I don't like posting too much about sickness as I want the blog to be good hapy memories, however, I have found that I catch myself using it as a reference guide to when things have happened with the kids, so.....sorry for the illness post.
After Toby's stent with pneumonia in November, he
got referred to a pediatric pulmonology doctor at Riley
North (Carmel Campus). We took him for his visit with no real answers
other than let’s wait and see how the winter illness season progresses.
He did still have a cough so she told us to put him back on breathing
treatments for no longer than 14 days. Fourteen days (which included
Christmas) passed, then quit as advised. Within 24 hours, he started a
cough which progressively has gotten worse. I called and talked to the
pulmonology doc (Thursday 1/2) who suggested we schedule a bronchoscope to find
out why this cough/issue persists. Meanwhile, we were to resume breathing
treatments. Friday, 1/3, I took a call from daycare that Toby had a fever
and hadn’t been wetting diapers, so Lance went and picked him up.
Toby’s fever persisted on Saturday even with Tylenol and
Ibuprofen. Saturday he proceeded to not eat and puke anything he did eat;
he was just puny. Sunday morning as I was feeding him he just couldn’t seem
to catch his breath. His breathing was very short, very rapid, and very
labored. Lance called the pediatric pulmonologist office while I gave
another breathing treatment. They advised us to get him to an emergency
room. So we hurriedly packed clothes for all five of us, dropped the
girls off at Aunt Angel's house and went to Riley in Indy to ER. A
normal trip to Terre Haute is 45 minutes or Riley at Indy is an 1 hour 15
min. It ended up taking almost 2 hours due to the snow.
We got to ER and his oxygen saturation levels were low,
fever was 102.8, and his belly was retracting when he breathed. He was
admitted to the pediatric ICU. Toby was put on IV and forced
oxygen. We stayed in ICU until he got off the forced oxygen on Monday
afternoon. He was then moved to the Simon Family Tower of Riley.
Toby tested positive for RSV (respiratory virus). There is no real
medicine or “cure” for RSV, only time. Since all his stats stayed steady
and his fever broke, we were released today at 3. Then we got to travel
home. A typical hour and 15 minute drive to Indy turned into a 6 hour
drive home. We got stopped for almost an hour and a half while they got a
semi off I-70. I-70 was awful. Traffic that was moving kept speeds of 25-30
mph.
As for where Toby goes from here is still to be
determined. We are to follow up with the pulmonologist at the end of January. They are worried
that he has an anatomy issue with either his trachea or lungs that is causing
things that should be minor issues to turn into multi-day hospital
visits. I will let you all know more as I we learn more.