Oh boy, what a week this has been...and sadly, our experience isn't over yet. I'm writing this week's blog entry from Elin's room at the Florida Hospital for Children where we've been since Thursday night (Dec 4).
Our journey into the world of winter viruses and illnesses actually began last Sabbath, Nov 29, when Erik woke up with a fever. Kent stayed home from church with him while Elin and I ventured out. Erik's fever didn't improve over the next 36 hours and by 2PM on Sunday, we were getting very concerned about him since we couldn't get his fever down. Erik had taken a short nap in the morning and was actually asking me to put him down for his nap before we decided to take him to the ER (this never happens). We bundled him up and Kent took him to the ER at Florida Hospital for Children. Erik had a chest x-ray done and was diagnosed with bronchitis. He came home with nebulizer & antibiotic medication. This was our 3rd visit to the FH Children's ER and we remain impressed with it. There is usually no wait and treatments & test results come back pretty promptly. His medication had to be given every 3-4 hours, night-time included, so Kent volunteered to sleep in Erik's room to monitor him and give him his treatments overnight. At about 1AM, Kent just happened to check in on Elin and discovered that she had a fever as well! So, we started her on regular infant ibuprofen & acetaminophen doses. We also began nebulizer treatments on her, too, as a precautionary measure.
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| Erik at the ER on his way to get an x-ray |
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| Erik getting an x-ray |
On Monday, the kids & I took it pretty easy. Neither one had much energy and I was getting sick myself, so we spent a good part of the day cuddling on the couch and getting nebulizer treatments and doling out medications. We continued the regular medication & nebulizer treatments - even overnight, so Kent & I were feeling pretty tired & worn out. He continued to sleep in Erik's room, so he & I would meet in the middle of the night as we passed the nebulizer to each other!
On Tuesday, we took both kids to the pediatrician where Erik was pronounced to be on the mend and that we could taper off on some of his medication. Elin's chest & ears were clear and her temp was only slightly elevated, so the doctor just asked that we keep him updated on her condition if it changed.
On Wednesday, Elin's temp really jumped up and the medication wasn't keeping it down. She also became very listless and was only happy when she was held. Her respirations also began to be more labored; you could see the effort she was going through to breathe. I talked to the pediatrician, but was told to just keep watching her and to keep giving her fever-reducing medicine. Her condition continued to decline on Thursday, so after talking to the pediatrician again, we decided to take Elin to an after hours children's clinic. Since I was sick myself, Kent came home from work only to immediately turn around and take Elin to Night Lite Pediatrics (he wasn't feeling great either, but wasn't as bad as me). An hour after he left, I called to see what the diagnoses was. He told me that he hadn't made it out of the waiting room yet! What?!! We regretted not taking Elin to the Children's ER then since we've had better luck there and then you are at the hospital if you need anything else. Kent was on the verge of leaving and driving down the ER when he was called back. Elin's respiratory rate was 70/min when she should be in the 20-40 range and her SpO2 rate was mid-80’s when it should be close to 100! All indications that she was really struggling to breath. Kent was told that she had RSV and she needed to be admitted to the hospital and an ambulance would be coming to get her. Whoa. Major panic mode for both Kent & I. The driver in the ambulance received a call from their dispatch before they left and asked whether the ride would be emergency or non-emergency...When he said emergency it was hard for Kent not to be extra alarmed!! I will admit to hanging up the phone after getting that news about having to go in the ambulance from Kent and crying. I had no idea what RSV was and didn't know what to expect. I called our friend, Bobbi Babiuk, to come & stay with Erik so I could go to the hospital and be with Kent & Elin. I then called my parents to let them know; my Dad immediately got online and booked a flight to Orlando for the next morning, so he could help take care of Erik (and us by extension) while we took care of, and focused on, Elin.
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| Elin at Night Lite Pediatrics (this was pretty much how she looked for 2 days) |
After Elin's ambulance ride, she & Kent stayed in the ER for Elin to get a chest x-ray and for a room to be prepared for her. The x-ray confirmed that she had some lung congestion from RSV. RSV is a virus, which to us would manifest itself a common cold, but for someone Elin's age is very dangerous because their airways aren't large enough to accommodate the significant mucus secretions. It is very contagious and can lead to pneumonia or other problems, especially in babies. Since it is like a cold, you never become immune to it. Erik most likely had RSV, as well as Kent & I. (Kent also had a minor case of pink-eye in both eyes but recovered quickly, which was an answer to his prayers!) After determining that she would be admitted to the hospital, they put in an IV and an oxygen cannula in preparation for the Pediatric ICU. The ICU affords the ability to have more intense monitoring of her respiratory status.
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| Elin after getting to our room in the Peds ICU |
We got to our room between 1:30 and 2 AM where we met our nurses who made sure that Elin was resting comfortably and hooked up to all the various & numerous lead lines to the monitors. Kent and I got settled in - there is a couch that pulls out to a full-size bed in the room as well as a lounge chair. We took turns sitting up and being there when Elin would wake up. We might have slept about 2 hours total that night. Friday morning, Kent had to get up early and head back home so that Erik's babysitter, Bobbi, could go home. I stayed with Elin in the hospital and watched & worried over her. The medical staff wouldn’t let me nurse Elin (she still nurses a few times/day) due to her elevated respiratory rate, so I borrowed a pump from the hospital and reacquainted myself with that lovely process. I also spent some time reaching out to all our friends & family via Facebook & text. Through this process, I found out that a friend of ours, Erika Reiner, was actually in the hospital with her 4-week-old twin baby girl, Juliet, with the same RSV virus. Erika & I began texting to encourage & support each other. I found out that her whole family had been sick this week as well, though her 3 year-old, Braden, and her twin baby boy, Nash, had mostly recovered. Juliet, however, was struggling with her oxygen levels and her breathing. I was having a hard time with my 17 month old, I cannot imagine the panic Erika was facing with her 4-week-old! This experience has shown me the wonderful power of prayer and that we have the most amazing group of family & friends that anyone could ask for!
My parents both flew in on Friday afternoon. It was originally only going to be my Dad, but Mom called me after she dropped Dad at the airport & was headed to work. That was when she realized that Elin had been admitted to the Pediatric ICU, so she basically turned around and headed back to the airport (with a short stop to get a bag packed) and bought herself a ticket. It was so nice to have Dad around to be with Erik, which freed up Kent to spend more time at the hospital. It was also soo nice to have Mom at the hospital with us to help communicate through all the medical jargon. I had to have the nurses & doctors explain the monitor to me several times on Friday morning before it started to make sense!
Elin spent most of Friday sleeping. Her stats started to improve but she didn’t show much change physically. Her respiratory rate was back into the 50's and O2 levels back to 100. She is still so sleepy that she doesn’t really mind all the tubes & wires that she is attached to. Since she is getting her fluids & nutrients through the IV, she hasn’t signed for milk or nursing. It is heartbreaking to see my happy, lively baby girl lying in a hospital bed so still and silent. I never want to see her like this again.
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| My sick little girl |
Sabbath morning started out the same as Friday, but by mid-morning, Elin was alert and looking around. She still didn’t fuss about the equipment, tubes, wires or medical personnel; it was very fortunate that her IV was disconnected this morning to get her to start eating & drinking on her own. I was able to start nursing Elin again late on Friday, so that was lovely and I felt like I was finally contributing to her improvements. Elin's vital signs had stabilized enough that she was downgraded to regular Peds from the ICU, but we wouldn't have to change rooms/floors since the regular pediatric wing was too full and didn't have any open beds. Kent & Mom spent the day with Elin & I. Kent was able to get Elin to "play" with him for a little bit. However, being awake for a few hours mid-day completely wiped Elin out and she slept most of the afternoon & evening. We had a few visitors in the afternoon - Heather Cochran came to see Elin and Rob Deininger stopped by as he completed his Executive-on-call duties. Elin woke up briefly for both of those visits, but didn't really respond much. Kent & Mom left around 6PM to take Erik to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Cranes Roost Park. Erik loves all the Christmas lights, but he wasn't so sure about the fireworks and asked to go home when they started!! As for Elin & I, we had a wonderful surprise show up at the hospital after Kent & Mom left - my Uncle Duane & Aunt Phillis Morauske came to visit us!! They drove up from the Port Charlotte area to check on Elin (and I suppose to see Mom & Dad, too)! Since the rest of the family was at the tree lighting, Phillis & Duane opted to spend the evening visiting with me. While they were with me, Pastor Barb & Les McCoy also stopped by our room! It was so nice & thoughtful of everyone to stop by. It means so much to me.
As Elin becomes more alert, she is also becoming more fussy and clingy. She wants to be held as much as possible and her sleep patterns are completely out of whack. Kent was wonderful enough to come back to the hospital after his evening festivities. Not too soon after he arrived and I thankfully crawled into bed, Elin woke up and was NOT tired. Kent found the movie, "Polar Express", on the selection list and he & Elin settled in to the first of many date-night movie nights! Elin stayed awake and attentive for the entire film, which shocked me when I found out! I couldn't believe she held still for the whole show and didn't cry. I bet she wished that Kent had brought her popcorn, though!
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| Kent playing with Elin Sabbath morning |
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| Hugs from Daddy |
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| She does love to sleep on her belly! |
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| Surprise Visitors, Kelli's Uncle Duane & Aunt Phillis |
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| Getting cuddles from Nana |
We ended this week with the expectation that we would still be in the hospital for several more days until the support that the hospital was providing through oxygen & nebulizer treatments was no longer necessary. While we would have loved Elin to immediately bounce back and become healthy right away, we are so thankful that we can stay at the hospital where she can receive care from the experts. We have a wonderful team of nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists. We thank everyone for all the prayers, support and care that they've given to us this past week.
