Around Here: Week 49 {Wyatt's Hospitalization} 2017

{December 1- December 8th}

We started the week before last with a sick Wyatt.  He was coughing again, after a few days of seeming better from his Thanksgiving cold.

By Wednesday he was bad enough that I called his primary care doctor for an appointment.  We saw him Thursday (November 30th), and found out I was giving his meds wrong (not terribly, just not in the most effective order) so we had a new, better plan, and Wyatt returned to school Friday (December 1st).

When I picked him up from school Friday he was coughing and his teacher said he had been since about lunch time.  We got home and he kept coughing.  He coughed through dinner and bedtime, and when he couldn't fall asleep after having his nebulizer treatment and an accidental double dose of cough medicine, I knew I had to take him in.

At this point, he was tired & suffering a fever, but not scared or grumpy.  The cough was more annoying than anything.

They did two nebulizer treatments, to no avail.  His lungs sounded clear and his chest x-ray also came back clear, no pneumonia.  So they sent us home, telling us that he was suffering an upper respiratory infection, along with his Reactive Airway Disease (which is basically just asthma after a cold), and he simply needed time to heal.

We were home for about twelve hours, from midnight until noon, when I went to check on Wyatt, who was having a little nap in his bedroom, and found he was respirating (breathing with his belly, instead of his chest). I called the advice nurse and she sent us (appropriately) immediately to the Emergency Room.

This time, there was no wait.  Wyatt was taken back immediately to room 1, where he was hooked up to oxygen, given a 90 minute continuous albuterol treatment via a nebulizer, and hooked up to an IV and a monitor to check his breaths per minute, oxygen and heart rate.  When I glanced at it, the monitor said his oxygen was at 76.

In addition to all the things mentioned above, they drew blood to test for a bunch of different illnesses and infections, and they swabbed his nose and throat.  They also did another chest x-ray to check for changes from the night before.

Despite the continuous oxygen and albuterol, he was not getting better.  His temperature had risen from 101 the night before to over 103 degrees, and he was not responding to treatments.  The doctor told me that Wyatt would absolutely be admitted, the question was where.  In our small town, there is no children's hospital, so he felt Spokane would be best.

A decision was made, and before I knew it, the flight team was there to take us.  Unfortunately, there was no helicopter available, and conditions weren't conducive to flight anyway, so the flight team took us via ambulance to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital an hour and a half away.  The reason we had to travel with a flight team is because Wyatt was in such poor condition that the ER doc was worried we'd need to intubate during travel to Spokane, and normal EMT's aren't trained to intubate.  The thought of intubating our sweet boy as he struggled for breath terrified me.

On the other hand, I was grateful that it was an option, because his lungs were not doing the job they were meant to do.

 Thankfully I pack a mean purse, and I had just about everything I would need in Spokane, already in my purse.  The only thing I was missing was a change of clothes. I had floss, migraine medicine, a tablet, an extra charger... And one of the nurses gave me his personal lunch since I hadn't eaten anything and all the stress was making me lightheaded.

The flight crew we traveled with was amazing.  They immediately saw how Wyatt was responding to all the activity, and tried to mellow him out while we waited for our ambulance to show up.  They adjusted his oxygen to blow with less pressure, calmly talked to him about his friends & school, and basically got him stabilized before we left, just by engaging him and letting him know it was all good.

He slept the entire drive to Spokane, and it was such a blessing to finally not hear him coughing.  Watching him get rest gave my heart a much needed respite.

His numbers also started looking a bit better.

After our drive, we arrived at Sacred Heart and were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).  The doctor was waiting in the room for us, as was the charge nurse.  Wyatt was placed immediately on steroids, and set up with the Respiration Therapists (RT's) for treatments.

He continued to cough and require oxygen.

Because of the precarious state of the children in the PICU we were requested to wear scrubs over our clothes and change any time we left Wyatt's room.

Wyatt enjoyed the power of the TV/bed remotes.  We called him King Wyatt during his stay.

Anything to make him smile.

The first thing he got to do while he was there was watch Sponge Bob, which I don't allow at home.  He thought that was pretty cool.  He also got to have a popsicle for breakfast (following the disgusting liquid steroids) and he thought that was cool, too. 

Throughout the first night, he had the oxygen on, and coughed quite frequently.  He had nebulizer treatments every two hours, and nurses in and out even more than that. We didn't sleep much.

But his numbers looked good.

By Sunday morning, having slept the last time on Thursday night (and only for five and a half hours) I was completely worn out and asked my mom if she would join us in Spokane.  She immediately said yes and flew from Portland to Spokane, arriving around noon.  I was so happy to see her!

She watched Wyatt after I got him settled, and I took a nap. I felt amazing afterward.  I know I would have never slept that peacefully if she hadn't been there.

Through it all, Wyatt was so brave.  He took shots, pokes, gross medicine and nebulizer treatments with nary a complaint. 

Sunday and Monday he would improve, then get worse. Improve, then get worse.  He got off oxygen, only to be put back on. Then he got off oxygen, and started having a fever again.  Then his fever went away, and he started having really rosy cheeks/face after treatments. 

At once point we met with the pulmonologist and she ordered more blood tests, as well as antibiotics for our boy.  That was the turning point.  The antibiotics really helped him start taking a swing in the right direction.  He was able to go four hours between treatments, and stay off oxygen.  His fever evened out and he started having a little more energy.

Her blood test found that he was vitamin D deficient, so in addition to his steroids and antibiotics, we got him on vitamin D.  And because of the antibiotics, we got him on some probiotics.  He was also on Robutussin and some Pearl pills that were supposed to help with cough.  And he had Tylenol, on the regular, around the clock.

The worst thing to make him take was the steroid.  We finally got him to take it by bribing him with chocolate milk afterward. 

He had a couple episodes of tantruming/refusing to do things on Monday, after he'd been on the steroids a few days.  He refused to walk around for the nurse to prove he could walk without it effecting his oxygen, and he refused to do the CPT with the RT one of the times she came.  Before that, he had done the CPT (basically pounding on his lungs to break up the junk) without any tears.

He had a reaction (rash on his hands) to the antibiotics, too, but not severe enough to stop treatment.

Whenever he would get upset (from being tired, or not wanting to cooperate), I would not get upset in return.  I would just offer to climb in the bed with him and hold him.  This generally worked to deescalate the situation and he would eventually agree to do what we had asked. 

He also loved when I would sing to him, so I spent many hours holding him, singing songs from JJ Heller's "I Dream of You" album, our favorite. 

Despite how hard it was to see Wyatt suffer, I was so, so grateful to be there with him.  I was grateful that I knew Josh had it all under control at home, and I was grateful that my  mom was there to support me in being there for Wyatt.  She let me sleep a few hours each night, and would get food for us, or anything we needed, so I could focus 100% on him.

When he started feeling better, he talked on the phone to Josh and Carly.  Seeing a smile on his sweet, suffering face was such a blessing for our hearts.

The biggest smile, by far, came from FaceTiming Carly.  He cried twice during his stay, telling me how much he missed her.  They are really connected, those two.  Josh said while I was gone, she would ask where Mama was, and then answer herself saying, "Wyatt. Sick."  She knew I was taking care of her Wyatt. 

And when those two were reunited, it was as if I wasn't even in the room.  She only had eyes for that big brother of hers.

Monday afternoon we knew that discharge was possible for Tuesday.  So we started asking all the questions we had, and really monitoring how Wyatt was doing, making sure that he would be healthy for the ride home.  He was able to make it six hours between treatments (the real goal we had before bringing him home) and he was able to walk around the ward (even if he did cry the entire time he did it) without it negatively impacting his breathing.

Tuesday he did lots of crafts and was really feeling better, you could tell.  His numbers stayed consistently good and after school let out, Josh, the twins and Carly started driving our way.  They picked us up, and when I saw the twins, I started crying. Oh, how I had missed my kids!

We got Wyatt's prescriptions and then began the long drive home.  Wyatt slept for most of it, and Carly nursed for some of it. It felt so good to be together as a family again.

Upon arriving home, thank God, Josh offered to stay home another day or two if I needed him, and I took him up on that offer.  He continued managing the twins and Carly and I focused 100% on Wyatt, his treatments and his medication, not to mention asthma education. 

Yesterday (Saturday) is the first day he didn't need to take a nap, nor did he have a treatment in the night Friday. He has a follow up appointment Monday, and should be back at school Tuesday. I think he will be up for it.

For the record, though, I did ask the PICU doctor if I could just keep Wyatt in a bubble, and was told that no, keeping him in a bubble was not, in fact, something they'd recommend. Ha!

I will say, though, that hand washing has taken a big upswing in our household, and will continue through cold and flu season.

While we were gone, it has to be said, Josh NAILED IT.  He had the twins do their regular daily chores, plus their weekend chores.  He dressed Carly and DID HER HAIR (I seriously died at how cute her hair was, complete with matching "hair pretties" as she says.)  He did school drop off and pick up, and homework and laundry, all without missing a beat, even though that's all my department. 

We were blessed that while Wyatt got sick, Josh's parents were in town, so they were able to watch the kids while Josh went to work to make sub plans.  That set him up for staying home while I was gone.

Carly went down for him for naps and bedtime, only crying once cause she wanted to stay up.  He sang to her and snuggled her, and she would just go in her crib, no problem, despite never being put to bed by him before.

I pumped while I was at the hospital, to keep from being engorged, and so I could quit nursing on my own terms, not because of this hospital stay.  The hospital even provided me meals and a breast pump because I was a nursing mom.  They were amazing. 

Everyone was.  The ER staff here in town, the doctors, nurses and specialists in Spokane, and everyone here (our village) who sent texts, messages and prayers out for us.  Josh had meals provided and I've had so many people offer to drive our boys to school and help out in various ways.  Thank you, all of you, for lifting us up with your thoughts, your love and your support.  I can never thank you enough.

One other thing josh did while he was home Wednesday & Thursday was get us new phones.  While I was in the hospital, I got a warning that my SIM card had been corrupted (I have no idea what that means) and my phone became completely useless.  I couldn't get on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.  I couldn't text or make phone calls.  It was so frustrating.  And the timing couldn't have been worse.

Now we are all set with new, local phone numbers (no more Alaska numbers) and a cellular company with a local office.  It was a pain to get set up, but overall we are relieved to be done with the Alaska numbers & questionable service.   

***

Before we left the hospital, Wyatt diagnosed with severe asthma, and we were given a big preventative routine to keep him healthy.  Daily, he will take vitamin D, a probiotic, 2 puffs of his Flovent inhaler (with a spacer) twice a day, one Singulair pill each evening and he will blow on his Peak Flow Meter, which tells us how his lung capacity is.  

When those Peak Flow numbers are bad or his lungs seem bad, we will add Budenoside (in the nebulizer) to that regimen.  And when he's actively having asthma, we will also give him albuterol as needed (either via the nebulizer or via his rescue inhaler).  

We aren't sure when (or if) his asthma symptoms will show up again.  They may only arrive after a cold, as is the case for many asthmatics.  They may show up after exercise or being out in the cold.  They may be triggered by different allergens.  Until we get his allergy testing done in the spring (the soonest appointment was for the end of March!) we won't really know for sure. So it's a guess & check type of thing.  My prayer is that his asthma continues to be controlled and that there are no allergies coupled with his lung issues. 

*

When we got home, Jack said he was glad when Wyatt was in the hospital.  It was a nice break.  

I was about to lay into him when he followed that with, "I knew I didn't have to worry about you in the hospital." Awww!!  After that I hugged Jack and assured him the doctors would not send Wyatt home if they didn't think he was well enough.

*

While coloring yesterday I looked at Wyatt and said, "I love you bud. I'm so glad you're better."  He said, "And I'm glad I'm not dead."

I think I stared blankly at him, willing my eyes not to fill with tears, and asked what he meant.  He said, "Well, if you don't breathe, you die.  And I couldn't breathe."

There were times, especially in the ER, but also in the PICU where I wondered if I would go home with a six year old.  He was very, very sick.  And it was very, very serious.

I feel so blessed to be home with him.

***