Dreary Weekend

Well, not only was the weather crummy this past weekend, but so were the events of our weekend. Everything was perfectly normal on Friday. Friday night we went to Calvin's football game. When we woke up Saturday morning Ava had a runny nose. We thought "Uh Oh. An ear infection again." I went to ACS garage sale while Paul took care of her. By 10:00 a.m. things went downhill fast. She was laying on the floor moaning, breathing rapidly, and inactive. We thought for sure it was an ear infection (same symptoms). Well, Paul checked her Oxygen level because last time when we went to the GRAPES clinic it was down. Sure enough it was at 87 (they want it to be at least 92). We proceeded to call the nurse. When Paul told her Ava's oxygen level, she said you need to call 911 and if the EMTs say she is stable enough, then you can wait until GRAPES opens. After the EMT arrived and checked her rapid breathing, they suggested taking her into the hospital by ambulance. This way they could provide oxygen along the way because her little lungs were working so hard. Also, they could get her in the E.R. right away, so we wouldn't have to go through triage. Looking back, this was a smart move because at one point during the ride, her level dropped in the 70s.

In the E.R. room, the doctor took x-rays and eliminated pneumonia, but said it was a virus. They started an IV, pumped her with a steroid, and immediately strapped oxygen on her. Every so often the Respitory Therapist would come in and give her a breathing treatment. After several hours in the E.R., the Respitory Therapist took the oxygen off to see if Ava could hold her own. It was unsuccessful, so she had to be admitted. It took two nights in the hospital to get her oxygen level back up to where she could maintain it on her own through the night. It was miserable for mom and dad because she had to be hooked up to so many wires making it hard to hold or transport her anywhere! Also, she had to wear a restraint on one arm to prevent her from taking off the oxygen tube and pulling off wires. When her pediatrician came, he acted as though he had seen this millions of times. He told us it was asthma which stems from allergies in the family. My brother used to have allergies and Paul has allergies as well as eczema. All of which are related to asthma. The chronic ear infections she had this past summer were also symptoms of children with asthma. So, now we have to give Ava one breathing treatment a day and a possible second as needed through the cold season to prevent her from getting a cold. Sounds easy, right? At this point, I just want to put her in a bubble and not let her out until she's in grade school! This poor girl has been through so much and yet she remains such a happy camper. She doesn't like the treatments, but hopefully that will change once she gets used to them. Anyway, we are home and doing well. Tomorrow she has a follow-up appointment with her pediatrician. Hopefully the problems are all taken care of and we can prevent this from happending again. This weekend we are looking forward to some rest, relaxation, and normalcy.