Poor, Poor Chachi

Little Chachi had to spend two days in Los Robles Hospital (including my birthday) . He started getting a cold on Thursday, nothing big. Both of my girls have been pretty sick with a respiratory virus, so I figured he wouldn’t escape totally unscathed. He was pretty much just coughing and sneezing a bit Thursday and Friday. It’s was my birthday on Monday, so my husband took me out to dinner Saturday night while my mom watched the kids. About 4 am Sunday morning, Chachi woke up to eat and started gasping and wheezing and choking on his own mucous. He could not get his breathe easily, so I took him to the ER that is about 2 miles from our house. Chest x-rays, blood tests, and a nasal swab were performed to make sure there wasn’t pneumonia, RSV, or other such nastiness. I was blessedly absent for the blood draw, as I had to run home to check on a feverish Fiona. The x-rays were an interesting endeavor. Trying to hold a nine week old baby perfectly still and protect his crotch area with a lead blanket is no easy task, but Daddo and I worked together to make it happen. All of his tests came back negative (reference famous Seinfeld episode here), but he did have some serious chest congestion that was impeding his breathing. The ER doc considered admitting him, but after talking to his pediatrician, decided to send him home and we were to bring him back if he developed a fever or had further difficulty breathing. I was to take him in to the ped. 1st thing the next morning per Dr.'s orders. Here is poor Chahci in the ER waiting room, and then in his tiny hospital gown in the exam room:

By Sunday night he was a mess again. He was wheezing and straining, so much so that it would make him vomit. I called his pediatrician, Dr. Antall, and he decided to admit him. He was really great. He even came the hospital that night at 10:30 to check him. The general opinion is that he caught a virus (probably from one of the girls) that caused him to have bronchiolitis and it really compromised his ability to breathe. There was a lot of congestion in his lungs. We don't know exactly the cause yet, but probably a virus that an older kid would have been able to handle fine. He is just so little. He had to have oxygen therapy, breathing treatments (albutorol) and steroids for the inflammation in his lungs. He is on antbiotics as a precaution for whooping cough. He was off the oxygen for all of Monday night and is breathing much easier now. The Dr. says his lungs sound clear, but he still has a lot of nasal congestion. We are continuing breathing treatments at home until he is 100% better. We go back to the pediatrician on Thursday for a follow up, but he appears to be on the mend, praise Jesus. I am just praying that he continues to improve and does not backslide at all. It was pretty scary. We are just not used to having sick kids, and especially not sick enough to go to the hospital.

The cool thing is, this was sort of a blessing. I know it is an odd thing to say, and I definitely would never want to so this again. But, I really felt the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ lifting us up to the Lord. It was as if God cracked the door of heaven open just enough for me to be able to know that these prayers were being spoken on our behalf and that they would be heard and answered. The Lord was a distinct and definite presence that allowed me to remain at peace, even though I was scared for my little boy. He was very clearly telling me, "I have this under control. You just be the mom and love your little baby." It was a wonderful feeling to know my son was being cared for by a loving, all-powerful God, and that nothing would come into our lives except by His permission.

After a day or so, I started to get a little stir crazy from just sitting around in bed and reading or watching TV. I considered asking the nurses if they had any laundry I could do or dishes I could wash. I am so grateful to finally be at home and have my bambino on the mend!