The doctors had reassured me that Elin was in the best situation for not catching my cold. Since most colds are viral they didn’t give me any antibiotics before or during labor and with me breastfeeding we were all hoping for the best. This virus, was a nasty one and it didn’t listen and sure enough our baby got sick. It started on Thursday night with a little sniffle and then by Friday it was full blown sneezes with boogers.
She didn’t have a fever and she kept eating so the “warning signs” that we were looking for to bring her in right away were not there. Instead of each day getting better over the weekend she just continued to stay the same or get worse. It was hard to tell if she was lethargic or just a newborn in the sleepy phase.
On Monday I called her doctor and she wasn’t in but another doctor in the practice told me that it was ok to wait to bring Elin in until the next morning (her scheduled 2 week appointment). On Monday night Mike and I both were pretty nervous about how Elin sounded. Her cough was getting worse and she wasn’t able to clear her lungs like she had been. The doctor confirmed our fears after listening to her and told me to go to Children’s in Seattle right away. While she called to check us in, I called Mike at work and told him to meet us there. As you can imagine, I was a mess, but I held it together pretty well. Sweet Thomas climbed up on the chair in the doctors office and gave me a hug and kiss and then said “all better mama.” His heart is so kind and he was such a big help keeping me calm. The entire drive to Children’s Thomas held Elin’s hand and said “All better baby E.”
After getting to the ER the nurses suctioned her nose and throat and then took swabs to test for both viruses and pertussis (whooping cough). They put her on the oxygen monitors and took her vitals and then we were left to wait for the doctor. After a few minutes of watching cartoons and rocking the alarms started to go off as Elin’s oxygen levels were dropping. So out came the oxygen mask and the levels went up again. The doctor came in and talked to us about some of the courses of treatment and thought that it would be best for us to stay to have Elin monitored and to continue to receive oxygen to help her recover. After hearing her cough she was also concerned that it maybe pertussis and ordered a round of antibiotics.
Then we waited to be transferred to her hospital room. I was again a mess. It was so surreal that our little girl was only 2 weeks old and was being check back into the hospital.
Thomas was a great helper getting her all settled in and was so brave with all the doctors heading into the room. After we got settled in, Mike and Thomas went home to get clothes for us and stuff for the hospital. Kristi our beloved dog sitter/park taker came and grabbed Stella for us and we had our bases covered. It was a huge relief when I talked, well hysterically bawled, to a nurse about the fact that Thomas was not suppose to be allowed in Elin’s isolated room. She had a virus so we were under special precautions as to not transfer it to anyone else. The hospital policy is that no child under 10 is allowed in the room, however because we have no family in town and he is still nursing to sleep he was granted permission. I guess there is a golden ticket when nursing a toddler, that and a lot of questions 
From there it started to colossal balancing act between Mike and I and our two kids. Blah, what a quick lesson in mothering/fathering 2 children. It was so difficult for both of us to leave/go with Thomas or Elin and leave one another. Mike was a rock balancing all of the weight on his shoulders. I was running through all my medical experience and weighing the different scenarios in my head. Thomas had everyone in the hospital in love with him and even the cleaning lady stopped back a few times just to “see the boy.”
By Tuesday night they had determined that she had human metopneumovirus which is one of the common cold virus out there. She did not have RSV or Pertussis which could have made her even sicker. The only bad thing was that because it was a virus all they could do was supportive care. They had to let her body fight the infection while we helped by nursing her, suctioning out her nasal passages and giving her oxygen. The doctors explained that the virus peaks at day 5 or 6 and we were right in the middle of hopefully the worse of it.
So every very few hours they would try to lower the amount of oxygen she needed to be on and they even tested her on room air. The requirement for discharge was that she had to maintain oxygen saturation in the hospital for 12 hours and not need deep suction (in nose and throat) before we could be discharged. Over the night she had been able to be weaned off oxygen down to .01 L which is the lowest setting before room air. However, she was unable to keep oxygen levels up without this little bit of help. After the doctors did their rounds they also decided she would benefit from having a chest x-ray to make sure anatomically everything was within normal limits, which it was. So after we did that at about 2 they took her off of oxygen and we started the clock. She made it 3 hours before she needed to be put back on and we were granted another night in the hospital.
After dinner and some more play time with Thomas and Mommy, Thomas and I went to sleep while Mike kept watch until leaving about 10. At Midnight they again turned off the oxygen and she made it 30 minutes before being put back on. Ugh, after her 3:30 a.m. feeding I called my mom and I was pretty upset. I was starting to wonder like the doctors had been WHY she couldn’t seem to maintain her oxygen without just a little nudge of help. I was scared that we were going to be stuck in the hospital another night and I was more worried about Elin.
At 5 a.m. they turned off the oxygen again. When she made it past the 3 hour mark and I let out a little sigh, but I have to be honest 9 more hours seemed like forever. Every hour she kept keeping her levels up and not “just barely” as she had in the previous days trial she was up in the 95-100 range with a few dips into the lower 90s. Thomas and I left and went to the park and to pick up lunch before heading back to keep Elin and Mike company and nap. Then we started to get ready for our discharge at 5 p.m. as long as she kept her level up. We had lots of family and friends praying for her and it was much needed and appreciated.
Children’s was wonderful to us. When we walked into our room there was a hand knit blanket to welcome us. It was part of Project Linus, what a nice thing for people to do. I have to admit that we went through clothes, blankets, and hospital gowns pretty quickly. Thomas received bubbles, 2 stuffed bears, a stuffed pelican and treats from the volunteers and nurses. The nurses and doctors were amazingly kind and gentle to us. When Mike and Thomas were gone and I needed to run to grab a latte from the Starbucks on the 1st level Elin’s day nurse (she was the same both days) held her and rocked her for me. Not only were they kind to us but the construction workers who were building outside were in on the fun too. They were building a new wing to the hospital and everyday would move a life sized “where’s waldo” doll for the children and parents to find. They also would write in spray paint messages to the children in the oncology unit, that would forever be a part of the building. It was truly the best place to be if you need a hospital for your sick child. This is Elin after we came home snuggling in her jammies and I snuck the quilt in behind her for a picture.
Emotionally as we walked out I was hit hard. In the elevator we rode up to the 5th floor to leave and when we got off a man got off and greeted his daughter who was about Thomas’ age in a stroller hooked up to multiple IVs. Her mom was pushing her and I was so thankful that we were going home. That isn’t the case for so many in that hospital. I don’t have answers for why children get sick but it breaks my heart. I hope and pray that we don’t ever need to go to that place again not for ourselves or to visit anyone we know.
1 comment:
What a scary ordeal. Glad she is okay. I can't imagine having to check into the hospital.
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