He's home!

Kyler came home from the hospital on Friday! He is still sick, and should be for at least another week to three weeks, but he is doing much better. I can't believe we were there for 10 days! We are so thankful for the many prayers on our behalf as we know this is what helped him heal. Returning home has been a little wild to say the least since Kyler seems to be a full-time, around-the-clock job at the moment, and I am pretty much behind on every aspect of my life (especially sleep!). But, we wanted to update all of you to thank you for your prayers, concern, and love.

Our RSV story began when Teyah was quite sick for a good solid week. Then Dave got it, then Aubrie. They weren't quite as sick, but then Kyler and I got it at the same time. His started with two days of a little congestion. Then, I noticed a fever. I called the doc and they said because he's so young, I should bring him in. At that time, they discovered an ear infection. I couldn't believe a 5-week-old could have an ear infection!

The next day, he started a cough and became so sleepy. It was the best he's slept at night, but with his cough I didn't sleep at all and pretty much stood over him the whole night (oh, and I was sick with a fever and cough this night as well. This was the sickest I have been in years). The next day, his color looked bad to me, and he stayed really sleepy. That night, his cry started to sound weird and Dave, and I decided we better take him back to the doctor.

I took him to the after hours clinic. When I got there and undressed him for his weight check (10 pounds, 4 ounces), I noticed he was breathing fast. The doctor came in and was quite alarmed with how fast he was breathing. She then took his oxygen saturation levels, which were in the low to mid 80's. She told me he had RSV and needed to be sent to Children's Hospital to be admitted. She said, "I don't mean to alarm you, but I need to call 911 and you need to go by ambulance." Apparently, one of the scary things about RSV and newborns is that they work so hard to breathe that sometimes they just get too tired and stop breathing.



So, before I knew it, seven EMT's were there, and I was on the ambulance holding an oxygen mask over Kyler. The ambulance ride was an experience I have never had before -- and he experienced at only 6 weeks! We made it to the ER, and they took a chest x-ray and nasal swab to confirm the RSV diagnosis. Apparently, RSV causes bronchiolitis, which is inflammation of the small airways of the lungs. This was actually the reason for his hospitalization. He was hooked up to oxygen which didn't control his levels, so they moved to a special machine they call "high flow." Basically, it forces the oxygen into the lungs and also adds a little humidity to help the secretions move around in the lungs and forces the airways to open up. He did well on this and stayed on it for eight days. All the while, they tried weaning him off of it.

Since birth, Kyler has suffered with some other issues that the doctor had decided to wait to run tests on, clinically diagnosing him with Acid Reflux Disease and Laryngomalacia. The malacia makes him a VERY squeaky breather. It turns heads everywhere we go, and has made it nearly impossible for him to sleep on his back (yes we have been exhausted). We think because he already had airway issues to start out with is the reason it took him so long to overcome his severe portion of the sickness.


All ready to return home from the hospital!

We had a scary time in the hospital where he turned blue for a couple minutes. We are not sure if this was the RSV, the malacia, the reflux, or all of the above because each of those things can cause episodes like this. Our last day in the hospital, they chose to run a few tests on him (an upper GI series, swallow study, and airway fluoro). In hindsight, I wish we would have held off on these because that too was a very traumatic experience, and we truly didn't gain any information from the tests other than his anatomy looks in tact.

Whenever I have had trials in my life, I also have had tiny miracles to help me get through them. One of these miracles was Dave's Aunt Debbie coming to take care of the girls. Her ticket had been purchased for her to stay eight days, and the timing was such that literally as I walked into the house with Kyler, we gave her a hug and then Dave took her to the airport for her to return home. It would have been so difficult to be in the hospital for that long without her help with the girls. I was able to not worry as much about them and focus my efforts on Kyler. Thanks Debbie and family! We sure love you guys! (:

We will follow up this week with Kyler's pediatrician and most likely do some more testing on the laryngomalacia. For now, we are giving him nebulizer treatments every 4-6 hours, and is taking Prevacid for his Reflux.


While we were in the hospital, Aubrie turned 7! This was stressful to me because I wanted Aubrie to feel loved and special yet didn't know how to get away from the hospital. Fortunately, two wonderful friends came and sat with him while I was able to get away twice during the day to celebrate with Aubrie. I was able to go to Mall of America with her and ride some of the rides. It was a special time together that I will never forget. It felt so good to just let loose and enjoy being with her. It did feel a little odd to be having fun as my baby was in the hospital, but I think it was just what Aubrie and I both needed. The girls missed their mama and their mama missed them.


We were there long enough that Kyler continued to meet his developmental milestones. It was so surprising to me that this would happen while he was so sick in the hospital. But, I was so grateful. He became quite the smiler during this time, and he also LOVED this mobile they put on his bed. He smiled and smiled at it and even began to "talk" to it. This mobile was definitely one of my happier moments through these difficult days.


The girls are happy to have their baby brother home with them! They were so worried and prayed each night on their own for him.