An ER Visit, A Hospital Admission, and a Miraculous Turn of Luck

Jax and I spent the evening in the Emergency Room last night.

Even though Jax is so much bigger and stronger now, respiratory illness is his kryptonite. What would be a simple cold for other kids immediately moves to Jax’s lungs and he simply cannot breathe. This is why we are still so cautious of germs and illness.

Jax woke up in the middle of the night on Wednesday with a bad cough and a stuffy nose. The sickness moved quickly. By 2:00 Thursday afternoon, I had already used up all of the medication prescribed in the “Red Zone” of Jax’s Respiratory Action Plan. And he wasn’t getting any better.

He could not walk for more than a few steps without having to stop and catch his breath. He had to stop mid-sentence because he didn’t have enough air to continue talking. He laid on the couch, but couldn’t lay down all the way because he couldn’t catch his breath if he was laying flat.

This was a bad one.

After talking with his pediatrician, we decided that a trip to Children’s was a good idea.

I’m glad I followed my gut.

After another high dose of steroids and three duo-nebs with oxygen in the ER, Jax still wasn’t moving air like he should have been.

He was admitted to the hospital.

We made it two-and-a-half years without a hospital admission because of lung problems. It is exceptionally scary for me because it means that Jax still hasn’t outgrown his mircopreemie lungs.

But, we were really lucky last night! As we were about to transfer up to his room, Jax all of a sudden turned a corner! He started talking and playing and was breathing much better. He said “Goodbye. See ya.” to the doctor and tried climbing out of the bed. He was ready to go home! All of the medicine must have finally caught up to him. After another two hours of observation, the doctor and I agreed that Jax was in a safe enough place for me to be able to care for him at home.

While that might sound scary to you, home is absolutely where we needed to be. I have all of the necessary medications and machines needed to give Jax the treatment he needs. And this isn’t our first rodeo, unfortunately. I know when Jax is in trouble. Plus, Jax does not rest while he is in the hospital and that does not help him heal.

So, I got to tuck my little buddy into his crib last night around midnight. He was so amped up on the steroids that he did not sleep much. But at least he was “comfy with friends (his stuffed animals)” – his words! ❤

We spent two hours at the pediatrician this morning for a re-check. Doc cautioned that he might get worse before he gets better. She mentioned that because Jax recently had Influenza A, that his symptoms for this illness might be worse than usual. We are still on high alert and giving nebs every four hours, even at night.

All because of a stupid little cold. A sickness most people don’t even bat an eyelash over. Gheesh. 

This kid, man. He’s so brave and so strong. I wish his lungs would step up their game so he can get on with his singing and laughing and playing.