on thursday, rooney started with a little cough. friday it got worse & by friday night there was a fever. ashton & i were planning on going to the jazz game saturday night, but come saturday morning, i knew i wasn't going to the game. instead rooney & i laid around & before too long, i realized her fever was too high & she was beginning to act lethargic. she kept trying to open her eyes, but could only raise her eyebrows. she wasn't moving. wasn't interested in anything. just wanted me to hold her.
by the time ashton made it home, her fever was nearly 104ยบ, her breathing was fairly shallow & rapid. jameson & ashton were able to give her a blessing. we had decided earlier that ashton would stay home with her on sunday so i could go to church to teach our primary class. ashton asked his parents if they would cover for us &, initially, i felt bad because it wasn't that big of a deal for me to go. but i am glad he did & that they were willing, because sunday was something else.
rooney hardly slept through the night. i slept in the bed in her room & around midnight she got into bed with me. she wasn't breathing right. she was very congested & would cough so hard, she'd nearly throw up. it was a rough night.
morning came. things weren't improving. ashton switched places with me so i could sleep for a couple of hours. she acted ok throughout the morning but after a bite of lunch & a nap, she woke up & didn't seem the same. she asked for a bath. i noticed it looked like her breathing was pulling in around her ribs & she was using her stomach a lot to breathe. she was still lethargic & was falling asleep in the bath - her favorite place to be. we debated taking her to instacare - the wait was really long & what if we were just being paranoid? we ultimately decided (thanks to a few texts to my mom & sister) that it wouldn't hurt to make sure her oxygen levels were ok. like a true mom, i passed on my shower, got her in the car, & off we went.
we got to instacare around 2:20. they red-flagged rooney & got us back pretty quick. for that, i am so thankful. they checked out her oxygen levels & she was in the low 80's - they want you at 90 or above. the nurse thought a deep suction would cure everything. have you ever had your child deep suctioned? i left because they were wrapping her up to keep her from fighting it, so i knew it was going to be bad. i sat outside the door & cried. a sweet nurse came to talk to me, trying to distract me, but hearing my baby scream - still makes me cry thinking about it.
the nurse was so proud of herself, because initially the deep suction got roo up to a 92. while she was gone to get the doctor though, it dropped to a 73 & when she made it back, rooney was back in the low 80's. around 3:00, they put rooney on oxygen, which is not fun either, & told us that an ambulance was coming to take us to Primary Children's Hospital.
they loaded us up & off we went. the emt's were friendly & so kind to rooney. she fell asleep quickly, probably her first deep sleep in a few days thanks to the oxygen. by 3:30 we were at primary's where things were a little bit chaotic & rooney wouldn't stop scream-crying. she was miserable & didn't like all the nurses (strangers to her) around her, the tylenol, or the oxygen on her face. it was just me because ashton was still getting to us. eventually (around 4:00) he made it & shortly after, my parents were there too. after about an hour in the e.r., they moved us into the rapid treatment unit, which meant a room with a little more space!
waiting in the e.r.
the room had a crib in it, which is what rooney sleeps in at home, but i asked for a bed & i am so glad i did - one of us needed to be in bed with her all night in order for the nurses to check any vitals. i also think it comforted rooney. she started acting like herself again. the fever went down & she was smiling & goofing around. i can't remember exactly why, but she was off the oxygen for a little bit - probably for bathrooming & stuff? plus she was seeming so back to herself, minus the coughing. anyway, they talked about the possibility of us going home that night with some oxygen. but around 9:30, after she had fallen asleep & we plugged her back into monitor her stats, her levels had dropped to 68. we were there for the night. they quickly put her on 1/2 liter of oxygen & she was consistently at a 97. i texted my mom & said, "i bet we go home in the morning."
goofing off in her room. see, no oxygen!
still off oxygen. ready for bed
restless sleeping, back on oxygen because her levels had dropped to a 68 in her sleep.
around her 4:00 am check, the nurses noted that she was sounding a bit wheezy. by monday morning though, roo boo was up, seemed happy & alert, & was singing to daniel tiger. she started getting emotional again at 9:00 am & was still wheezy. she took a little nap & her oxygen dropped down to a 63. when she started becoming lethargic again/her heart rate was up in the 160-180's, the doctor suggested an IV. she said that while rooney is peeing enough, it's possible she was dehydrated the few days before & her body is struggling to keep up.
rooney was always trying to get the oxygen out of her nose - she hated it.
the stethascope was her favorite. checking her teddy bear's heartbeat.
of course she was napping when they came to do the iv. again, i left - i just can't stand seeing her hurting when i can't do anything to help! after some crying & snuggles, we finally got her back to sleep. around 10:40 they started her iv, with a second one immediately after.
poor boo, sleeping after the iv. but look at those sweet crossed little ankles.
at 1:15ish they did another deep suction, with me again, out of the room. this was probably the worst part of the whole experience. she was screaming. & not like baby/toddler scream. it was like a big girl in pain scream. it was awful. i hated it & ached to get back in with my baby. the nurse told us that she had never gotten so much out during a suction before & it was so traumatic for rooney that she actually pooped as they were doing it. but when i looked at rooney, things seemed off. her face was drained of all color. her eyes were swollen. i mentioned to the nurse & doctor that her color was off, something was wrong. they immediately upped her oxygen - we were at 2 liters & still her levels were in the low 80's. they had to go all the way to 3 liters. they brought in the albuterol, which rooney hated. one side of her chest sounded deflated, so an x ray was ordered to rule out pneumonia. they did a cap gas test & checked her right ear because it had looked red on sunday, but it looked like the beginning of an ear infection. so the doctor ordered antibiotics. they also did a nasal/viral swab to make sure she did, in fact, have bronchiolitis/rsv - that was also not very liked by rooney. for a good hour, things just seemed out of control. it was never serious, but it was overwhelming.
finally feeling better after all the trauma
i can't say enough about how much we loved rooney's nurse.
rooney's oxygen levels eventually leveled out & we got the oxygen down to .75 liters around 9:00 pm. we had to be monitored for another 6 hours to make sure her levels would stay there, which meant another night at the hospital.
tuesday morning was good. rooney had her first few bites of food & continued to improve. around 1:00, we were in the car going home - prepped in home oxygen & how to handle the tanks.
once home, rooney continued to nap while ashton & i finally got to shower & get things organized. we ate dinner, bathed rooney, & just enjoyed being home. rooney is much more comfortable & happy at home.
on thursday we met with rooney's pediatrician. she's still a little wheezy, but now we have an oximeter so that we can slowly wean her. during the day, she's already in the 95's off of oxygen. now we have to work on her nighttime weaning - which is the scariest part for me. her next appointment is tuesday. i sure hope everything is good by then, because having rooney stuck on an oxygen leash has made things pretty difficult.
that was our adventure. i am exhausted & thinking it will take a week to recover. after that, i really am blown away with my parent's as that hospital was their home with porter for 9 months. on another note, if there is a hospital to be stuck in, primary's is it. i was so impressed with the doctors & nurses. they always took the time to explain everything & answer every question. they made sure we had what we needed to be comfortable & wouldn't only check on rooney, but us too. what an amazing place.
