A Hospital Trip

Last weekend we had our first hospital trip with one of our kids. I'm not sure how we've escaped the ER this long but we have. On a Monday Trevor woke up with a fever and a bad cough. I tried to keep him away from Alexie but to no avail. He ended up coughing right on her face and, in a not so happy with him tone, I said, "Son if she gets what you get she'll end up in the hospital! Stay away please!" Tuesday Rylee was down, Thursday Taylor and by Thursday night Lexie was going down too. Friday morning she woke up completely stuffed up, watery eyes and a bad cough. Mid morning she had this coughing fit that lasted over ten minutes. I ended up calling Chris in tears unsure of how to get her to stop. We stood in the steamy bathroom with her coughing non-stop, crying and turning red. Chris called our Dr. to see at what point we should bring her in. They said right now. So off I went before lunchtime to the Dr. At first check her oxygen levels were low but improved as we sat her up more. The Dr. came in and said her lungs are clear but she wasn't liking what she seeing. She was kind and said something to the effect of I realize I'm sending a mother of four to the ER and this isn't going to be easy but I think it's best. I called Chris and both of us agreed with our kids sick we couldn't ask anyone to stay with them. So off I went by myself to the pediatric ER that's nearby.

Our Dr. had called ahead so I was able to bypass the waiting and went straight to a room. From there things happened fast. She was due to eat again and crying from hunger but was told I couldn't feed her because they had to do a series of tests on her one was suctioning out her nose and chest. It could make her throw up so it was best to not put anything into her stomach until they were done. The nurse came in with the machines and mentioned something about blood. I was already feeling faint from not eating all day so I made the hard decision of leaving the room while they worked on her. I knew it would be a long day and I had to stay strong. Not sure what good that did though as I was in tears outside her room hearing the machine and her cries. I prayed and thought of every mom I've known or read about who has gone through so much more then this one moment with their child and I thanked God for their faith and knew that God was near. As I went back in with my baby they had her hooked up to oxygen. They got a lot out and I could tell she was breathing better. Poor thing looked so exhausted. Her already red eyes from her angel kisses were even redder. I went to feed her and she refused. To traumatized. More crying, chest x-ray, eventually she crashed in my arms and slept for over an hour. Upon waking she was ready to eat.

I'm grateful for my friends that came to support, pray and even distract me during the waiting. Thank Deb, Janelle & Megan. Deb has nursing experience and Janelle is a nurse so it was so helpful having their knowledge in the room. Megan is one of those moms in the background of my mind that I mentioned early. She knows what it's like to actually lose a child. Her faith is AMAZING. It was helpful having her there too.

The preliminary tests for RSV and pneumonia came back negative. Praise God and it was determined she had Bronchiolitis. The doctor thought it best to keep her overnight for observation.

That night was long. I spent the majority of it watching her oxygen levels as she needed to stay above a 92% in order to not be hooked up to oxygen again. I'd watch it go from 100%, 95%, 92%, 90% *alarm goes off, then she'd go back up. She slept pretty decent through it all. I, not so much. There were poor babies crying throughout the night and their alarms going off. So I spent most of the early night hours praying for them and their mommies. At her midnight feeding she spiked a fever and I began praying for Lexie to get better. We woke in the morning with more stuffiness but I could tell she was feeling better. Her fever was gone and she made it through the night without needing oxygen. Hopes for home set in. After another round of suctioning, the Dr. came in and released us to recover at home. Praise God!

I'm so grateful for all the prayers that were lifted up for us! We praise God for his healing and I can say now a week later she is so much better. With all the kids finally well I guess it's my turn to be sick :) I'm grateful for the health I had to care for my kids while they were down. Time to go get some more movies!