming Adventure

I've watched the news about the hantavirus outbreak at Yosemite Nation Park with only passing interest.  That is until Kaitlin unexpectedly came home from school on Wednesday with a fever.

US Nation Library of Medicine:
"Symptoms: The early symptoms of hantavirus disease are similar to the flu and include:
Chills, Fever, Muscle Aches."  Incubation time 3-6 weeks.

Fever? Check.  

Muscle Aches? Just yesterday she was complaining about how sore she was. She thought it was from her new ballroom dance class.  Muscle Aches? Check.

Incubation time? (I did the math in my head) It had been 4 weeks since her visit to Yosemite. Check.

But what were the chances really. She probably just had the flu. So Kaitlin stayed on the couch all that night and the next day. By Friday her fever broke and she went to a half day of school.


Friday morning I read on the internet that they were expanding their warnings to all those that camped in Yosemite.  Kaitlin confirmed that she had visited Curry Village during her visit, ground zero of the virus outbreak. 

"People with hantavirus may begin to feel better for a very short amount of time, but within 1-2 days, it becomes hard to breathe. The disease gets worse quickly. Symptoms include: Cough...Shortness of breath..."

No cough or shortness of breath. Good.

I called our family doctor, knowing that I was probably overreacting, but just to be safe.  To my surprise, he said that it was possible that Kaitlin did have hantavirus.  That most people who are exposed just get a little sick, but then their immune systems kick in and after a couple of days kill the virus. It is those that for whatever reason are not able to combat the virus that get the extreme symptoms and the high mortality rate. He said that if Kaitlin was feeling better then there was nothing to worry about.  If she was endangered by the virus we'd be "rushing her to the emergency room" it would be so severe.

 On Saturday morning Kaitlin was still feeling ill, but took some medication and felt well enough to go on the day-date with her friends.  She had missed the football game the night before, and was excited to share the news that our doctor said that she may have had the hantavirus. For all the afternoon Kaitlin and a group of friends went to a fun center where she learned that both she and her date were horrible miniture golfers and that bumper boats are fun, even if they squirt you in the face.

She was tired but excited. Another round of medication and an hour on her hair and she was ready for the dance.  She looked stunning, and was just glowing and bubbling over with excitement.  The young man that picked her up looked similarly happy, and a little nervous. 

So far so good.... Fast forward.

 At 10:30 Kaitlin bursts through the door. "Mom!" She is coughing and gasping.  She says she was at the dance when suddenly she couldn't catch her breath. I help her out of her dress, and have her lie down.  She is breathing really shallow and is threatening to faint. I am forced to make a mommy decision and I load her in the van and we are off to the Instacare. 

As I speed down the dark road towards the hospital the words of our doctor about rushing to the emergency room are coursing through my mind.  Kaitlin is still gasping. She can't get a breath and several times I think she is going to pass out.  She doesn't and somehow maintains a positive attitude.

We pull up to our hospital at the door that is marked "Instacare" in large glowing letters. I put Kaitlin on my shoulder and we walk to the doors.  They don't open.  In small print we read that we have to use the south doors after 10pm.  I set Kaitlin on the curb and run for the car. We drive down to the south doors and I walk Kaitlin to a bench while I park the car.  I walk her through the doors and down the hall to the Instacare which is at the other end of the hospital.  When we get there it is closed.  There is no one around. There are no signs.  We head back down the deserted hallway when we see a nurse watching the last quarter of the BYU vs. U game.  He says that we have to go to the emergency room.  To make a long story short we end up wandering around the hospital, Kaitlin still gasping, unable to walk unaided. And we are laughing.  Laughing that we could both die right there in the hospital hallway and our corpses would not be found until morning. Sometimes you laugh or you cry, and in this instance laughing seemed like the best option.

We finally make it to the emergency room and I force Kaitlin into a wheel chair.   Within 15 minutes we are triaged and sent back to wait in the chairs.  Kaitlin's breathing has calmed somewhat at this point but she is light headed and unable to stand.   All the hospital staff are crowded around the TV for the last minutes of the big game when we are finally shown to a room where Kaitlin is prodded and questioned and prodded some more. Did she eat shellfish?  Does she have asthma?  Does she feel any pain? The doctor comes and the prodding continues and he studies the monitors.  Finally he decides she needs a chest x-ray.  It is now midnight and BYU has lost the game. Kaitlin is much better by the time we make it to x-rays. We get to see pictures of her insides which we both think is cool.  Back to the room to wait, where Kaitlin tells me about her day and how wonderful it was and how great the dance was.  We are chatting and laughing, and the nurse brings us Sprite with the cool ice that's fun to chew.  The doctor finally comes back and gives us the good news. Diagnosis:  Panic Attack.

Nothing is wrong with Kaitlin other than she had hyperventilated.  She had never had a panic attack before but they say it is not uncommon, especially in young adults to have an occasional episode. Especially considering the stress on her body and psyche from her sickness, the hantavirus scare, and the excitement of a wonderful day with a boy she really likes. 

We drive home. It is past 1:00am.  We are in good spirits.  Kaitlin is mad that the attack ruined her last hour of Homecoming.  She feels guilty and talks about making an apology cake for her date saying "You Take My Breath Away".   Mostly we are glad that she is alright. 


Aladdin

Aladdin opens this week so we've been busy with rehearsals.  It's that week before the show when everything is chaos and you think it will never come together.  But by the end of the week things were looking a little better.  I also got Ruth's costume put together.  Ruth finished adding jewels to her crown on Saturday.  The show opens on Thursday.