Waylon is our 4th and I don't remember being this possessive, for the lack of a better word, over the other 3. The fact that I am sort of brings back that feeling from my pregnancy. Cherish-him-while-I-have-him type of fear. (Does this make sense?) I know its crazy and on the brink of being a bit morbid but that is the feeling I have sometimes. It honestly scares the crap out of me.
Anyways, Mr Waylon has been growing and becoming the chunky little healthy baby I am used to having. He went for his two month check up and was doing super well. He survived a 19 hour car ride to AZ for the funeral of his great grandfather as well as a nasty tummy bug that was being passed around while we were there. (We all got it and it was horrible.) With the crazy weather here in Texas someone is always sick so each time we hold our breath and pray he doesn't get it.
Two weeks ago his luck ran out. Big brother Caden has come down with a cough and started running fever. Waylon caught his cough so on Friday I took them both to their Dr. Cade was diagnosed with bronchitis and Waylon with a little head cold. The Dr did advise me to watch it because RSV is going around among the little ones.
Saturday his cough progressed and by that night he had lost his voice and was having a little bit of trouble breathing. My aunt and I took him to urgent care where they told us that it was still just a cold and they didn't hear anything in his lungs but he did have a cough and they were going to give him an oral steroid to help with it and suggested that I give him a breathing treatment as needed. (yeah I was confused too)
Sunday comes along and things start looking up. His voice came back a little his breathing was better. No fever but he did seem clammy to me.
Monday arrives and he sleeps most of the day. I assume it is because his body is trying to fight off the bug and don't worry too much about it until that night. He stops wanting to eat. We had a rough night. Fever starts and feedings decrease to just an ounce or two every 3-4 hours. He was very fussy.
Tuesday-10am: I call he pediatrician and get him in to be seen. They do an RSV swab and tell me that I will know within 4 hours. I was to continue the breathing treatments, Tylenol for the fever, and pedialite for hydration. I left feeling like something more should be done but I am not a Dr so what do I know??
3:30pm: Nurse calls, test was positive for RSV. Nothing else can be done then what I am already doing so here is a list of red flags to watch for. Call if you need us. (Yeah, it was not very comforting.)
9:00pm: Waylon is breathing really hard so I give him a treatment. His fever is not staying down with Tylenol and spiking after just 2 hours. Mommy is freaking at this point so I call the pediatricians office and leave a message for the on-call.
9:45pm: Nurse calls me and asks some questions. She advises me to give another treatment and says she will call me back after. 20 minutes later she calls and asks if he was still breathing hard. I say yes and she wants to hear him so I put the phone up to his face and she listens. After about 5 minutes she says, "Get your stuff together because your gonna need to take him into emergency. I am going to call your Dr and let him know and call you right back." Yes, I freaked out even more. She called me right back and told me which hospital to go to and then she adds, "Make sure someone sits in back with him and remember that is he gets to bad to pull over and call 911!" This is the point that daddy starts freaking out.
10:45pm Randy drops Colten, Waylon, and I off at the Childrens Hospital in Plano. He is evaluated, deep suctioned (SO hard to watch) and given yet another treatment. He is hooked up to an IV because he still hasn't eaten and is dehydrated. They take him for x-rays and put an oxygen tube in his nose. Dr advises me that he will be admitted. My heart sinks.
An hour or so later I call my husband and beg him to pray for our son. This is not fair. I feel so helpless and alone and I CAN NOT DO THIS! Is this what I have been fearing? Is this why I have had this feeling since I found out I was pregnant?? Why God? Why him? Why now? James 5:16 pops into my head. Huh?? Where do I know that verse from and what does it mean?
Randy and I cry out for prayers via Facebook and are flooded with an overwhelming amount of responses from family and friends. Prayers are being sent up. I take a moment to myself to once again pray that God hears these requests. James 5:16 flashes through my head. I really need to look that up. Waylon stirs and the moment is gone as I rush to his side.
3:30am The Dr comes in and tells me that the x-ray shows a spot of pneumonia in Waylon's' right lung. It is not too serious yet but they are gonna push some antibiotics. He assures me that 90% of all infants admitted to the hospital are due to RSV and that it is very common. It's different every time and that they are going to do everything they can to get him breathing on his own with out oxygen. Until they feel he is completely ready they will keep him. It could take a few days or a week or two. It all depends on Waylon.
In the ER Waylon had a nurse named Melanie. She did his IV and helped with x-rays and she was awesome. She followed us upstairs when we went and tended to him until her shift was over at 6am. She was an older lady and she had a comforting way about her. I really liked her. She came in to tell me that she was leaving and that she would see me later that night. She gave me a little hug and said she was praying and that she was sure that he would be OK.
Through out the day Waylon slept but he was improving. They had lowered his oxygen to 50 around the time Melanie left and then little by little through out the morning. At around 2 they took the leads off his chest and did another deep suction. They said he was doing well so I called Randy and had him come up and sit with him so I can run home and get some stuff. It was very hard for Randy to see him like that so I made it quick. If you know my husband you know that he does not do well in the hospital setting. That is just how he is.
After I got back Waylon seemed to be getting more active and acting a little better. I even got a smile out of him. Still, I was worried. Colten was with me and we stood around him and prayed. God was going to make him better. We knew it. Colten says, "God listens when we pray mom. A lot of people are praying and I know He will take care of Waylon." Such comfort coming from an unexpected source. I needed that.
A little after 6pm Melanie came in and she was all smiles. She said that she had to "fight" to be with Waylon because another nurse tried to take him but she won. Her next words blew me away. "I can't believe he is doing so well. Room air and everything! When I left this morning I thought for sure he would be here until at least Saturday." WAIT A MINUTE! What did you just say?? Room air??? Yes!!!! I guess when they took the leads off of him they turned him down to room air only and he had been oxygen free since 2pm!!! I was too worried about the deep suction that I must not have understood what the nurse has said. That's AMAZING I say. Melanie says, "That's God, Sweetie!" James 5:16 comes floating to the front of my head but I am so dang excited that I can barley think twice about it.
Another Dr came in and explained that Waylon was doing awesome and that his levels were staying around 89 and 90 but that was without oxygen and as long as he didn't go below 88 they would keep him off of it. They were going to be giving another dose of antibiotics to help with the pneumonia but that things were looking up for him. I was feeding him his formula and he was slowly but surely drinking more and more. They lowered the IV flow. He did well through out the night and ended up taking 3 1/2 oz at each feeding. I was able to get some sleep and things were indeed looking good.
Thursday morning a new nurse came in and said she would be my nurse for the day. (I had slept through the end of Melanie's shift and missed being able to tell her bye) The new nurse took out his IV and removed the cannula. I asked if everything was ok and why they were removing everything. She said, "The Dr thinks that Waylon is doing well enough to go home later today." Praise God!!! My little man had done a complete turn around and was well enough to go home!!! His oxygen was holding at around 97 and things looked very good. He would need to take an antibiotic at home but other then that he would be ok. Daddy picked us up at around noon. :)
Since being home Waylon has only gotten better. We were nervous because I had gotten the bug and so had daddy but we were assured that it most likely came from Waylon and that he would be ok. By Saturday he was drinking his normal 6 ounces and as of today he is my healthy smiling little boy. You would never know by looking at him that he was in the hospital. I truly feel that it's because of God and all the prayers that he recovered as quickly as he did!
Today, as I was getting in the shower something caught my eye and my heart started racing. This little plaque has been there since we moved in a year and a half ago. I picked it up at the dollar store and never really paid much attention to it after I bought it. James 5:16.Some may say coincidence but I know better! "That's God Sweetie!"
