Elizabeth started with a nasty cough and fever on the plane on the way home on Saturday night. I took her to the doctor on Monday and we started nebulizer treatments with Xopenex. She was acting lethargic and generally looked ill all week and we had to hold her constantly to keep her happy. I went for the follow-up on Thursday at the doctor and Elizabeth's blood oxygen was in the 80's. And her ears were red. So they told me we had to go to the hospital. They put her on oxygen in the office and gave her a breathing treatment while we waited for the ambulance. We headed to Community North (no sirens on) and Daddy took and ride home in a taxi because he had carpooled.
When we got to the hospital, Elizabeth was kept on oxygen and admitted to the Pediatric Unit. They started her on azithromycin for double ear infections, continued the breathing treatments every 4 hours and did a nasal swap for viruses. She was negative for RSV at the office that morning. They also did a chest x-ray, which later came back negative for pneumonia. So it was generally determined that she had a virus and brochiolitis that was causing her difficulty breathing.
Mommy stayed at the hospital on Thursday night and Elizabeth actually slept quite a bit, considering nurses and RT came in every 2-3 hours. On Friday morning, the doctor told us she wasn't doing much better considering the oxygen and breathing treatments. So he suggested a steroid. We started that morning. Apparently, it tastes horrible because it took a long time to get in 6 ml and then Elizabeth threw it all up, including her milk and lots of slime. And suddenly, her lungs were much better!!
We had to stay another night in the hospital because she couldn't stay above 90% without the oxygen. I watched a lot of movies and was allowed to order trays because I was feeding Elizabeth.
Saturday was Daddy's 30th Birthday! Daddy came early to the hospital and we opened presents and had breakfast. Elizabeth seemed much better and she was off the oxygen from 6 am. Dr. Moore said if she could stay off the oxygen during her morning nap, then we could go home! She also said Elizabeth had Metapneumo virus, which is like RSV, but not as common. She was exposed to a lot of winter illness on our travels, and I guess her little body just couldn't take it. She went below 90% a few times during her morning nap, but was able to come up on her own. So we were discharged around 2:30 pm.
We had dinner for Daddy's birthday, but then I passed out at about 9pm so the party ended early. We are so
Elizabeth is so much better today. I have photos to post, but cannot get them loaded. We will continue the breathing treatments every four hours, the antibiotic for one more day and the steroid for 3 more days. Follow-up on Monday or Tuesday. But our baby is much better. Thank you to everyone for the concerned phone calls and offers of help. We are looking forward to a happy baby again and getting unpacked from the England trip and basically back to norm.
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