Thank you for your concern.

She is feeling better with IV fluids, hasn't vomited since Thursday night. Starting to eat small amounts but still doesn't want to drink anything and still having intestinal issues of being backed up.

Doctors sent stool sample to big lab in Dallas and drew more blood today to check some other things.

They are still trying to find the root cause but at least she is in a hospital and on IV.

That poor thing. Is the hospital near your home? Sure hope they get this figured out soon so she can feel better and enjoy her summer.

I am so sorry your little one is so ill. Hope they can come up with a reason and a working treatment plan to get her completely well again soon. Glad to see she is doing better today.

Poor little bean, hope she feels better soon!

I am really happy to hear she is being well tended for now. Hopefully these new tests will reveal something that can lead to a fix. That is just so frustrating when you know how sick they are and nothing is fixing it. Take of yourself too!!

Please keep us informed, Texas Gem. I've thought of you often.

Me too. You take care as well.

Prayers for her to be up and going soon!

More prayers just said for your precious daughter. Thanks for updating.

A real meal sounds like real progress. Wishing all of you more good news.

Bit by bit, she's making a bit of progress, which is good to hear. I hope they get to the root of the problem soon. It's horrible, not knowing.

We're pulling for her and for your whole family. Big stress on everyone.

Our bodies are pretty amazing -- most of the time! -- and her youth is on her side.

Hoping and praying for her quick and complete recovery

Update- Every test they ran that they have received results for have come back completely normal. Thyroid, adrenal, cortisol, bacterial, virus, etc.

Scans show no problems with her appendix, intestines, liver or kidneys.

Still waiting on results from stool sample sent to Dallas but she has been eating, drinking and using the restroom on her own since Sunday.

They released her yesterday afternoon.

What they suspect happened is she did initially clear the norovirus but it completely wrecked her regulatory system.

She slowly backed up her intestines, which caused nausea, vomiting and dehydration. Due to going so long without food her body was basically in starvation mode which is why she continued to have nausea and vomiting even after she was "cleaned out" which led to further dehydration/starving.

This hospital, when they put her on an IV, it wasn't just fluids. They also had enough glucose going into her IV to meet her daily caloric requirements, basically TPN. So essentially they were treating her for starvation and dehydration.

The doctor stopped just short of accusing the other hospital but they basically agreed with me. She was discharged too soon, they didn't provide the appropriate level of care, etc.

So, she is home now, threw up once last night, doctors told us she might vomit a little as she is basically coming back from starvation, but she has been good all day.

The hardest part has been limiting her food. She is really hungry and wants to eat all day but her digestive system has to get used to food again and we must take it slow for her sake.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully that is the root cause and she continues to improve. None of us are interested in a round 3 with the ER/hospital.

Oh Texas. I hope she truly is on the road to recovery with no setbacks. I'll be wishing for continuing good health for your daughter and no more mom-worries for you.

So glad she is home and improving. Hope she is fully recovered in no time. Poor little girl has been through a rough time. So hard on the parents too. :-(

I'm glad to hear that she's home again and on the mend.

Im sure the whole family will slowly get back into a routine which will help her even more. The whole process has had to be so upsetting to all of you which could only add to her discomfort. I hope for clear sailing for your family now and hope she can enjoy her summer.

Very good news.

But...now I am furious about your poor treatment at the first hospital! Beyond 'pain and suffering', what's your *financial* cost for going 'out of network' to get the care M needed?

Chisue- I have no idea yet but my insurance does have an out of pocket max for both in network (3K) and out of network (6K) so, unless I completely misunderstand the way insurance works, the total for both hospital stays should be no more than 9K.

Insurance JUST posted the first claim for the first hospital

I do plan on still writing a letter though.

It is blatantly unacceptable for this to be the standard. There is NO reason my daughter had to suffer almost another week.

I doubt I'll owe them a dime, the only question will be whether they reimburse me the costs of going out of network.

I'm less worried about the money right now and more concerned with my daughter; thankfully I know this doesn't have to be addressed tomorrow to achieve a resolution.

She felt sick again this afternoon, said she ate too much at lunch.

She never vomited but I did have to carry her to the car, she didn't feel like she could walk, and she slept for almost 3 hours this afternoon. She is still so weak....

I just wish I could wake up tomorrow and have my bubbly vibrant normal 8 year old back. This sucks....

I hope you both wake up tomorrow and have a better day, that your little girl has turned a corner and is so much improved with another nights rest.

Are you happy with the diagnosis of lingering nurovirus affecting her regulatory system? Were you given a time line for complete recovery? Hopefully there won't be any longterm after affects.

Here's to a fun and perky 8-year old for the summer. (((M)))

Sorry she's still having some troubles. Is there news from the stool sample yet? (Just takes time, or do you need to 'light a fire'?)

Does her pediatrician think recovery could be slow? Are any other kids with whom she's in contact having similar medical problems? Where's the nearest medical-school-affiliated hospital?

Thinking of you and your daughter. I'm glad she's home.

blfenton- happy with it? No, not really. I still find it hard to believe that is/was the underlying issue...BUT, at the same time I watched the second hospitals doctors and residents in her room in front of me saying, "have we checked for this? Ok, let's check it. How about this? Mom, has she ever had XX? Ok, let's check that too to be safe" etc etc.

I really feel like they left no unturned and everything they tested for and checked came back normal/negative. The only thing they didn't scan was her brain for a tumor but she has had no other symptoms of a brain tumor (they checked) and did improve once her body was receiving calories.

Timeline wise they said it would be weeks as her body gets readjusted to food again. She is hungry all the time (understandably) but I've been having to keep her in check.

The only official weight they have to go from before this started was her yearly checkup last September @ 54lbs so on the record she lost 10% of her body weight. Realistically though it was, I'm quite certain, closer to 20% which would put her body into starvation mode and that takes time to recover from.

chisue- no news from the sample yet, I believe they are sending them to my pediatricians office and she is very good about calling me when she gets results. We were told it would take time for her to recover, she has a lot of weight to regain. No other kids with any issues. She is almost back to the 54lbs she was in September. I'm sure a lot of that is the fact that she isn't so dehydrated anymore. She still looks so skinny.

Interestingly, the second hospital I took her to IS the teaching hospital for a University and the one my pediatrician normally sends patients to. She only sent us to the other because of our insurance.

I swear, I had one bad experience at the first hospital years ago but I figured it was a fluke. After this though, even hubby said, "never again. I'm not going to that hospital ever again!"

Thank you all for your continued concern. I think some of my friends don't realize how serious this situation was. It is really nice to have people outside of my immediate family asking for updates.

Oh, today was good for her, no nausea. I had to tell her no to two of her favorite foods (cheese and tomatoes) as they can upset the stomach but she hasn't complained of tummy pain all day.

That sounds encouraging, thanks for letting us know. You must be tired too and its generous of you to share her improvement. No tummy pain today sounds really good. Do you know how long you may have to restrict certain foods? This may not be the time to tell your daughter cheese and sliced tomato together, grilled, is one of my favorite sandwiches ;-)

I hope tomorrow is a good day too, all progress from here forward....

Hoping & praying she continues to improve! She's been through so much for such a young tot!

This is good progress. I'm going to hang up my 'worry hat' for a while. (It's too tight anyway; always gives me a headache.) Thanks for updating us.

I'm still wearing my 'mad hat'. Your poor treatment at Hospital A is inexcusable.

Texas-Gem, Thank-you so much for the update. I'm dealing with some health issues with my mom right now and sometimes, as you experienced, it's all in the questions that are asked. When they ask a lot of them, with concern, and then listen to the answers and go from there, somehow confidence in the care is established. And that is a good thing. I'm glad your daughter is on the road to recovery. I would never have guessed that it could take weeks for your body to recover from this sort of trauma.

Is school finished yet? I hope you and your family have a worry free summer.

Like chisue, I will also hang up my 'worry hat', it might give chisue a headache but mine drives me to dark chocolate.