Monday, April 4, 2011

Sick

Never in my life did I ever think I would have a child hospitalized at Doernbecher children's hospital.  But that’s exactly where we found ourselves November 4th, 2010!!  About a week of Evelyn being fussy, not really sick but very much not herself, we took her into  Kaisers urgent care.  They thought she might have croup.  They didn’t have the  breathing treatment she needed so they sent us up to Doernbechers emergency!  There we got the treatment she needed and they sent us home.  But not without having us make an appointment with our pediatrician for the very next day! 

At our appointment with our pediatrician the first thing they did was check her oxygen level. It was 86.  They don’t like the levels to be under 96!  92 would be really pushing it!!  So, they tried another machine, 86.   Just to be really sure they tried yet another machine!!  86!! 

Faster than I knew what was happening, my daughter was hooked up to oxygen!  Little did I know, she wouldn’t be unhooked for another three days.  The doctor and nurses watched her for a while, gave her another breathing treatment and we took her for chest x-rays. Finally they told me that she was going to be admitted up at Doernbecher.  That meant a ride in the ambulance!!!  I have never been in an ambulance.  Now I find myself watching two paramedics strap Evie, in her car seat, to the gurney.  

For the next three days she was on constant oxygen, IV fluids and monitored.  With three different lines hooked up to her is was hard to even hold her.  DSC00050  DSC00028DSC00039

Doctors and nurses were in and out at day and night.  I felt like Evie would just fall asleep when someone would come in and need to check something.  Answers were hard to get because they were waiting on lab results on the many swabs and blood they were taking.  Early day two they told us it was pneumonia so IV antibiotics were given.  But later that day they gave us their real diagnosis.  RSV caused by pneumonia.

The antibiotics kicked in and she started to improve.  After three FULL days she was off her oxygen and IV.  They were ready to let us take her home!  DSC00063   

I am so thankful she is better and pray daily that we never have to have one of our children hospitalized again.