PICU

Go big or go home. In Eli's case, he went big all the way to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before he went home.

The day started normal. Zekers' boy scouts logged community service hours by participating the Trinity Trash Bash and I thought it would be good for all the kids to volunteer for a good cause. We walked along the Trinity River and picked up trash. It had been raining a lot the week before so everything was pretty soggy.

 Later that afternoon Eli started making wheezing sounds. I asked if he was having a hard time breathing and he said he was fine. It seemed to be getting worse. Even though Eli didn't have asthma I had  him take a couple puffs off Zeke's inhaler to see if it helped. It did not.

The next day his breathing still sounded terrible but he assured us he could breathe. He did, however, have an upset tummy and vomited at one point. He had a low grade fever but nothing to be concerned about.

Zeke, Daisy and I went to church without Daddy and Lijee since he didn't feel good and had vomited. When we got home Abe said he walked across the house and was winded and could hardly breathe. They went to a pediatric urgent care. 

Abe said that he tested positive for strep. I felt like a bad mommy because strep never crossed my mind. Vomit and low fever plus wheezing, but no sore throat or headache, so strep wasn't on my radar. Later when I realized I almost let my boy suffocate I really felt like a bad mommy. But back to my story.

They were at urgent care a long time. Finally Abe called and said the doctor gave Eli a breathing treatment but there was no improvement. She said we needed to go straight to the ER, do not pass go, do not collect $100, and we should take an ambulance to get there. Abe was like, Really. An ambulance? So the doctor said Elijah was stable and if Abe promised to go directly there he could drive Lijee.

Zeke, Daisy and I rushed to Cooks ER. We met them in a transition room (not what they call it, but it was a room where they took vitals and insurance). At this point Eli was feeling much better; still wheezing, but feeling much better. He and Zeke were wrestling and chasing each other. Abe and I were like, why the heck are we here? But they listened to him breathe and sent him back to a real room. The whole family got to see the room, and then the three of them went home since it was about 9:30 at this point and Lijee seemed like he was fine.

 It was shortly after they left that things went south in a hurry. After listening to his chest they gave Eli another treatment. Nothing. They gave him a second treatment. Nothing. This was when they told me that he might have to stay the night if he did not start to respond to treatment. I was like, What? Then his oxygen level dropped to about 90% so they started infusing oxygen in with the asthma medicine.

 This was nearly midnight. I slightly panicked when a doctor tried to talk to Lijee and he would not wake up. They were not concerned that he was unconscious, but I freaked out a little. I guess they knew he was pumped full of  medicine and it was late and he was just sleeping hard. 

 Every time someone would listen to him they would say there was no improvement. I could tell that without a stethoscope because I could still hear the wheezing. Next came the CPAP. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is a machine that provides a constant flow of pressurized air that works to maintain an open airway via a fitted mask. There was asthma medicine pumped in there in there, as well. If there was no improvement after this he would have to be admitted and go up to the PICU.

 There were all kinds of tests and treatments given.  The portable x-ray was brought in to make sure the lungs were OK.

 Around midnight Lijee was transferred up to the PICU.

 Poor little thing was so tired. He had to wear the mask all night. They kept listening to his chest and every time they would say there is no improvement. They ran a million tests to see if there was a reason for his lungs to be inflamed. All came back negative, which meant the cause was asthma.

 Finally the next morning around 7 or so he woke up.

 He had to wear this CPAP for about 12 hours.

 Cooks is a pretty amazing facility. We had someone come by to pray with us, they gave him a teddy bear and a Spiderman pillow, plus a Lego set.

 Sometime in the late afternoon he was able to take off the breathing gear. You can tell he was starting to perk up a bit.

 Lijee finally felt well enough to put together Legos and play Connect 4.

 Granny came by the first night when we went to the PICU, and the Bigs came by with Daddy and Grannie on Monday after school.

 Monday night I gave him a wet wipe bath and got some fresh clothes on him. Finally a smile and thumbs up.

 Tuesday morning he had his appetite back.

 About noon we got the OK to go down to a regular room.

There's a good belly laugh.

 We were in the room long enough for him to order lunch.

 Literally, that was all we had time for. We were in that room for a couple hours and then discharged.

 After 42 hours and at least 43 doctors and nurses (I kept a list out of curiosity) and a $34,000 hospital bill, we were done. Praise the Lord we were out of the hospital after 42 hours, although it felt like a lot longer. There were a few babies and toddlers that were in the PICU when we arrived and when we left. There are many, many kids that frequent those doors on a regular basis. We take our health for granted. Thank you, God, for healthy kids.

I did learn that hospitals are like car dealerships, except the wheeling and dealing goes on after the business is done as opposed to before. Your insurance company gets a special rate and never pays the sticker price. And perhaps you can even get a discounted rate from that, as well. I had no clue.