Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Daddy's Week Off And Other Things...


OK, so Scott was supposed to write all about his fabulous week at home with Sam and I. But as I am sure you all know there is never a dull moment here so he has not had a second to write. We had a really great week last week being all together. We brought Sam to the zoo and the aquarium, we had music therapy, played and had a lot of fun. It really was so nice having Scott home with us. I know how difficult it is for him to leave us every morning. Scott so badly wants to be a part of Sam's daily activities so it was nice for him to have the opportunity last week.

But now its this week and all hell broke loose. Just when you think you are in the clear and Sam is no longer in any danger of mega crisis you get slapped in the face hard with some very close calls. It all started Tuesday night at about 9:30pm. Sam was sleeping and literally woke up crying a cry I have never heard before. It was this awful raspy breathless cry that makes you want to gasp for air yourself. And his chest... His chest was totally convulsing. So we immediately gave him a double nebulizer treatment and he began breathing close to normal. But four hours later the same thing happened. Then the intervals between nebulizer treatments became smaller and smaller. We obviously took Sam straight to his pulmonologist the next morning. The doctor was on the fence about admitting us to the hospital but we decided to play the wait and see game with precautions of mega medication and breathing treatments. Well, pretty much as soon as we got home things started to spiral down hill fast. We thought that if we gave Sam a breathing treatment we would be able to take him to the ER ourselves. I contemplated calling 911 because if they saw Sam in enough distress they would have taken us to a really yucky hospital instead of the one his doctors are at. So after his breathing treatment he seemed OK enough to make it to our hospital. BIG, BIG, BIG MISTAKE!!! If you get anything out of this blog please get this. If your child is having some sort of respiratory distress call 911. DO NOT take your baby to the hospital yourself. It is just not safe. Once we got to the hospital Sam was in a really bad place. We pulled up in front of the ER I grabbed Sam and ran straight into the ER screaming my baby is in respiratory distress. I basically threw Sam at the attending and collapsed crying. This is the first time I really lost control. The ER staff worked so quickly and calmly Sam was fine within seconds. But we were not out of the woods. He continued to have these crazy distressing episodes for a few more hours. After his meds kicked in he started doing much better. We are home now but Sam is still pretty sick. Stable but sick and miserable. Scott and I basically have not slept since Tuesday night. Sam has some serious lung issues that need to be addressed within the next few weeks after his illness clears up. We will keep everyone posted when we know more. But for now if anyone comes to our home we need to be on super OCD mode about cleanliness and illness. So our rules are the following. Shoes off the second you come into my house, hands washed, if you even think you have a cold stay home, if you think you were near someone with a cold stay home. We do not want your germs here. All therapists leave your toys in the car. Only use our toys and books, gloves, equipment etc... Sam's lungs cannot handle any kind of irritation so no perfume either. We need to be as careful as possible. Thanks for all of your support.

10 comments:

Barbara said...

XOXOXOXOXOOOOOOOOOOO
(hugs and kisses)

I am so sorry to hear all this! What a hell of a week! I will be praying hard for a speedy recovery! You are doing an amazing job keeping things together. I know how hard this all is - keep the faith!

Blessings,
Barb, Kev and Johnny

Anonymous said...

Carrie-
You continue to amaze me with your strength. Sam is so lucky to have you and Scott as his parents. I follow your blog because though we have never met I feel like I know you through friends and family of yours that I do know. Hang in there....it's a tough road, but you are strong!

Anonymous said...

...It makes me feel like "leave everything and come to hug you guys & to send you to sleep". must keep on believing in hard work & gods help.
Love
Irit

Anonymous said...

My heart goes out to you all... I can not begin to fathom how terrifying this newest ordeal must have been. We are praying for a speedy recovery for Sam.

Anonymous said...

Our thoughts and prayers are with you....

Love,
Marsha, David & Michael

Anonymous said...

Oh Carrie that sucks. You've been thru worse and he will get better. And remember, his lun problems will get better and go away the better he starts to swallow!!
Vanessa

Anonymous said...

OMG_ Carrie I am sorry to hear of your past week ! Unfortunately I know 1st hand about the lung issues - and for the little man to be going through this it Breaks my heart for him !
I love you and will see you soon
AndiDOO

Unknown said...

Carrie,
I am so sorry to hear this story. It is absolutely terrifying. What amazes me is how you and Scott always seem to do the right thing for Sam. You are such great parents and make the best team together. We love you. Call us if you need anything. Also, please know that you can call Eric for pulmonary questions.
Love, Nicole S.

Anonymous said...

Dear Carrie & Scott,
None of us can understand what it's like to 'walk in your shoes'. We stand by, read, try to imagine what you're going through, cry or laugh (depending on the story) but we cannot know. We admire your dedication, we marvel at your capabilities, we pray for you but we cannot know. All we do know is that you are a very special couple and that Sam knew, somehow, which
family to join. He picked you because of your love and caring and because noone, anywhere, could possibly do for him what you do for him. May you find comfort and strength in the knowledge that you are the very best parents in the whole world and in the thought that all of us who read along (and don't always write), are praying for you and are loving you.
Love,
Isobel

Anonymous said...

Hi Carrie,

I can't believe the roller coaster you and your family are on. I see Sam's pictures and read your posts and Sam is progressing beautifully. You have such keen "mother instinct" and it shows that only you knew exactly where Sam needed to be. You and Scott are doing such an amazing job and just remember to always follow your heart and instincts with Sam because they are always right.

Alyssa