growing rhamy family: RSV + ER = Hospital Stay

After I got back from my work trip on Sunday (April 29), Josh and I had noticed that Bo's cough wasn't getting any better. It started to get really croupy and deep. We took Bo to daycare on Monday and told them to keep an eye on him because he had a cough and we didn't want it to get any worse. They had told Josh when he dropped Bo off that 2 babies had been to hospital over the weekend. Josh immediately called me to schedule an appointment for Bo to be seen on Tuesday afternoon just to make sure. Well, while picking Bo up on Monday I learned that the 2 babies had RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). So naturally I began google-ing what that was and what effects it had on babies (I swear google is going to raise our child!). It turns out that it is a pretty common virus and most kids will get it under the age of 2, or so google said. We woke up on Tuesday and he hadn't been acting his normal self, so we ended up getting an early appointment at 9 am. They did a chest xray and also tested for RSV. The doctor also had us use a nebulizer in the office to see if that would help his breathing. After the breathing treatment the doctor didn't think that had helped too much, but he still sent us home with a prescription for one. The dr. said that the breathing treatments really open up the bronchial tubes for some kids, but turns out it didn't do too much for Bo. They also sent us home with another antibiotic because he thought maybe Bo still had a slight ear infection. So I stayed home with our little guy on Tuesday and he seemed to be acting OK. Later that night we got the test results back and it was confirmed that he had RSV and also the early stages of pneumonia.

Josh took Wednesday off and stayed home with him. I spoke to the doctor yet again on Wednesday morning and told them that he hadn't really gotten any better, so they had me schedule another appointment for 1:30 that afternoon. I spoke to Josh around noon and he informed me that Bo had been very lethargic and breathing pretty heavy. I told him to call me immediately when he found something out anything from the pediatrician. Well, at about 1:45 Josh told me to meet him at the ER because they were taking Bo there. Bless Josh's heart because when he spoke to me he seemed very calm and kept telling me that everything was going to be ok. Turned out that they had called an ambulance to take Bo from the pediatrician's office to the ER. Immediately Josh was asking questions, "What is going on?" "Is this something that I need to be really concerned about?" "Is he going to be ok?". The nurse informed him that his oxygen levels were very low and he had respiratory distress. Josh knew that if he had told me everything that I probably would've driven like a mad woman to get there and he didn't want anything to happen to me either. I had arrived at about the exact same time as the ambulance and it was a sight I hope that I never have to see...my son being taken out of the ambulance strapped to a stretcher being given oxygen. Once Josh and I saw each other and what our little boy was going through we both lost it. About 5 drs and nurses surrounded Bo and started connecting him to wires, oxygen, and taking his temperature. His temp was 103, it had gone from 99 at home, to 100 at the pediatrician's office, to 103 in about an hour. They gave him some Tylenol for the fever and tried a nebulizer treatment. They kept him on oxygen and informed us that they would be keeping us overnight (at least). Josh then went home to get some things (and get Boston out of the car at the pediatrician's office). In the meantime, Bo took a nap on mommy while his fever went down and he got some supplemental oxygen.

We finally made it up to the 3rd floor at Mercy (Pediatrics room 362), and once again you never want to see your child in a hospital bed, it is the most heart breaking thing. You want nothing more than to take all their pain and hurt away. Josh or I would be both be sick a thousand times more to keep him happy and healthy. Our poor little guy was going to have a couple rough days ahead of him. My mom came up to help us out and stay with Boston. The three of us spent some time with Bo on Wednesday night and my mom left around 9pm that night. Josh and I both stayed at the hospital with our little guy. His fever had gone down, but it was still slightly elevated, and they kept the oxygen on that night. It was a rough night for our little Bo bo. His appetite had gone down and was only eating a 1-3 ounces at a time (a far cry from the 6-8 he usually eats). Thursday morning the doctors came in to tell us how he had been doing and how they were going to lower the amount of oxygen they had been giving him, which was a good sign. Bo had kept his temperature at a normal level, so we were extremely excited to hear that. Thursday was a pretty long day for all three of us. My mom came to visit a couple times that day and ended up going home later that day. Josh and I had decided it would be best for one of us to stay at home that night so we both wouldn't be so tired on Friday. After we knew we were going to be making room 362 home for another night. We tried to make the most of it for Bo. Even though he cannot tell us how he feels, we knew that he knew he wasn't home and something was going on. Thursday afternoon Bo was taken off oxygen completely (and he had actually ripped it out of his nose and a sticker from his cheek, he did not like that one bit!). They had told us that he needed to get through a good nap or a night on room air before they would send him home. So Thursday night he still had a rough night sleeping, but if he is like his mommy he doesn't sleep well in strange places anyway. Friday morning both Doctors came in to tell us that we would finally be going home today! After lots and lots of questions from us, they finally gave us the go at about 1 that afternoon. Josh and I were more than excited to finally be going home with our little boy. This was something we never want to have to go through again!!