A second stay at CHEO
Well, that nasty cold that the wee girl had acquired didn't improve over the weekend. It seemed like her cough was getting worse instead of better, and she had started wheezing a bit, so Mum took her to the doctor on Monday for a check. The doctor suggested she go to CHEO.
The concern was her breathing. With BPD you see the diaghram involved more in breathing, and you could tell from the way her stomach muscles were moving that she was working hard at it. If things were to take a turn for the worse we wouldn't want it to be at home in the middle of the night.
Once at CHEO, she got hooked up to an SPO2 monitor for the first time since she left the NICU. (Dad wants one of these for home - he kinda misses the 24hr monitoring - it was very reassuring). They also gave her a couple of doses of Ventalin via a mask. This apparently acts as a stimulant - Mum says she was booting non-stop for a while after this.
Her sats were not bad, which is good, but she ended up being admitted for observation. Mum of course stayed with her for what ended up being two nights. It was kinda back to old times for Dad and the two older kids.
They also tested her for RSV. RSV is a perpetual worry for little kids, and particularly for preemies (strike one) or kids with lung disease. (strike two) Fortunately, the RSV test came back negative. Interestingly, we're told RSV "season" is normally the winter months, but this year, the "season" didn't end in the summer. This is probably not a good sign.
So she ended up being diagnosed with bronchiolitis. It's halfway between (literally) bronchitis and pneumonia. What does this mean? It's a viral thing, so we treat the symptoms and keep a very close eye on her. It also means we keep washing our hands and yelling at Big Sister when she forgets to do so. Little Dude still doesn't bother much with her, though he signs and says "baby" when he sees her.
All the doctors and nurses thought she was adorable (they're right) and Mum had no problem getting a volunteer to sit with her when she needed a break. We're very glad CHEO is there for us when we need it, but it's good to be home again.
The concern was her breathing. With BPD you see the diaghram involved more in breathing, and you could tell from the way her stomach muscles were moving that she was working hard at it. If things were to take a turn for the worse we wouldn't want it to be at home in the middle of the night.
Once at CHEO, she got hooked up to an SPO2 monitor for the first time since she left the NICU. (Dad wants one of these for home - he kinda misses the 24hr monitoring - it was very reassuring). They also gave her a couple of doses of Ventalin via a mask. This apparently acts as a stimulant - Mum says she was booting non-stop for a while after this.
Her sats were not bad, which is good, but she ended up being admitted for observation. Mum of course stayed with her for what ended up being two nights. It was kinda back to old times for Dad and the two older kids.
They also tested her for RSV. RSV is a perpetual worry for little kids, and particularly for preemies (strike one) or kids with lung disease. (strike two) Fortunately, the RSV test came back negative. Interestingly, we're told RSV "season" is normally the winter months, but this year, the "season" didn't end in the summer. This is probably not a good sign.
So she ended up being diagnosed with bronchiolitis. It's halfway between (literally) bronchitis and pneumonia. What does this mean? It's a viral thing, so we treat the symptoms and keep a very close eye on her. It also means we keep washing our hands and yelling at Big Sister when she forgets to do so. Little Dude still doesn't bother much with her, though he signs and says "baby" when he sees her.
All the doctors and nurses thought she was adorable (they're right) and Mum had no problem getting a volunteer to sit with her when she needed a break. We're very glad CHEO is there for us when we need it, but it's good to be home again.
posted by Kim @ 1:53 PM
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