Worst 4 days of my life...

On Tuesday January 31st both of my kids woke up with low grade fevers. Nothing that unusual this time of year, just a cold or possibly teething for both of them. They both soon had runny noses and Titan (my 4 month old) was more irritable than normal. By Tuesday evening Titan had progressively gotten worse. He sounded congested and sounded like his throat was sore and swollen. All through the night I kept a close listen on him and he slept on me in the recliner for most of the night. We kept debating whether or not to go to the ER. By Wednesday morning his breathing was labored and he sounded horrible. We all loaded up and went to the Stafford ER at 8am. They gave him 2 bronchiodialators (albuterol) and a dose of steriods but he really wasn't improving. They decided to transfer us to Mary Washington Hospital around noon. Peter took Matias home to take a nap and I rode in the ambulance with Titan.

Ambulance ride. Please excuse the bad photography. Obviously I didn't have my camera so I was just using my phone.

When we arrived at Mary Washington the doctors seemed very concerned. More concerned than they were at the ER. Thus causing me to become more concerned. It was so hard to watch him breathe. His chest would retract so much just trying to take in air. At this point, I was starting to get very nervous and I was praying so hard! The thought of losing Titan entered my mind and I just could not handle it. But I knew I had to be strong and get my child the care he needed. They gave him an IV port just in case he needed it. Praise the Lord the nurse told them that he sucks his right thumb so they put the IV on his foot. I am so thankful that the nurse told them that! It was so comforting for him to suck his thumb. I can't imagine what it would have been like if he couldn't suck his thumb! They gave him another breathing treatment but this time it was a different kind, not albuterol. He responded well to the treatment but it wore off in less than 2 hours and they didn't want to give it to him but every 4 hours.

My poor sick boy!

They were worried he was going to get worse and they could not provide the care he needed so they transferred us again. This time to VCU in Richmond. They sent a respiratory nurse and doctor in an ambulance from VCU to come pick us up. The team that arrived to pick us up was amazing! They were so sweet to Titan and helped to calm my nerves. They knew what they were doing!

We arrived at VCU around 9 pm. The doctors and nurses were there waiting on us to arrive and had everything ready for us. They were very reassuring that they deal with this kind of thing all of the time and that Titan was going to be just fine. It was amazing how quickly they put me at ease just by telling me that! I knew that God had sent us to the right place and provided this amazing team of doctors and nurses! Throughout the night Titan had multiple breathing treatments and deep suctioning. The doctors said it was just a virus and we just had to let it run its course. All they could do was treat his symptoms and help him to breathe until his body fought this virus off. By Thursday afternoon he was working extremely hard to breathe. His chest would retract a lot when he took in air. He was doing a great job of keeping up his vitals (O2, heart rate, BP) but he was working his body too hard to achieve those levels. The doctors were afraid he was going to where himself out. By Thursday afternoon the breathing treatments would only help him for about 45 minutes before they would where off. The doctors recommended that we move him to the ICU. Praise the Lord that Peter was with me at this time! I needed him!

Comforted by his thumb!

The ICU docs came to look at him and thought that he was still doing good and just needed to relax. So they gave him a sedative to calm him. After this his symptoms began to change. It started sounding more like croup. They began giving him cold breathing treatments and we saw a huge turn around! He responded so well to the cold treatments it was a miracle! By Thursday night he no longer needed breathing treatments. He just needed cold air! It truly was a miracle!

Feeling much better! And taking a bottle! He has refused to take a bottle since we have been home!

That's my little man!

They even made a name tag for him!

Thursday afternoon we thought he was headed to the ICU and going to be intubated. By Thursday night he didn't need breathing treatments and they planned on moving us to the floor and out of the higher care unit he was in. God was answering prayers! On Friday night they got the results back from his culture and they said he had a bacterial infection. He started taking antibiotics, we moved to the "floor" Friday night and by Saturday afternoon we were home! The doctors told us that day 4 and 5 of this sickness would be his worst days. I'm thankful that they prepared me for that possibility. However, I had faith that God was going to heal Titan much faster than expected and God showed us His awesome power by healing Titan and allowing us to go home by day 4! Praise God for His faithfulness! Thank you to everyone who prayed so hard for our little fighter!