RSV – Three Scary Letters

Well there was and are many things that I don't know about little babies. RSV however is the worst "surprise" of them all, that is if you can call it a surprise. The picture here is terribly sad but Michael is still incredibly cute and the blog is very long but it's the story of his first hospital stays . As hard as it was to see him like this, he did look adorable in his hospital gown. He continually tried to pick the the rocket ships off of his outfit. Too precious! So here we go: Michael had just finished his last dose of antibiotics for his latest ear infection when he started coughing. I thought it might be drainage or all the cedar in the air since it is the time for cedar fever in our neck of the woods. He didn't act any different and didn't have a fever so I felt secure in knowing it had to be no big deal. Well, I was wrong. Here is the timeline of what happened.

12/16: Daycare calls and says that Michael is more fussy than usual and seems to be coughing a lot. Worried about RSV since it is going around, wants me to have him tested.

Picked Michael up from daycare and off to the doctor to find out it is RSV and Michael's pulse oxygen stats are low and very concerning. The doctor contemplated admitting Michael to the hospital but after another breathing treatment (4 total) he was given the okay to go home with the warning that we might end up in the ER anyway.

12/17: 1 am on the way to the hospital, Michael had spiked a fever of 103 and was having difficulty breathing. Michael received a Rocephen shot for his ears, because yes they were infected again and then was attached to the pulse oxygen machine yet again. Tylenol for the fever and then off to the house around 5:15 am. Derin had to leave immediately to go to police academy. Michael was not himself that day and I tried to pack some more but he just needed constant attention. Yes, we were moving the next day. Diane and Craig come in to help move.

12/18: MOVING DAY. Derin heads off to close on the house, Cyndi comes up to help with packing and Michael. Bad news is the treatments aren't working so off we go to Methodist Children's hospital. I was impressed when the doctor was in the room waiting for us. More treatments and this time some lovely suction to clear out Michael's nose. We were discharged but told that Michael would need to see a doctor every day for the next few days. By the time we were ready to leave the hospital, I didn't know where to go because we were in between houses. This whole stressful time, Derin is moving us and I was with Michael. Luckily by the GRACE of God, Derin's family lives moments from our new home and they finished packing our old house and moved us into our new house. They even started unpacking boxes in the kitchen and setting up furniture! What a blessing they were and still are. We are so lucky to live so close now!

12/19: I had been feeling awful for a few days now, but it all got worse when I started throwing up around 3 am. Here is Michael super sick, I'm now super weak and poor Derin still has to finish moving us from our old home! Regardless, we were off to the doctor so she could check Michael's vitals. Much to our dismay he wasn't any better so she admitted us to the hospital. I hated to hear those words "we have to admit him". I immediately started crying but felt that at least he would be with doctors now. The nurses were amazing and so patient with my little guy. He kept taking his monitor off of his foot. I think the worst part was the I.V. we all cried but managed to get it done and give him the fluids he needed. So as we are in the hospital I still feel sick and then I start having nose bleeds. At this point, I was waiting for frogs to fall from the sky or the rivers to turn to blood. Seriously, what else could happen here?!

12/20: We made it through the night and Michael's stats were way up! We finally went home Sunday evening and I have to say it was a fabulous place to come home to. Granted things were a bit crazy but we managed. Nana came up the next day to help organize the house in time for Christmas. Michael was breathing better, eating again and smiling. I was so glad to be home!

Apparently RSV is just a cold but in babies it can lead to worse things like pneumonia. Babies lungs are not as strong and developed so the air ways get constricted much faster causing the RSV. Sadly it is a virus so not much can be done except fluids and breathing treatments. I am just so thankful to Michael's doctors and nurses for watching over him and doing everything they could to get him better. I know in my heart that it could have been a lot worse but thanks to the power of prayer we made it through this hectic time in our lives. I don’t know how people can go through things like this without Christ, where do they turn?

As an update, he is fighting off another ear infection and still has nasty cough. We return to the doctor Wednesday and then Friday for two more shots of Rocephen. If all goes well, his ears should clear. If not, it looks like we will put in tubes so that he doesn't have anymore ear infections. Babies with RSV now have compromised lungs and it takes a good 8 months to fully heal. So we are on the road to recovery. We just need to make it through flu season.

So as you can see it has been crazy around here that is why I haven't "blogged" in a while. But not to worry, Christmas and Six Month posts are coming soon!