Back in the hospital :-(

Thursday night as he was sleeping I noticed Ian's oxygen sat dropping into the high 80's and low 90's. This concerned me so we made some calls and ended up pushing his oxygen level from .25 to .6. At first this seemed to help but as the night progressed, he started dropping again. By morning, we made a couple of more calls (to the NICU and Dr. Woo) and kept a good watch on him. By afternoon Mike had pushed his input to 1 liter, 4 times the amount he'd been on for a while. (Later afternoon we played on the floor on a play mat with toys. So much fun to see him hitting the toys and checking himself out in the mirror, such "normal" baby behaviour. After the play time, he nursed for over an hour, falling in and out of sleep but nursing the whole time. Again, very much something Lila would do at his age.)

Problem was that he was still satting low and it looked like he was having to work hard to breathe. We called again to the NICU and then to Dr. Woo and she told us to bring him to the ER.

We arrived around 8 pm. It was a very long night. Before he was admitted and brought up to a temp room in the Pediatric Ward @ 4 am, poor Ian was stuck with and IV and had a catheter draw of his urine. I thought it was difficult to see Lila get her vaccination shots, I didn't know difficult until seeing what this little guy has had to endure!

Ian and I got no sleep at all Friday night. Mike had headed home and there were people coming in and out all morning long. We were also in a procedure room because they didn't have a regular room available. No bathroom or window. I squished my recliner against the wall so I could be close to his crib and not be in the way of his monitors. Still, it was better than being home watching him and wondering all night. In general he was a pretty good sport about the whole thing. Only fussing when they were poking or proding him, which happened quite often especially in the ER (the teaching hospital aspect of UCLA drives me nuts!).

Sat morning Dr. Pornchi, his Pulmonologist, came by. His theory was he had fluid in his lungs from the damage that had been done from his sickness. If I understood it correctly, the walls of the lungs weren't able to hold thier fluid and were draining into themselves. He upped his Lasix (a diuretic) dose and had them give him a bolus of it via the IV. By late afternoon when we were transferred into a regular room, his breathing seemed less labored which was good. Dr. P said he'd like to watch him for a few days to make sure all was ok.

At first we were bummed he wouldn't go back to the NICU where everyone knew him and would know what his "normal" was but it ended up so much better for us. His regular doctors were still seeing him, Dr. Satou for his heart and Dr. Pornchi for his lungs, but we are in a "normal" room that was private and I'm able to stay with him (there's no way I'd leave him in a private room like this). This is so much better for Ian! We're able to keep somewhat of a regular schedule of nursing, reading, singing, etc. I've got kids music playing from a TV speaker on his bed. Mike brought the play mat we just were handed down from a friend and I'm able to put it on the couch for him to lay on. Although we can hear a bit of activity in the hallway, we have only our beeps going and, in general, it's quiet. So much nicer and a way better enviroment to heal. I've become so much more in tune to him that between me and the wonderful nurses here, we're able to keep a good eye on his progress.

He was getting better but has taken a step back as well, which Dr. P said is typical for a boy with his history. He switched the Lasix to the IV to see if that would help clear out his lungs. As I'm writing, he's laying on the boppy in his big crib with his Giraffe pacifier in his mouth looking absolutely beautiful and peaceful. So nice to see :-)

So we will wait and watch him. Although I'm not happy being back, it could be so much worse and I'm thankful that, at least for now, it's not. I'll update as we continue on this rollercoaster that is now our life.

A side note---
The post I began Thursday night was titled: A few firsts: dr visit, shot, walk with the dog & bath at home.
Today was one of firsts for us. We had our first doctor visit with Dr. Heide Woo, who was wonderful! Ian received his first immunization shot and he did pretty well. She agreed to space them out so he'll get his next one at our appointment next week. We walked Bella together. He was in his car seat attached to the stroller. And to finish off the day, he took his first bath at home!