RSV? Yes, Three Please!

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) struck our house in early February.  For those of you who have children who have had it... I'm sorry.  For those of you who have never heard of it... it's hell!  This is the short version of our week with RSV.

On Thursday, February 2nd, I took Noah to the park.  I noticed he had a runny nose, but it was a nice day so I let him play.  By Friday evening when I came home from work he had a fever and wouldn't move from the couch.  We gave him some Tylenol and he seemed to get some relief... until around 9pm when his fever reached over 102.  Daddy took him to the emergency room and we discovered Noah had RSV.  Nana (my mom) came over and watched after the twins so that I could go and be with them at the hospital.  I packed up Brobie (yo gabba gabba) and raced to be with him.  After torturing him with a bunch of tests, they gave him a breathing treatment and sent him home.

We got little sleep that night because the babies were cranky.  Saturday went well, we gave Noah Tylenol throughout the day. 

Saturday night we once again didn't sleep because the babies were cranky.  By Sunday afternoon Daddy took Paige to the ER.  Her breathing was very labored... after torturing her with x-rays, blood tests and breathing treatments they decided she had congestion and sent her home.  By Sunday evening she was gasping for air.  Daddy took her back to the ER around 3am.  Turns out she did have RSV. 

They admitted her, gave her oxygen and once again Nana came to be with the kids so that I could go be with Paige at the hospital.  Shortly after I arrived at the ER they transferred us to a children's hospital thirty miles away.  I rode in the ambulance (mobile intensive care unit... it was even better than an ambulance) with Paige.  It was both of our first ride in an ambulance so we were pretty stoked!  When we reached the children's hospital at 8am on Monday they hooked her up to an oxygen monitor and told me to settle in. 

Daddy came right away and stayed most of Monday with Paige and I.  The boys were with Miss Dana (their Nanny).  It was decided that I would be staying at the hospital overnight with Paige so Daddy went home to get us some supplies.  Paige's oxygen levels were very low, but they never gave her any more oxygen or breathing treatments. 

We brought Carter out to the ER at the children's hospital and had him tested for RSV as well.  He had it, but not bad enough to be admitted and he was sent home with Daddy.  By Tuesday afternoon they released Paige and we brought her home.  Tuesday night, I was rushing Paige back to the ER because she wasn't breathing.  After running through all the same tests, they sent us home with steroids and liquid albuterol. 

We finally saw the kids pediatrician on Wednesday.  She was shocked that the children's hospital had released Paige.  She thinks Paige should have been in there for several days because she is so little and so very sick.  She set us up with two nebulizers and told us to administer breathing treatments to all three kids every four hours and to come back in two days. 

On Friday, the kids were not getting better so the treatment were upped to every three hours! 

This made for a VERY long weekend... but it paid off! 

Today, our pediatrician gave us good news!  Noah and Carter are doing much better and their breathing treatments are being moved to every six hours for a few days, followed by every eight hours for a few days and then off them completely.  Paige, on the other hand... our little attention hog... still has to have treatments every four hours for a few days, then down to six for a few and finally to eight and then off.

Jay and I thought dealing with the twins and Noah was tiresome enough, but to add a sickness into the mix... well, I'll just say we haven't slept since February 2nd when all of this started!  We are dragging, but we are so delighted to see that our babies are on their way to a full recovery! 

The entire experience was draining and I don't want to even think about the bills that are on their way to our house from this.  I can't count the number of times I broke down and cried this week. There is nothing like seeing your three month old baby girl strapped to a stretcher and wheeled into the back of an ambulance.  There is nothing like seeing her wheeled around the corridors of the hospital and you not being able to touch her.  There is nothing like seeing her in a sterile crib with sides that raise six feet in the air just in case she has to be tented.  There is nothing like seeing her struggle for air and knowing exactly how that feels.  There is nothing like being watched and talked down to because your baby girl is so sick.  There is nothing like seeing your kids not eat for almost a week and to hear them cough violently all hours of the day...

There is nothing like having your pediatrician commend you for all you've been through, for a sleepless week and a half, and for getting your kids on a path to recovery in such a short period of time from an illness that normally lasts weeks!  Thank you doctor O!!!!  And thank you to all of you who prayed for our family!  God was beside us the entire time... and we plan to see him this weekend when we go back to church after a very long absence!  I am excited to return to work tomorrow after being out for over a week and we are extremely greatful that we had Nana and Miss Dana to help us through all of this!  Now I'm going to go and give my three beatiful babies hugs and kisses and get their Valentine's Day gift ready for tomorrow!