We have had a very long, tiring, and scary week. It all started with Brody getting sick with a bad cold that developed into an ear infection. He had never had a cold this bad. So, after 5 days of having a fever, I took him in to the doctor last Tuesday. I had debated on making an appointment for Piper at the same time because she had just started to become congested with a bad cough, but I decided she wasn't doing bad enough to warrant another appointment. Brody's doctor was nice enough to check Piper while we were there, so I didn't have to pay the extra copay. Her lungs were clear at the time and no sign of fever.
As the week went on, Brody was getting his energy back and feeling great, while Piper was getting worse. It wasn't until late Friday night into Saturday that things were really bad for her. She was having a very difficult time breathing, lots of visible congestion that she at times would choke on and eating very little. After lots of suctioning and sitting in the hot and steamy bathroom forever, I called the advice nurse. I was not very surprised when she instructed me to take her to the ER.
So early Saturday morning we were off to the Kaiser ER in Irvine. She was put on oxygen, given a breathing treatment and a chest Xray was done. The doctor diagnosed her with Bronchiolitis, which is an illness caused by an infection that causes the airways to swell and fill with mucous. Since the hospital we were at didn't have a Peds unit (which I had no idea until now) we were transported by ambulance (without sirens, thank goodness) to the Kaiser hospital in Anaheim. It was my first trip in the back of an ambulance and it wasn't all that bad, although I don't really care to ride in one again.
Once we got to the ER in Anahiem, the doctor looked her over and then gave her another breathing treatment. It seemed to help and, with the oxygen on her too, she was finally able to eat well. I felt so bad for her though; you could just tell she was so sick because she did nothing but cry (she barley ever cries). Her little eyes were all red and she could barely keep them open, probably from being so tired.
We were then taken upstairs to the Peds floor to be admitted. Soon after, John got there after dropping Brody off at my friend Lisa's house and picking up my car from the other hospital (Thank you so much David and Lisa!). Piper hated the wires. She had to have oxygen tubing in her nose, an IV and splint on her hand, and many other things attached to her feet.
Once Sunday hit, I could see she was doing so much better. In order for us to go home, she had to be weened off oxygen and eating well. So, on Sunday night, they started to ween her off, and by Monday morning she was off it completely. They took her off of all the IV fluids that same time so she could start eating better. Here is a picture of her lying in bed once the oxygen was off.
They had to monitor her all day to see if she was really doing well before they would let us go home. Up till this point, she still had problems with her oxygen saturation levels while she was sleeping. They kept dipping down into the 80's instead of staying in the 90's. She stayed great though throughout the day and they discharged us at 6 o'clock that night. I was so ready to leave! We then headed up to John's parents house to pick up Brody. He stayed with them from Sunday to Monday. He did great there and lots of fun with his grandparents and cousins. It was nice for John and I to not have to worry about him while we were worrying about Piper. Thank you so much Aneta and Lee!
It was very nice to be home and have all of our family back together. I had really missed that. This a picture of Brody and Piper yesterday, the first day we were back home. I think Brody really missed her too. While he was at John's parents house, he was asking where Piper was, and when John told him that Piper was at the doctor, he said "Piper has Owies". Oh so cute :) He insisted on holding her and having me take a picture.
We had our follow-up appointment today and it looks like she is doing much better. She still has that pesty cough and some congestion in her lungs and throat, but not so bad that she can't breath easily. She is back to her content and happy self with lots of smiles for her Momma.
We have been so blessed though this hard time with great family and friends. Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, helping with Brody, calls of concern, and visits. We feel very lucky.
Brody looking cute with chocolate everywhere.
Valentine's Day was a great day too. John and I actually planned on celebrating both my B-day and V-day on Saturday during the day to avoid the crowds. We took Piper with us, left Brody with our babysitter, and went to lunch/dinner at the Clubhouse by South Coast Plaza. The food was delicious and Piper slept the whole time. It was so perfect and we both really needed an uninterrupted conversation together. After dinner, instead of going to a movie and having Piper be in close quarters with tons of people, we decided to just walk around the mall. We both couldn't believe it, but the mall was so crowded. You would have never known that there was such a bad economic crisis by the look of things. We took one loop around, went in a few stores, and then went home. All the while Piper, continued to sleep. After going home, we just hung out with the kids. 
Piper was all smiles and was laughing like crazy with John. She loves John and lights up anytime he is in the room or comes home from work. 
