Trip to the ER

Friday came and I was ready to bee off of work for a week.  I had so much planned for the kids and me.  David and I went to the Alabama game Saturday.  Sunday, we had to stay in the 2 year old room at church.  Monday, my Dad, David, and I were going to venture off to Noccalula Fall for the day and enjoy some time hiking and playing putt putt golf.  Cowboy Camp Tuesday.  Wednesday was gymnastics.  Thursday, have Thanksgiving.  Shopping on Friday. 

Those plans were canceled when Daniel started running fever Sunday evening.  I talked to David about it and explained to him why we couldn't go.  He took it pretty well.  I know I probably would have been more selfish when I was his age and mad about not going.  Not him.  He said he wished we could go, but understood that his brothers need me.  I told him we would attempt to go Wednesday when his Pawpaw would be off work again.

By 1:30 Monday morning, his fever had shot up to 104.  I gave him a bath to try and bring it down.  He screamed the whole time.  About an hour later, it was down some and we went back to sleep.  First thing Monday morning, I called their doctor and took them in.  My Dad went with me to help.  Dr. Carlile said they both tested positive for RSV and Daniel was wheezing already.  Dillan was not quite as bad.  They did a breathing treatment in the office and we left with lots of prescriptions.  They were both put on breathing treatments every 4-8 hours as needed, antibiotics, and predisone.  The antibiotics were supposed to keep them from getting bronhiolitis and pneumonia. 

Let me go ahead and say breathing treatments are a dreaded thing.  We had to do them last year due to RSV, and now again this year.  So if they get 4 a day, that's 8 treatments we have to force.  They refuse to put the mask on.  When it is closer than 6 inches to their face, they start squirming and moving their face side to side.  Walter found that if you take the mask off and just let it blow in their face, they do better.  They still get tired of sitting still for 10 minutes and so do we.  To get them both done, it takes about 20-25 minutes. 

Back to the story... Tuesday morning they looked and acted better.  We took David to Cowboy Camp down the road.  BTW, he had a blast!  We went back and picked him up at 3 and they were still doing great.  Things went on as normal.  All the children were in bed by 7:15.  Dad, David, and I planned to make our trip the next day.  This time we would be going to Cheaha Mountain because Noccalula Falls was closed. 

I fell asleep around 9:30.  Walter stayed awake in our bed watching tv.  At about 11:00 he woke me up saying Daniel sounded funny.  He always over-reacts so I rolled over and went back to sleep.  The next thing I know he has Daniel in his arms and is yelling "Jessica, something is wrong with Daniel!"  I jumped up and grabbed Daniel.  He was on fire and grasping for air.  With every breath, he grunted.  I pulled out the breathing machine and gave him Tylenol.  His temperature was 104.5.  I called the Nurse Hotline.   After we were finished with the treatment, she returned our call.  She listened to him and said we needed to hang up and call 911 if he was breathing like that with every breath or do another breathing treatment.  We started the treatment and I got dressed.  The treatment didn't work, so I put him in my lap and headed to Baptist East.   We arrived around 12:00.  My Mom met me.  After a while, they did a chest x-ray.  The diagnosis was pneumonia in both upper lobes and in the right lower area. 

An IV was started.  I was so nervous and the nurse was too.  Thank God she got it on the first try.  Daniel watched her and didn't even cry!  Then we were told we would travel by ambulance to Baptist South to the Pediatrics floor.  The ambulance came, strapped Daniel's car seat onto the stretcher and then put him in it.  He was so sleepy and he was screaming.  He screamed for a while and then finally went to sleep.  We got to South and he woke up screaming.  It was about 5:30 in the morning at this point and none of us had any sleep.  We got settled in and Daniel went to sleep.  Mom and I didn't.  We saw about 7 Residences before we saw the real doctor.  I didn't know how to take Dr. Scott.  He is very... ummmm, bossy...controlling????  Anyway, he said we would be there at least until the weekend.  Yep, Thanksgiving was the next day.  It was canceled. 

The next couple of days entailed a lot of breathing treatments, little rest, a nose cannula for oxygen, wire on his toe to monitor O2 levels and heart rate, soaked diapers from the IV fluids, fighting sleep, lots of worry, tangled wires wrapped around Daniel, and God showing us how loving people can be.  I think I had flashbacks of when Daniel was in the NICU and my other two angels were home.  I needed to be in 2 places at once, but had to rely on others to help. 

Thanksgiving night, a new doctor came around and decided to do an xray.  He came back and said it hadn't improved or worsened, but he was letting us go home and do all the treatments there!  That was some awesome news! 

We got home around 7:30 that night.  We are still here and completing all the meds and treatments at home.  We will go back to see Dr. Carlile Monday.  We will also see a specialist in Bham later for a small kidney problem that was seen too. 

Thank you for all the messages, calls, and visits.  We know that God always has a plan.  We are sometimes put through "storms" to be drawn closer to God.  Our family, friends and Santuck Church family definitely showed us love.  Thank you!