Kind of a Blur

Here it is, Wednesday December 8th, and the last few days have been kind of a blur. Like they never happened. But they did. Man, did they happen. Most of you who peruse this blog probably already know the story, but since I blog often for myself (and print out my blog in book form at years end) I don't want to forget all the details of this weekend so here they are.

Saturday night at about 11:30pm Tessa woke up and was struggling and gasping for breathe--she had been fighting a bug for 4 weeks (which we had been to the dr for twice) that had been diagnosed as bronchiolitis (this is different from bronchitis) that had her chest very congested. We thought she was getting better last week, but Saturday night it seemed to come back very intensely. After seeing her gasp for air repeatedly, Jon and I quickly decided to take her to the emergency room. My father in law Tom quickly came over to watch Caden and we rushed to Hoag Hospital in Irvine.
Upon arriving, the emergency room seemed to kick into high gear. When they saw we had an infant in distress, within 2 minutes we were in a room, with 8-10 people in action. (Looking back its kind of funny how a sleepy ER went from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. So thankful! But a little funny) They probably didn't get very many babies in their ER (I could tell by the rumblings of "where is the pediatric cart?", "I need a smaller mask" etc), but they were awesome. They asked a million questions, and quickly checked her oxygen level--it should be somewhere around 93-94...hers was about 72. They got her on an oxygen mask and started an IV (all SUCH fun things for a baby) :(.
They started to do a bunch of tests and give her breathing treatments over the next few hours, and it was then determined she needed to go to CHOC. They were on the phone with CHOC a few times after getting some test results, and then we were told that Tessa was going to need to be put in the PICU when we got there (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). CHOC then sent over an ambulance and their own "team" to pick us up from Hoag. At about 3:45am, Tessa and I rode in an ambulance over to CHOC.
Once we were in the PICU, the Dr and nurses were throwing out a lot of possibilities of what could be wrong, but were most concerned with her oxygen level and how distressed her breathing was. She was working really hard to breathe, (you could see her struggling and breathing from her stomach which was not good) and was exhausted from it. She was very lethargic and still struggling to breathe. They were pretty positive she had RSV, since bronchiolitis is very often a sign of that. They were saying we most likely would have to be in the hospital for atleast 4-5 days, and they would continue to run tests to diagnose her. RSV can also be deadly to infants, which was terrifying to hear and we were anxious to get results.
All day Sunday was spent trying to figure out what exactly she had and how to proceed. By the evening, we had found out it wasn't RSV--praise God! Later that night, it was decided she could move out of PICU since she was more stable and RSV was ruled out.
Once we got out of PICU, she did nothing but improve. I just know God was working because we went from this very scary, long term scenario, to the possibility of going home in 24 hours. When I heard there was this chance, I made it my goal to get her home. Because really, how much rest & recuperation can an infant get while sharing a room with another sick baby, and having nurses poke and inspect you every 3 hours. I was also a bit worried about her picking up more virus' just being in the hospital. So I kicked into "mama bear" gear, and found out all the things that she needed to do before they would release us. I found out that since she was now at 97-98 oxygen level (on her own, no longer hooked up to a machine) the rest of the treatments we could do at home once she got off IVs. All day Monday I spent being somewhat annoying to multiple medical staff, trying to get us released. :) Tessa also started eating well, and had improved SO much, she got off IVs.
As we all know, hospital timing is less than fast, so I worked on, well...speeding it up. But I can honestly say that outside of my "mama bear" antics, I truly believe it was the Lord answering my prayers and the prayers of so many others to allow us to go home and make sure Tessa was getting better. Monday was a long day of waiting, but at 8:30pm, we were packed up in the car, fully released and heading home with our baby girl. God is so good!
Now that we are home, we are all happier and so much more rested. But Tessa still has lots of treatments to help her completely get healthy. The official diagnosis for Tessa is that some sort of virus (they STILL don't know what, but we are thankful it isn't RSV like they thought) that caused accute bronchiolitis (which we already knew). The virus/bronchiolitis triggered a respiratory disorder they think she has-- something called Reactive Airways Disease. Basically, if she gets sick again and has the same intense symptoms and wheezing, she probably has asthma. (But they don't diagnose asthma at such a young age or until it happens a few times). Her tiny airways were so tight she barely could breathe, hence our emergency room trip that started all of this! She came home with 5 medications, including breathing treatments and an inhaler. This looks like something we will have to keep on top of from now on, especially in these sick winter months.
We are continuing to pray for her health to be fully restored as well as that this disorder will not flair up again and she will not have asthma. We are so are thankful for our loving God's protection and care, and trust He hears our prayers and will work all things together for His ultimate purpose.
One of the most amazing things to come of this whole ordeal was to see the love and support our family has through friends and family. Within minutes of people finding out, I had countless calls, emails, texts all from people who were praying and wanting to help in some way. I was overwhelmed in a GREAT way by that showing of love and support. Jon and I often tease about picking up and moving to some random state so we can afford a house with sprawling acres surrounding it and room for our kids to run around. But we never would. Why? Because of our family and friends that surround us as our community. And this was another reminder of how much more important love and friendship are than the physical space we live in.
I am continuing to unravel and process the many emotions, thoughts and things God surely is teaching me through this whole "event". I know for sure that this outpouring of love was a huge reminder to me of God's love for us, and the people He has by no mistake placed in our lives. My dad said it best in saying "The good news about bad circumstances of life is seeing God's people responding in love and prayer." So true and that is exactly what we experienced.
So now we head down a road to recovery. Our pediatrician that we went in and saw today was optimistic that she will continue to get better...its just a waiting game since its virus. We have multiple medications and breathing treatments, which is no fun with an infant (who am I kidding, with anyone its no fun) but I am thankful to be doing them at home.
I will honestly say it is a little hard to be home and kind of be in this in between limbo state of real life and sick life. (Don't get me wrong, I do NOT want to be back in the hospital! Not complaining!) We are at home, but I don't want to leave Tessa or go out and do errands etc. But man, I am SO behind on life. Work, laundry, groceries, you name it. But its all worth it. And selfishly I sort of love this time that I can just sit and love on my kids. I missed being away from Caden and I am loving the cuddles with Tessa.
Speaking of Tessa, she is telling me she is now awake from her nap, so got to run! ps--I am thankful for naps that don't involved beeping IV machines (for her) or chairs that claim to fold out and be beds (for me).
Bye for now.