Oh what a week it has been! Started last Monday with all three kids at the pediatrician for ear infections and bronchitis and ended with Caroline being admitted to the hospital for 3 days (2 nights). I actually had one foot out the door, on my way to the hospital with Madelyn on Monday night when her fever was at 105 degrees, even with Motrin and Tylenol and she wasn't able to keep her medications in. Caroline and Madelyn spent Monday night taking turns coughing, moaning, and crying all night. It was so scary. But, once they got a full day's of antibiotics and nebulizers treatments, Madelyn and Thomas were behaving more like themselves, their eyes weren't as glassy, they were eating a little, and even had the strength to fight with each other.
But, Caroline was still not herself. She was coughing a nasty cough and was doing it a lot. She still sounded really junky and was wheezing, despite the breathing treatments. I tried to be patient, but Wednesday night Caroline was up, agitated, and having difficulty breathing. In fact, she was so junky and so wheezy, you could hear her from the other room. I took her back to the doctor who decided to admit her directly to the hospital. She was pale, dusky looking at times. She was taking fairly quick and shallow breaths, her chest was retracting with each breath. The good thing, if there is one, about a direct admission is that we had no waiting in the ER, we just went straight to the pediatric floor. Anyway, after several tests, Caroline was diagnosed with RSV. She needed oxygen on the first day and night. Thankfully, she was feeding well enough to avoid dehydration and the need for IVs. Honestly, she was an amazing trooper through the entire stay. The Drs. think that her first illness 3 weeks ago with Croup and Bronchiolitis weakened the immune system and that she likely got RSV a week or so after that. They also the "contagious" period is about seven days from onset of symptoms, so she should no longer be infectious. The cough and junkiness will last a couple weeks they said, but should be improving each day.
Madelyn and Thomas were quite brave through the whole ordeal as well. Madelyn was with me when I took Caroline to the Doctor and went with the flow quite well with very little panic. It was a little scary to be honest and she was very brave. Thomas was at preschool and also handled it very well. We are having a little trouble keeping them away from Caroline, out of her face in particular, but, they were sweet as can be with Caroline. They are amazing, compassionate little beings.
The first picture is of Caroline in the hospital. Sorry about the quality, it was taken with my antique mobile phone. For some reason, Bjorn thought my request to bring my camera to the hospital fell into the "unreasonable" category.
I didn't hear any noise from the family room, typically, not a good sign. So, I tip-toed in there and saw Thomas all decked out in his scrubs, checking Caroline. I ran quickly and grabbed my camera and snapped a couple shots before he caught me.
2 comments:
Poor baby :-( I do think it is so precious how Thomas was trying to doctor her up, though! Awwww!!!!
Too Darling...I need those pictures of Dr. Tom.
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