The Hospital

 I've had a couple people ask me what the signs are for RSV so here's the story:  E caught RSV.  Monday Feb. 13 E has a low grade fever, the runniest nose I've ever seen, a cough that would make any one's throat  hurt  just by listening to her and so miserable that she watched Dinosaur Train all day.  I took her to the Dr. of course and was told to keep her away from baby J...good luck.  As you can see by the following pictures that last piece of advice didn't really work.  She was miserable like that for about three days then she started perking up and playing again.  She didn't really get better for about a week and half maybe two weeks.   The Dr. also told me that if J was to get it he would have it by Monday the 20th.  Saturday the 18th he is struggling to breathe.  His neck is sucking in and I could see under his ribs when he breathes.  Off to the ER.  They do a nose culture and it's RSV possitive.  His oxygen saturation is all over the place.  but other then that he looks OK.  The ER is going to send us home on Oxygen, but his peds. Dr. wants to see him first. So off to the Dr. office.  She says this is only the begining and he is breathing that hard, lets admit him...thank goodness we did, he really started having it rough that night.

first day, have to keep O2 levels up.

 he got all wired up.  The red light on his foot measures O2 saturation.  He also had three little stickies on his chest for heart rate and respiration rate.  

 I couldn't help a photo of his reseeding hair line.  

 He got an IV with a board to keep his arm straight.  There were too many times that he went into caughing spasms  that would turn him purple followed by blue, then he would hold his breath while the nurses and I would try to get him to start breathing again.

He got put on high flow oxygen after he had his nose sucked out about 15 times in one night.

(the high flow tube is the new huge tube that looks like it stops at his diaper.)  This was Monday the 20th 

 This is what happens when you spend too much time in the hospital, they bring you pretty blankets to feel a little more comfortable.  You start to get to know the nurses.  And the nurses that have helped you come back to visit and see how things are progressing.

He wasn't allowed to nurse for a couple of days.  It was too much work for him to nurse, and it was more important for him to spend his energy breathing then eating, so it's a good thing they already had an IV.  

 however he prooved to be too strong for those little boards, and he bent his arm so much that he made a hole in his arm.  So they switched it to his hand on the other arm.

 Feeling miserable but willing to give me a couple of smiles before he went back to sleep.

 these are his machines.  High flow with Albuterol treatments, and his IV and the monitor with his stats.

 even longer stay means that I get a pillow and his bed gets pretty too.

 I was excited when he only turned purple twice in one day!!

 He doesn't look like it in this picture but he was getting better.  this is when we were taken off the high flow.

 This was finishing the IV.

 Yay! We're home after 9 days in the hospital.  Still coughing, but no more turning purple.  

He got the oxygen taken off March 7th. (I have pics but for another blog) And every one feels so much better.  Mommy is grateful to all the nurses and the PICU Dr.s and his peds. Dr. that knew what to do for him.  I'm grateful for the priesthood.  I'm thankful to Grandma S. for coming to ease the transition of mommy and brother coming home to E (again).  And for the family and friends that were praying for us.  And I thank those that fed my family while I was gone.  Now I just hope that I don't have a newborn again during RSV season.