Bronchiolitis

Our precious Luke has had a rough couple of weeks!  We noticed he was getting sick a couple of weeks ago, but we thought it was just a cold.  After a couple of days, we took him to the pediatrician because his breathing seemed fast and wheezy, and he hadn't been eating much or wetting many diapers.  The doctor confirmed he had bronchiolitis again (he had a mild case back in December).  She just prescribed the usual stuff - breathing treatments, humidifier, saline drops, and nose suctioning.  Well, by that evening he had gotten worse, and we were really worried about him.  We ended up taking him to Texas Children's Urgent Care, and from there we were sent to the ER, and then admitted to the hospital.  Luke wasn't getting enough oxygen, was dehydrated, and severely congested.  We spent two nights in the hospital.  Luke was on oxygen and IV fluids and was getting deep suctioned (basically torture) about every 3-4 hours.  He was  definitely improving.  He was eating well (which we realize now was because of the deep suctioning), wetting diapers, and breathing well off of the oxygen, so they sent us home. 

The day after coming home, he developed a really, really bad cough that kept him up all night long, and it didn't improve for a few days.  He also spiked a fever one night and was not eating well at all.  We decided to take him back to urgent care, fully expecting for them to do a deep suction and send us home.  While there, they were monitoring his oxygen levels.  He was not able to maintain an acceptable level of oxygen and was breathing fast, so they sent us to the ER.  While in the ER, they performed a chest x-ray that revealed pneumonia in a couple of areas of his lungs.  We were admitted to the hospital for the second time in a week.  They put Luke on oxygen and IV fluids again, and this time, he was getting antibiotics to treat the pneumonia.  They think he could have caught a second virus or bacterial infection from being in the hospital the first time (but it could just be a continuation of the first virus).  After less than 24 hours on the antibiotics, he was like a different baby!  His eating was improving, and he was thriving without oxygen or fluids.  His cough had improved as well, and he didn't need much suctioning.  So they sent us home again. 

Since we got home 5 nights ago, he has continued to improve each day!  His cough is almost completely gone, he is happy and active when he's awake, his congestion has improved, and his appetite improves each day (slowly but surely).  

Being in the hospital, seeing Luke hooked up to so many machines, was one of the most emotional experiences I've ever had.  We are so thankful for family who stepped up to help us in so many ways, mainly by dropping everything to be with Perry.  We are just SO incredibly thankful to God for healing our baby boy!!!  Now, if you need us, we aren't leaving our house until April. ;)