So it turns out that our sweet little Zoey has asthma. We kind of knew that she was going to develop asthma because she has already had developed early signs and Ian had asthma as a kid. It seems that the second Zoey is around another kid that is sick, she ends up getting sick within a day and then having "respiratory distress." We took her to the emergency room in January and went home with a nebulizer (breathing treatment machine) so that we could give her treatments at home to help her wheezing go away. Well, about 3 weeks later, she was again exposed to another virus and her little body just hadn't ever really completely healed from her first episode so she ended up not really responding to the albuterol medicine so we had to take her in again. I was really stressed and trying to hold in my emotions as we were in the ER for the 2nd time now. The doctors and nurses continued to give her stronger medications including steroids and more breathing treatments. They seemed to work for a few minutes and then she would start wheezing again... After 3-4 hours of this, the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to the hospital. So... the highlight of this scary night for me was we got to ride in an ambulance! After even more waiting, (and it's almost 1am by now) we finally got picked up from the Los Alamitos hospital by the transportation service for CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) and Zoey got to ride in a carseat they had strapped on to a stretcher! It was seriously the cutest stretcher you've ever seen. Poor little Zoey just looked so small. At this point in the evening though, she had already gotten a power nap so she was pretty happy and I couldn't help but smile and laugh at how cute she was acting! She was even smiling so I could snap a picture of her with my phone on the stretcher.
She makes being sick look fun. I had to sit up front so she couldn't see me. She would say, "I want mommy" every few minutes, so I'd have to talk so she could always hear my voice and know I was close by. The guys in the ambulance gave her this cute little teddy bear named Choco bear. He has a broken arm because he fell out of a tree. Zoey really took to this little teddy bear and found comfort in him at the hospital. It's amazing and so precious how kids can find comfort in cute little stuffed animals. I had Ian bring a couple of her favorite dolls the next morning, but still she just wanted her Choco bear. When we got to CHOC they had us go into an exam room that had a nice white metal crib (which I loved because we have a white wooden crib at home) so I thought it wouldn't be too hard for her to fall asleep in it. She's never slept away from home before so I was really nervous about how this night was going to be... In that room we had to wait forever to go through a lot of the same stuff we had already done in the ER and sleep was really started to sound good to me at this point. Zoey was absolutely hilarious during this length of time however because she was totally hyped up on the albuterol. She kept me happy and entertained. She was playing hide and seek with me for awhile and jumping an entire 2 inches or so off of the weighing scale platform over and over and laughing at herself. At one point she actually fell backwards and I thought she was going to cry, but instead started laughing hysterically. She was being absolutely hilarious. She was laughing at herself so hard, they came in and closed the door on us because they didn't want her to disturb any sleeping patients. The nurse reminded me that being in the hospital is often a lot harder on the parents than it is on the kids. So after a very long and entertaining show by Zoey, we were finally able to go into our actual room. They wheeled her crib in and I got to sleep in a comfortable (yeah, right) hospital chair. I sort of forgot to realize that we were going to be sharing a room with other patients. When Kira and Zoey were born at St. Mary's hospital we got to have private rooms, so I have never had to share a room before overnight with anyone. So I was kind of bummed we had to try really hard to keep quiet and I hoped we didn't wake up their 2 year old for the sake of him keeping us up later too. Trying to keep Zoey quiet at this point was almost impossible though. Finally after a few more checkups with doctors and nurses, I was able to get Zoey calm enough that she laid down in her crib with her blankie and her Choco bear and I said goodnight and tried to get some sleep. But what was I thinking? Zoey was still wired!!! So, after about an HOUR of her BOUNCING in her crib, me turning my back to her, her singing "happy birthday!" and waving and saying, "HI MOMMY!!!" The nurses finally came in to give her an oral steroid which really made her mad so she screamed and fought them... and I'm so thankful that she did because that wore her out enough that after it was over, she was calm and finally gave in to sleep... We got about 2-3 hours of sleep that night and then were woken up for more breathing treatments and meds. Of course there was no way she was going back to sleep after she got woken up. So I just had to hang out with her, eat breakfast, read, play and wait for Daddy and Papa to come visit. Daddy came over to relieve me so I could go home and shower and sleep. I was so tired my eyes were just burning. Papa gave Zoey a beautiful blessing which talked about what a beautiful and happy life Zoey has ahead of her. I found so much comfort hearing him say those words. I feel now that everything is going to be okay and even though this is a hard thing for all of us, Zoey will pull through this illness and I can feel confident that nothing horrible is going to happen to her because of this. Jared and Noelle were kind enough to watch Kira at our house while Ian relieved me, then they took her to run some errands and hang out at their house so I could sleep. Then me and Kira headed back to the hospital to find out that I was actually going to have to stay another night there. I was so thankful for Rachel for bringing me my pillows from home and some snacks so I didn't have to buy myself any more food. I requested a roll away bed and that got delivered to me so me and Zoey got to cuddle that 2nd night. She fell asleep so quickly in my arms after a long, exhausting day. It was such a sweet moment laying with her in my arms I never wanted it to end. It is so rare she falls asleep on me. I just kept staring at her and adoring her little face. The next morning came around and first thing they told us was that Zoey had an amazing night and that we could get discharged as soon as they finished the paperwork. They tried really hard to get us out of there as early as they could! So we got to leave probably by 10 or 11 I think. Papa watched Kira that morning and Rachel took her to Disneyland that afternoon with Amber and Aubrey so she could do something fun while the rest of us were still tired. Zoey, mommy and daddy took a super long nap that day! Our house was silent all afternoon! By now we felt so much better and were so happy to be home again! We are just so thankful for the medicine, doctors, hospitals and insurance that we are so blessed to have. I just can't imagine what people had to endure before medicine was available to them. I can't imagine the pain and suffering that people had to go through as they lost children and loved ones because of illness. I feel so grateful to be here on earth in this time of so many blessings of technology. I feel so thankful to my Heavenly Father for taking care of me and my family. I always know he is so close to us and knows our stress, pain and sorrow. He is always just a prayer away. I never felt lonely in the hospital either because I always had my Heavenly Father to pray to. I knew Ian couldn't be with me and Zoey because of work and Kira, so I was thankful to have Heavenly Father's love and comfort with me the entire time. This whole thing was a new and scary experience for us. I'm glad it's over and I just hope we can avoid going back for a long time. Right now Zoey is on pulmicort which is a medication that we are giving her twice a day on her breathing machine which keeps her lungs and airways open so she can be strong if something comes her way. It is just giving her body a head start in case she comes in contact with any germs or anything that could set her asthma off. She also takes albuterol when needed to help with any wheezing or problem that might arise to keep it under control and not let it get worse. Thank you to everyone who kept us in their prayers while we were in the hospital. They were answered. =)
She makes being sick look fun. I had to sit up front so she couldn't see me. She would say, "I want mommy" every few minutes, so I'd have to talk so she could always hear my voice and know I was close by. The guys in the ambulance gave her this cute little teddy bear named Choco bear. He has a broken arm because he fell out of a tree. Zoey really took to this little teddy bear and found comfort in him at the hospital. It's amazing and so precious how kids can find comfort in cute little stuffed animals. I had Ian bring a couple of her favorite dolls the next morning, but still she just wanted her Choco bear. When we got to CHOC they had us go into an exam room that had a nice white metal crib (which I loved because we have a white wooden crib at home) so I thought it wouldn't be too hard for her to fall asleep in it. She's never slept away from home before so I was really nervous about how this night was going to be... In that room we had to wait forever to go through a lot of the same stuff we had already done in the ER and sleep was really started to sound good to me at this point. Zoey was absolutely hilarious during this length of time however because she was totally hyped up on the albuterol. She kept me happy and entertained. She was playing hide and seek with me for awhile and jumping an entire 2 inches or so off of the weighing scale platform over and over and laughing at herself. At one point she actually fell backwards and I thought she was going to cry, but instead started laughing hysterically. She was being absolutely hilarious. She was laughing at herself so hard, they came in and closed the door on us because they didn't want her to disturb any sleeping patients. The nurse reminded me that being in the hospital is often a lot harder on the parents than it is on the kids. So after a very long and entertaining show by Zoey, we were finally able to go into our actual room. They wheeled her crib in and I got to sleep in a comfortable (yeah, right) hospital chair. I sort of forgot to realize that we were going to be sharing a room with other patients. When Kira and Zoey were born at St. Mary's hospital we got to have private rooms, so I have never had to share a room before overnight with anyone. So I was kind of bummed we had to try really hard to keep quiet and I hoped we didn't wake up their 2 year old for the sake of him keeping us up later too. Trying to keep Zoey quiet at this point was almost impossible though. Finally after a few more checkups with doctors and nurses, I was able to get Zoey calm enough that she laid down in her crib with her blankie and her Choco bear and I said goodnight and tried to get some sleep. But what was I thinking? Zoey was still wired!!! So, after about an HOUR of her BOUNCING in her crib, me turning my back to her, her singing "happy birthday!" and waving and saying, "HI MOMMY!!!" The nurses finally came in to give her an oral steroid which really made her mad so she screamed and fought them... and I'm so thankful that she did because that wore her out enough that after it was over, she was calm and finally gave in to sleep... We got about 2-3 hours of sleep that night and then were woken up for more breathing treatments and meds. Of course there was no way she was going back to sleep after she got woken up. So I just had to hang out with her, eat breakfast, read, play and wait for Daddy and Papa to come visit. Daddy came over to relieve me so I could go home and shower and sleep. I was so tired my eyes were just burning. Papa gave Zoey a beautiful blessing which talked about what a beautiful and happy life Zoey has ahead of her. I found so much comfort hearing him say those words. I feel now that everything is going to be okay and even though this is a hard thing for all of us, Zoey will pull through this illness and I can feel confident that nothing horrible is going to happen to her because of this. Jared and Noelle were kind enough to watch Kira at our house while Ian relieved me, then they took her to run some errands and hang out at their house so I could sleep. Then me and Kira headed back to the hospital to find out that I was actually going to have to stay another night there. I was so thankful for Rachel for bringing me my pillows from home and some snacks so I didn't have to buy myself any more food. I requested a roll away bed and that got delivered to me so me and Zoey got to cuddle that 2nd night. She fell asleep so quickly in my arms after a long, exhausting day. It was such a sweet moment laying with her in my arms I never wanted it to end. It is so rare she falls asleep on me. I just kept staring at her and adoring her little face. The next morning came around and first thing they told us was that Zoey had an amazing night and that we could get discharged as soon as they finished the paperwork. They tried really hard to get us out of there as early as they could! So we got to leave probably by 10 or 11 I think. Papa watched Kira that morning and Rachel took her to Disneyland that afternoon with Amber and Aubrey so she could do something fun while the rest of us were still tired. Zoey, mommy and daddy took a super long nap that day! Our house was silent all afternoon! By now we felt so much better and were so happy to be home again! We are just so thankful for the medicine, doctors, hospitals and insurance that we are so blessed to have. I just can't imagine what people had to endure before medicine was available to them. I can't imagine the pain and suffering that people had to go through as they lost children and loved ones because of illness. I feel so grateful to be here on earth in this time of so many blessings of technology. I feel so thankful to my Heavenly Father for taking care of me and my family. I always know he is so close to us and knows our stress, pain and sorrow. He is always just a prayer away. I never felt lonely in the hospital either because I always had my Heavenly Father to pray to. I knew Ian couldn't be with me and Zoey because of work and Kira, so I was thankful to have Heavenly Father's love and comfort with me the entire time. This whole thing was a new and scary experience for us. I'm glad it's over and I just hope we can avoid going back for a long time. Right now Zoey is on pulmicort which is a medication that we are giving her twice a day on her breathing machine which keeps her lungs and airways open so she can be strong if something comes her way. It is just giving her body a head start in case she comes in contact with any germs or anything that could set her asthma off. She also takes albuterol when needed to help with any wheezing or problem that might arise to keep it under control and not let it get worse. Thank you to everyone who kept us in their prayers while we were in the hospital. They were answered. =)
2 comments:
Poor zoey... what a scary thing to go through, I'm glad she is doing better!
Oh, this post TOTALLY had me crying! i was thinking about what a sweet experience came out of this completely TERRIFYING situation. You got to meet a Choco bear, laugh and see Zoey bouncing around completely hyper..a sweet and comforting blessing, and hold and cuddle your sleeping baby!
You describing the situation just reminds me of how exhausting it is to have a newborn. Hosptial, being woken up every few hours.. having to get help from others.. things not going as expected.. and lots of stressssssssss. But at least you expect the newborn! This was completely scary and unexpected :( You were such a trooper through the whole experience. I am glad you were able to keep a good perspective and receive so many little blessings from God. We really are fortunate to live in a day where we have the technology to understand what's happening. I love you and I am s happy that you and Zoey made it out okay!!!!
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