Anyway, on Thursday morning we woke up & I notice Justice sounded a little congested...nothing major, so we continued with out day. We (the little boys & me) went to Cozad to the chiropractor & then we went to Kearney to go shopping! We only made it to Cato (women's clothing store) & Wal-Mart. What an adventure! Cato is not very large store & I carried Justice & chased Lincoln through the place the whole time we were in there! Needless to say, I didn't find anything to buy! Wal-Mart was a bit easier...because they have shopping carts! Anyway, we headed home & both boys were pretty tuckered out & slept most the way home!
When we got home we ate real quick (just some penne with marinara sauce) & got ready to have our small group come over. By about 7:30, Justice was seeming really fussy & tired, so...to bed he went. By about 8:15...he was crying & evidently his supper didn't set well with him cause it was all over in his crib (yuck...I know!) But he was acting happy & normal. he had a little dry cough...still nothing of concern. So we eventually got him back to bed. I went to bed but noticed he was a little restless, but nothing I tried seemed to make him sleep any better, so I just left him in his crib & went back to bed. About 3:30am I noticed him fussing pretty bad. I changed him, gave him a bottle etc. (all the things you try at the crazy hours when you are half awake). I tried to go back to bed, but he was VERY restless at this point. So I got up with him about 6:30 & just help him & listened to him breathing very hard. About 7:30 when Lincoln woke up I went to get Mike & told him I thought Justice was really sick. He held him & asked me how long he'd been breathing that hard & I said since about 3:30...We decided I needed to hurry & take him to the hospital.
So I did! I got there, did all the routine stuff, answering questions trying to figure out what was going on. They gave him a breathing treatment, which seemed to help some & kept oxygen in his face. I was asked "is there any possibility he could have gotten something in his throat?" I said, "well, he is 11 months old so...YES...a strong possibility, because he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!" We all kinda chuckled. Soon, Mike arrived (after getting Lincoln ready & dropping him off at Grandmas). Justice was negative for RSV...still no answers.
We were asked if we "needed" to be sent somewhere else, would we prefer Kearney or Hays, we said Kearney...still thinking it was a maybe. Maybe turned to "you're going to Kearney" which turned into "we've spoken with the Pediatrician in Kearney & they are sending the Helicopter!" WHAT?!?!?!? My emotions at this point were so out of control. They were trying (unsuccessfully) to get an IV in Justice & my poor baby was super angry & upset... there wasn't anything I could do to help! We were making phone calls & arrangements, our minister came in to pray with us & at the end of the prayer I opened my eyes to see a few nurses had joined us for prayer & Brad (Mike's dad) was there as well! I went to the hallway & just cried in Brad's arms (my inlaws are amazing!) I didn't want to be in the room & watch them keep trying to get an IV in! They never did get it in...until we got to Kearney!
Knowing that there was a great chance that a parent would not be allowed to ride in the helicopter with Justice, we decided that someone should get a head start! So Jeff took me in his car & we got on the road! This was possibly the longest hour and a half of my life! Not being there to hold Justice, to have Mike hold me & to just be together as a family! This was terrifying. We finally arrived at the hospital in Kearney & they needed me to sign papers, give insurance info etc....REALLY?!?!?! I just drove an hour and a half & my son arrived here by helicopter...I JUST WANT TO SEE HIM & MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS OK!!!!!!!!!! GRRR!!! Whew!!! Oh, and I need to call my insurance company to let them know that Justice has been admitted into this hospital! WHAT?!?! Well...that didn't happen right away! What parent wants to take the time to "pre-certify" a hospital stay....may I say EMERGENCY HOSPITAL STAY!!! Really....this needs to be pre-certified to qualify for coverage!!! Oh well!
I found Justice's room & he was being examined by the doctor. The nurses informed me that I had just missed a UFC fight to get the oxygen in his nose! (Oh & they did let Mike fly in the copter too!) The next few hours of time is kinda a blur to me! I remember needing to find a bathroom, charge my cell phone & stay out of the room while they once again tried to get an IV in. They called in 2 anesthesiologists in to put it in! They did finally get it in & then I could hold him! I sat & rocked him & he slept. Mike & Jeff went to get some food for us & found Cody too! We ate & tried to relax & trust Jesus! WOW!!! We just waited. They continued to come in & give Justice breathing treatments, take blood etc. He was so worn out that he slept for a good long time! They moved us to a bigger room...Yay! While we sat visiting, we saw some friends walking by...they had driven all the way to Kearney because they didn't want us to be alone!
Jeff & Cody went to get some snacks & supplies for us during our stay! We had a nice visit with Joe & Heidi! Then everyone traded places...Joe & Heidi went to get us some stuff. These friends are AMAZING!! Jeff, Cody & Joe & Heidi brought us snacks, chocolate, drinks, toys & books for my boys...anything we asked for! What a blessing to have friends!
We still were searching for answers to what was wrong with our little guy! I was relieved that his symptoms were seemingly getting better, but I wanted to know what he had, how he got it etc. He was responding to the breathing treatments(oxygen level was like 82%), but his heart rate was still crazy high(185-200) and his respirations (like 65/minute)were high as well. They didn't let him eat either & could only drink some pedialite. HE WAS CRANKY!!!!
Later that evening he finally settled back in for some sleep! My best friend Sheri came to visit! She had come to our house & collected some bathroom stuff for us & a suitcase of clothes! We visited for awhile & then she went & got Jimmy Johns subs for us! Poor Justice was watching us eat & acting like he was eating too...smacking his lips together...we felt so guilty for eating in front of him! It was soo sad!
Friday was a crazy long day! Through the night Justice slept on my chest, which probably comforted us both! We would wake up when the nurses came in for treatments & to check vitals! We were so exhausted. By Saturday morning, his oxygen levels were staying steady & his respirations & heart rate were much lower! We got to take off his oxygen. YAY!!! At home, Lincoln was having a rough time! He was missing us all terribly & we were wondering if he was starting to develop a cold! YIKES! So Mike decided to go home that night to be with him! This helped Lincoln immensely! I was so nervous for Mike to leave...I was so tired & didn't know how to make it through the night & get some rest! Justice did not want to relax & rest! He fought & fought...he did not want to give up & go to sleep...he had kicked his IV loose, causing it to leak & eventually he just decided that he didn't need it anymore because he kicked it the rest of the way out! Finally, he was ready to rest! The nurses were so awesome...they let me sleep & took care of Justice. He was finally sleeping good also!
Justice was diagnosed with pneumonia. He also was severely anemic (low iron), his hemoglobin was also low! This was creating a major struggle for him to get quality oxygen. His red blood cells were not working as well as they should! So...all of this combined caused him to have severe asthma attack symptoms. So they were treating the bacterial pneumonia with antibiotics & he also was give steroid to reduce the inflammation in his chest. He was also having breathing treatments every 4 hours.
Sunday came & doctor said he was greatly improved. His oxygen was staying at 97%, his heart rate was down to 130 & his respirations were down around 40. MUCH IMPROVED!! Everything continued to get better! Papa Bradley & Grandma Kimmie came to visit in the afternoon! What a blessing! That evening they forced me to take a much need break from the hospital room. We went & ate & then walked through Wal-mart & Target!
By Monday morning we were told we could go home!!!!!!!!! YAY!!! We got everything together, & we finally left around 12noon. We came home & started to adjust to "normal" life again! We mad a chart for the fridge to keep track of medicines & breathing treatments. It really helped! He was taking antibiotics, steroids, iron & vitamin C 2x a day, and breathing treatments 4x a day! He doesn't love the breathing treatments, he just really doesn't like to sit still that long!
Today (Thursday), we had an appointment with our family doctor! Justice is still doing AWESOME!!! He will finish up his antibiotic, he will only take breathing treatments as needed, and he is done with his steroid. We continue to give iron supplements & vitamin C (it helps with absorption of iron). She did order for hemoglobin testing in a few weeks & she also wants Lincoln to be tested!
It is so amazing to me that everything happened so quickly. His sickness peaked quickly & then he recovered quickly. It was making me nervous how quickly he recovered...until I remembered our prayers & who was answering them! Jesus healed our little boy & restored him back to the ornery, fun, & happy little guy that we have grown to love so much! It is so much fun to watch him & Lincoln play together...they missed each other so bad!
I am so thankful that we have a loving God who answers our prayers! When Lincoln was a tiny baby I told Mike that I didn't like singing "Blessed be Your Name" any more because of one part...
You Give & take away
You Give & take away
My heart will choose to say
Blessed be Your Name!!!
I didn't like this part because I had just been given the best blessing that I could have ever imagined. Then along came my little porkchop...Justice! Once again I struggled with this song! I had just told Mike on our trip to Chicago, that I could sing the whole song & truly believe it! I know that I can & will praise God through anything, I am just so grateful that He has seen my heart & chosen not to test my faithfulness...I'm glad he has spared me some heartache! So for now, I choose to be more deliberate in acknowledging God's blessings & returning Praise to Him Alone who is Worthy!
Thanks to everyone who prayed for Justice (my little warrior) & for Mike & I to have strength through all of this! We have amazing, encouraging friends & family...thanks for loving us so much!!!
Ok...I still have so much to learn about blogging! The middle 3 pictures are out of order..the big smiley one was Sunday night bathtime @ hospital. The one with the ball was Friday Night & the other one was Saturday. Also I really wanted to put "Blessed be Your name" in this post so it would just play....couldn't figure that out! Oh well!
ReplyDeleteBlogger is confusing- but you'll get it!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear Justice is doing better- I can't imagine how scared you were. You are both very strong and did amazing. Hope he continues to grow strong and stay healthy- getting close to his birthday! So thankful everyone is okay.