Rhino Virus

So, last Thursday, we went to the pulmonologist for our bi-monthly appointment, and she said he was doing great. So, she turned down his oxygen to 1/8 of a liter which is pretty much the step before getting it off! I was on top of the world. I felt like maybe the worst was behind us. He was close, I only had to deal with the oxygen for a little longer, I could do that!

Then, things started going downhill. Friday, he was not quite himself but it wasn't too noticeable. Saturday, he was really fussy, wouldn't eat anything, slept all the time. We started getting worried. Then, on Sunday, it got worse. He was breathing very rapidly, nothing calmed him down, and then he was de-statting (his heart rate was super high and oxygen saturation was super low). His eyes were rolling back in his head. We were so worried. We had tried his steroid medications, turning up his oxygen, etc. And nothing was working. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday night (of course, all emergencies happen on the weekend...), our only resource was the on-call doctor at our pediatrician's office. So, we called the on-call doctor and he said we should go into the emergency room. So we did.

The closest ER to us is at Green Valley hospital, about 20 minutes away. It is a fairly new hospital, only been open for about 3 months! But we wanted to get him right away and it's the closest one. So Josh stays home with Nolan, and my mom drives from Vail to be with me and Bennett. It was awful leaving Nolan, he kept crying and saying, "Mom, don't leave, don't take Bennett to the hospital!" So we did what any desperate good parent would do....we said he could have cereal. So I left.

I checked him in, and we got into a room pretty quickly. They hooked him to their machines so they could see his stats .His heart rate was over 200 bpm, and oxygen saturation was as low as 65%. It was so scary. They wheeled us into a different room, and doctors and many nurses all came over. They hooked him up to their oxygen and turned it up to 2 L. They tried to put an IV in to pump him with fluids right away. Unfortunately, they couldn't find a good vein and they poked him like 6 times with no luck.  I hated watching him get poked over and over. He was so upset. And hungry. But they said I couldn't feed him until everything was stable. Everyone was asking me about his medical history. I had to repeat it a million times. I should really have a printed copy handy...ANYWAY. They said they wanted to transfer him via ambulance, to Tucson Medical Center (TMC).

I was a mess. I was worried, scared, feeling like I should have gone to TMC in the first place, and saved myself time and an ambulance! I was worried about money, if our insurance would cover the ambulance (thanks, America...) I am so glad my mom was there. She also figured out logistics, how to get my car to TMC since I was traveling via ambulance with Bennett, who was going to watch Nolan if this ER visit turned into a longer stay, etc. I am so grateful to her. Then she left, because she had work in the morning.

So, we went in the ambulance. The EMT guys were so nice. And funny. They put me at ease. And Bennett stabilized too. That helped.


My mother-in-law, Melody, met us at TMC. She stayed with us all night.

After they got his IV in and got us registered, insurance, etc, they wheeled us up to Pediatrics. I was able to feed him. They got his history (again :)). And then the doctor came in. They did a bunch of tests to see why he had de-statted. A few hours later, they determined he had rhino virus (a cold!) and the combination of the cold and turning down his oxygen freaked his body out.

Finally, he got to sleep. And then Melody and I slept. She slept for like 3 hours, then went to our house to be with Nolan so Josh could go to work. My mother, and mother-in-law, are saints! I slept for like 4 or 5 hours, then the nurses came back in.



Then, the pediatrician saw us. She just told us that he was now stabilized, and because he was on day 3 or 4 of cold, she wanted him here for a few more hours to make sure he was ok, instead of getting worse.

So, we left his oxygen at 1/2. Where he was a month ago. I felt discouraged. He's been home for 2 months, got discharged from NICU at 1 liter and is only at 1/2. They said winter is a hard time to wean a baby off oxygen because being sick can derail their progress. I'm trying to stay positive. But i am getting really sick of the cannulas,and oxygen and monitors.  I have a feeling we could be at this all winter. Ugh. And i won't even mention his eating but it's gone downhill too. :(

I had a little PTSD from Bennett's 2 month NICU stay. It brought back a flood of fairly recent memories. All the beeps, and doctors, and tags and tests. I knew this time wouldn't be for as long, but it still haunted me.

Finally, at 4 pm, it was determined that he was doing fine, and as long as I felt ok, they wanted to discharge us.

I came home, exhausted. All of us were. But we survived. And he's doing a lot better.

Well, his life thus far was been full of adventures. First, NICU, then lung infection, then rhino virus. And it's just October. Oh boy.