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So this week didn't go exactly as planned. I was awfully flip about Tessa's cold in my last entry, and I'm feeling fairly guilty about that now. It turns out it wasn't just a cold.

All weekend Miss Tess became increasingly listless, and by Sunday night she was refusing to eat. The few times we did coax her into drinking an ounce or two, she would wait a few minutes and then throw it all up again in spectacular fashion. Plus her cough was worsening, and her breathing was labored. So even though I'd taken her to the doctor on Friday, I hauled her back to the pediatrician's office Monday.

After watching her eat-then-throw-up routine happen twice in twenty minutes, the pediatrician sent us straight to the emergency room for some IV fluids. "They'll give her the fluid and she'll perk right up, you'll see. But be prepared to be there a few hours," she cautioned.

HAHAHAHA.

That was Monday afternoon, and we're still here. In the PICU, to be specific. Her cold is actually RSV with bronchiolitis, and part of her lung is collapsed.

Tessa is making slow but steady progress. The good news is she's eating really well on her own, so yesterday they took her off the IV fluids she'd been receiving since Monday afternoon. They have also changed her breathing treatments (which she gets every six hours) from albuterol to just saline solution. Now the big goal is to get her weaned off of her oxygen cannula so we can get her out of the ICU and into the regular pediatrics ward (and then home!). She's currently on 30% oxygen at 8 liters per hour.

This morning the doctors tried to turn down the oxygen to 21%, which is what we regularly breath at room air, but her blood oxygenation immediately dropped down into the low 90's (they like it to be 95-100%) so they had to bump her back up. I am hoping the doctors will try again tomorrow and it will go better.

ARGH.

As I was typing that last paragraph her oxygen levels dipped again and they had to increase her to 35%. This is clearly the wrong direction. I fear we will be here for many more days, and believe me it is neither restful nor calming for any of us.

They are going to increase her chest physical therapy (which she is getting every couple of hours) and hope that breaks up the mucus in her lungs a bit more. I will try to update tomorrow.