The things that happen while your husband is away...

I have always heard it is inevitable that something bad will happen while your husband is away. Maybe your hot water heater bites the dust, maybe your transmission blows up, or maybe your almost 11 month old son gets admitted to the hospital. As you can probably guess, for me, it's the latter (although there is still time for those other awesome things to happen, too).

It all started Monday morning, when my Bradley woke up extremely congested. I kept him home that day, hoping a day of rest was all he needed. Well, by about 2pm Monday he had become feverish, with a 101.8 degree temperature. So off to Urgent Care we went where he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and double ear infection. Tuesday he still had a fever so I kept a close eye on him, hoping the Amoxicillin would kick in and he'd start to perk up, but he didn't really.

Coincidentally, his 9 month check-up was scheduled for Wednesday morning (yes, his 9 month check-up was scheduled for when he was 10.5 months old...), anyway, so we went in bright and early to see his regular pediatrician. It was at that point his pediatrician noticed he was struggling to breathe and she admitted him to the hospital (so, see, it really was a blessing in disguise that his 9 month appointment was 1.5 months late!).

So off to the hospital we went Wednesday morning, and I am so glad we did. When we arrived his oxygen levels were low, so they immediately put him on oxygen. Then by the afternoon his fever climbed to 103.5. They confirmed he still had the double ear infection, as well as an infection in his eyes, so he was put on an IV for antibiotics, but they were unsure what was causing the struggle to breathe and chest congestion. They had to do cultures to determine that answer, which unfortunately takes about 48 hours to return results.

He seemed to be improving through the late afternoon, though, but at 7pm Wednesday night his fever spiked to 104, and all I could think the whole time was how thankful I was to be in the hospital and not at home alone. So with a litttle Motrin and some sleep that night, his fever tapered off and his oxygen levels began to improve.

Wednesday morning after he was admitted

My poor Bradley :(

My Bradley loves to do headstands, lol

 

Eating for the first time in awhile

Thursday morning we saw the doctor and were told we'd be staying at least another night until he had been fever-less for 24 hours and we had test results. That was definitely stressful news to hear, but I know it was the right decision. By Thursday afternoon his oxygen levels were back to normal and they removed his little oxygen tubes (yay!). He continued to improve throughout Thursday, but Thursday night his oxygen levels went back down and they had to put him back on oxygen (boo). They said that's normal for evenings, though, and sure enough by Friday morning his numbers were back up and he got to take the oxygen back off (whew!).

Thursday morning nap

Smiles on Thursday :)

More headstands, haha

Friday morning, laying on top of my head... he did this himself and thought he was so funny

I think someone wants to go outside

"Mom, can we get out of this place already?"

Finally, on Friday morning, the doctor came back with test results and a diagnosis. It turns out Bradley has Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) along with Rhinovirus (aka a common cold). The double whammy is what hit him so hard and put him in the hospital. The best news of all, though? After one more chest x-ray and another dose of antibiotics, the doctor said we get to go home tonight (as long as everything continues the way it's going). So fingers crossed my Bradley continues to improve and we get to sleep in our own beds, with Ethan(!) tonight!

And speaking of Ethan, you're probably wondering where he's been during all this fun at the hospital? Well thanks to some really amazing people, Ethan has been well taken care of the whole time. I know I have said this before and I'm sure I will say it again, but it truly does take a village, or in my case, an amazing Air Force family. Not only have they been there to take care of Ethan, they have also been here at the hospital bringing me food and giving me breaks to go home and shower. I just feel so very blessed to have such an amazing squadron because I absolutely don't know what I would do without them.