Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy New Year...

Well, shortly after the last post...I called Dr. Fields (he had asked me to call and update him on Wednesday to let him either know that Noelle was better, same or worse) to let him know that she was not better...and possibly worse. I told the nurse to let him know that she was hanging in there but was a little worse. Here I was thinking that he would tweak the steroids or some other meds but no. The nurse called me back and told me to take her to the ER. I basically told the nurse no and then Dr. Fields called me back. He said with her getting worse on lots of steroids and antibiotics...she needed to be seen again. He told me to pack a bag because he would probably admit her. He asked how how much oxygen she was on. My response was "uhhh...5...6...uhh....8 liters." Yeah...he didn't give me a choice. In the back of my mind, I knew that she should not be on that much a home and getting nebs every two hours...but I just really wanted to stay at home!!

We headed in on Wednesday night and as soon as the ER attending doc saw her, they were getting her bed ready upstairs. She didn't look so hot. She was breathing really hard and fast and working entirely too hard. Not to mention, after an hour long, huge neb treatment, she was still wheezing and working hard. After 4 nurses trying, she finally got an IV.

We finally got to her room on IMC (Intermediate Care-which is like the rooms in between PICU and the PEDS floor) meaning she was not critical but not ready to be on the regular floor. Needless to say....we are still here. Her respiratory status is amazing...she has recovered well!! Dr. Fields thinks that the ear infection was just more than she could handle and caused her respiratory issues (it doesn't take much with Noey). When we first got up here on Wednesday night, she was on 8.5 liters at about 80% oxygen. Today, she is pretty much back to her baseline and her o2 sats are just about perfect. YAY!! She received IV antibiotics and steroids until yesterday when her IV stopped working. Since she was already here, we are trying to tackle some of the GI issues that have been a big problem for Noelle the past few months. She had her Upper GI on Thursday afternoon. It showed that her nissen was still intact (YAY!) but that her gastric emptying was delayed. So, he switched some of her meds around and changed her formula to a formula that is already partially broken down. This makes it so her intestines don't have to work as hard to break it down...hopefully speeding up the process to empty in her stomach. The problem with this is that something has caused major diarrhea.

Noelle and I spent New Years Eve alseep in our room!! We missed the ball dropping entirely. We were both exhausted...it was a nice way to ring in the new year. Hopefully, projecting a quiet and restful new year!

Since her respiratory problems seem to be under control...they are now trying to fix the gut problems. She has now been taken off the motility meds (the ones that promote a speedy gastric emptying) and kept on the formula. It seems to be helping. Her diarrhea is better but still there. Dr. Fields doesn't want her to go home until we get this diarrhea issue under control. So, Hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday we'll be on the way home!! AND...we'll be taking home a Noelle that doesn't cough/choke/gag or retch!! She has been a totally different Noelle the past day or so...with the exception of the diarrhea! :)

Anyways, thats our story for now! The one great part about Noelle getting admitted is seeing old friends! Many of our NICU friends, Respiratory Therapists and OT/PT friends have come to say hello and marvel at how big Noey is getting! She has been entertaining them with her big waves, saying "uh oh" and growling! Not to mention, the great reception we had on IMC when we got here. We have had all of the same nurses and they are all so wonderful! There is a reason we always come here...because the people are amazing and so incredibly great at what they do!! We would much rather be at home...but I know that Noelle is well taken care of here and loved a lot!

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes! We'll be home soon....


xoxo,


Stacie :)

1 comment:

  1. So glad to hear that things are getting better and that you could "kill 2 birds with 1 stone" and get a hold on the GI issue!!!

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