RSV

Last saturday (the 4th), at the order of our pediatrician, we brought Sasha to the emergency room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC).  Basically, she had been sick since monday with a cold, and even on Thursday when we brought her to the pediatrician, they said it was just a cold and not in her lungs.  By Saturday, however, she was struggling to breathe during feedings, and losing weight.  Once we got to the ER, they determined that her blood-oxygen saturations ("O2 Sats") were at 88-89 % - they should be 98-100%.  The ER said she probably had Bronchiolitis/RSV and decided to admit her to the hospital because she needed oxygen.  They placed the "nasal cannula" on her immediately, and we waited for a room.  We initially got to the ER at about 1pm (with Vera in tow, having napped for only 30 minutes in the car), and by the time they were ready to take us to a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia, it was already 5pm.  It was pretty obvious what we were going to have to do - Joe had to take Vera home, and I had to stay with Sasha at the hospital.  It really sucked to see them leave and to be alone with Sasha as she wailed through the xray process... but it had to be done - Vera was melting down and it was already clear that we would be in the hospital for at least a night or two, so we had to divide and conquer.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty bad.  Sasha basically slept constantly, coughed a lot, and wouldn't eat much at all.  They finally decided to place an IV to keep her hydrated, which ended up making a huge difference in her energy level almost immediately, and she started nursing a little better, but still not nearly enough.  When we first got admitted, we thought we'd be out by Monday or Tuesday, but it was quickly becoming apparent that this was unrealistic.  She started to turn the corner late Monday night so they removed the IV, but then she made a major back-slide when they attempted to wean her off the oxygen on Tuesday morning.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent trying to recoup the ground we had lost (they replaced the IV for a short while, and she gained a little weight).  Thursday was my birthday, and even though she had a lot of her energy back, they told me first thing in the morning that they would not be sending her home... after having battled with weaning her, they wanted to be really careful to make sure she spent a good portion of time without oxygen before letting her go - because of her heart defects and the Down Syndrome, she was just having a hard time making that final step to breathing totally independently. 

I spent the whole week living at the hospital, and Joe was single-parenting Vera and working all week.  Luckily our friends, family, and daycare rallied to help us out with covering Vera during the day and some evenings, and Joe often brought her to the hospital after work for dinner and some together-time.  Vera handled it all very well, as usual!  Finally, on Thursday afternoon, they removed the oxygen again, and she was able to sustain her O2 Sats all day and all night, with good feedings and no problems.  So, they finally released us today.  We're so happy to have her back home, and to be reunited as a family of four.  Here are a few pictures and one video from the stay in the hospital.  The amazing thing was, even with being sick, she continued to smile and play (when she had the energy) and even started trying to use her hands a little.

 In the ER:

Tuckered out:

 

Starting to feel better:

This video is from Tuesday. Sasha is looking at her hand, and moving it purposefully. She also seemed to be trying to get it in her mouth.    By the end of about 10 minutes of play, she was pooped, but it was still very nice.  I'm sorry that the first video of Sasha on the blog is with her face all covered up with an oxygen tube, but it's still pretty cute, if you ask me.