She was really fussy and grouchy so we could not wait to get her home to bed. When she finally got up from her nap around 4:30 she was a basket case. Her ANC on the previous Thursday had only been 400 and she had a cold so I was concerned. I know the drill, so I packed a small suitcase and took her to the ER at the childrens hospital. She didn't have a fever when we left, but it was 101.4 when we arrived. One positive thing about cancer is that they don't make you wait long in the ER. She was evaluated almost immediately and what they found was shocking--she couldn't breathe. Her oxygen saturation was in the low 80's. The scary part was that they were having a hard time bringing her oxygen up. She ended up on "forced oxygen" which forces the air into your lungs to open them. As a result she ended up being admitted to the PICU--pediatric intensive care unit. 
The PICU scared me for a lot of reasons. The biggest one is that cancer patients usually go there to die. I was begging the whole time to get out and up to the cancer unit. It took a full 24 hours but she was finally weaned onto a low enough dose of forced oxygen that we could go there. We almost had to return to PICU but we prayed really hard and got to stay. One of her brothers and her older sister got to visit her there.
She was in the hospital for almost a week which meant that she was there for Halloween. We brought up her costume and she wore it all day while the staff did "reverse trick or treating" to her. Here she is picutred with our favorite "super nurse". She came home on oxygen and had to stay on it for a whole week. Luckily the oxygen company gave us a 25 foot cord so she could run around and play. We are happy that she is home again.
The PICU scared me for a lot of reasons. The biggest one is that cancer patients usually go there to die. I was begging the whole time to get out and up to the cancer unit. It took a full 24 hours but she was finally weaned onto a low enough dose of forced oxygen that we could go there. We almost had to return to PICU but we prayed really hard and got to stay. One of her brothers and her older sister got to visit her there.
She was in the hospital for almost a week which meant that she was there for Halloween. We brought up her costume and she wore it all day while the staff did "reverse trick or treating" to her. Here she is picutred with our favorite "super nurse". She came home on oxygen and had to stay on it for a whole week. Luckily the oxygen company gave us a 25 foot cord so she could run around and play. We are happy that she is home again.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire amazing family. By the way - I have Nate's scriptures. They found them at the school. Where can I mail them? You can email me the address: floridasmiths@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI am so glad she is home!
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