So this is what happened. Yesterday we went to see her surgeon for our regular check up. Zoë was alert and being playful. She was talking to us and smiling. The Dr. even commented on how good she was doing. When we left, then it started. Her apnea monitored went off on the way home, we hadn't changed it so thought she moved them or they were dirty. Then it started to go off and throughout the day it was going off more often and for longer periods of time. She threw up once and was not her happy self. So Soilo went home early and off they went to the ER. Thanks to Tia Lissa who was able to notice that Zoë was not being herself and noticed something was wrong. As soon as they got to the ER, her temperature shot up. She was being very apnic and her heart rate even dropped. When I got to the ER I could tell that she was not the same baby that I saw that morning. She looked sick and that something was definitely wrong with her. We got her to the ER in time, since it could have been worse if we had waited any longer.
We were admitted last night to the PICU. We both stayed overnight with her since she was not doing so well. She kept going apnic and they were even talking about intubating her. This was the scary part. The intubation kit is here sitting on the cart in front of us, so they were ready to do it if needed. They did change her to a low flow oxygen cannula and this little help seemed to do the trick. Zoë fought her way through it and the apnea episodes decreased through the night. We even got about an 1 1/2 hour straight of sleep at one time. So right now it doesn't look like they are going to intubate her. The apnea monitor is really really loud that the entire PICU hears it. They think it is a fire alarm going off.
She looked sad and you could tell that she was not feeling very well. You know this feeling when you have the flu, you do not feel too hot and just want to sleep, but you are hungry. Everything hurts. She definitely has the flu, you can see it in her face and her other symptoms. She is coughing and sneezing, her nose is now runny. However it is a good sign because she is able to get all the gunk in her lungs out herself. She has been crying, which is not normal for her. With preemies this affects them even harder because their immune system is already immature. Zoë also already had lung problems, so this flu just escalated the issue. You have probably gone through this, you feel sick then it levels off and you get worse again before you get better. Right now is a waiting game, since we need to see if she has reached her peak of the illness or if she is past that stage and starting to get over it. Since the monitors went off half the night, we didn't get much sleep. So we both spent the entire day with her today. The apnic episodes have decreased and she is coming around to her old self, she even smiled a little this evening. She finally got to eat after 30 hours of having nothing to eat. Within 1 hour she took in 146 CC. We are hoping she has passed this peak.
She is way better tonight then she was yesterday. We estimate to be here a couple more days. They are trying to get her back to how she was before she got sick. She is in the PICU which is a different part of the hospital and different then the NICU. We have a window and a TV (which we really haven't watched). Today her respiratory therapist was Anne, Zoë had her when she was in the NICU. This was comforting. We also saw ran into another Anne, the resident who had Zoë in March at the Good Sam PCH campus. For sure we are here tomorrow, after that it is day by day. The apnea machine really did its job and let us know that something was really wrong with Zoë.
Some good news before she got sick was that she had become a lot more interactive then the week before. We talk to her and she talks back. She also found her thumb. Before she would just suck on her entire hand. Last week she just started to suck on her thumb like a pacifier. I tired to give her the chuppie and she spit it out (she got some distance on it), she only wanted her thumb. She looked so cute just sucking her thumb. She was also 9lb 7 ozs yesterday morning. We also still think she is teething because she sometimes just chews on her hand to sooth herself. She is growing so fast.
Since Zoë does have influenza Type A, they did send it to see if it was the H1N1 virus. We wont know the result until after we are home. But they do not think it is. Because of her pulmonary problems she was put on anti-viral mediation. They also gave her a higher does of anti-biotics because of the pneumonia and this also takes care of her bladder reflux that she already has. They are will also try to ween her down to the oxygen flow she was at before she was admitted, this will be the item that keeps us in the PICU longer. Tomorrow they will be taking another chest XRay to check the status of the pneumonia. She does seem more stable tonight, so if she keeps this up, we both may go to work tomorrow.
So if you are a nurse from the NICU and are at Thomas, maybe we will see you around here or come by and visit Zoê.
It is just surreal that we are back here. We almost made it to 2 months out of the NICU, May 2nd we were released from the NICU. This is just another stage of her life as a preemie.
Again, thanks for all those that have texted and Facebooked us. We really appreciate your support and prayers. We will keep everyone updated on her progress.
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