See that top number up there? That number was Jacob's oxygen saturation on Monday. And that number - if it hangs around for a while - means you get to go home. :)
Sunday night was SOOO much better than Saturday night. I'm pretty sure Jacob and I both slept through the entire night. I have a vague, foggy memory of the respiratory therapist coming in at one point and telling Jacob to turn over so she could give him his breathing treatment, but that's ALL I remember, because....
NO ALARMS! (praise God!)
and....
NO crying baby next door! (thank goodness!)
and....
If anyone else besides the RT came in during the night, they were VERY QUIET! (thank You, Jesus!)
About 6:45 Monday morning, I was startled awake by the nurse very firmly saying, "MOM." (that would be me)
She said, "Sometime during the night Jacob pulled his oxygen off." Ohmygosh! I bolted up in the
"But," she said, "his oxygen is at 95 (!), so I'm just going to leave it off and see how he does."
And just like that....the emergency was over. It was the weirdest thing.
Jacob's oxygen level continued to stay between 91 and 96 all day, without receiving any extra oxygen, and we got to come home around 4:00.
Jacob and Kloe and I went out for a walk around the hospital Monday afternoon while we were waiting to go home, and just happened to run into Jacob's regular pediatrician, Dr. Gray (remember, he had been out of town?). He said that the attending doctor from the hospital (Dr. Thompson, WE LOVE YOU!!!) had called him when he got back into town, and he had come up to the hospital just to check on Jacob. See, I told you he's the greatest. :)
Well, it just so happens that Dr. Gray knows Dr. Thompson very well, works with her in several different capacities, and highly respects her work! He said if he could have hand-picked anyone to care for Jacob, it would have been her.
Anyway, we were talking about all that had happened, how they couldn't really figure out what was causing all this, and how they'd finally diagnosed it as "Atypical Pneumonia" - which apparently is the diagnosis when it LOOKS like pneumonia and ACTS like pneumonia, but the chest xray is clear and they've ruled out everything else. He said he agreed with that diagnosis and that the good thing is that atypical pneumonia responds very quickly to azithromycin (antibiotic).
Well, it just so happens that just in case that's what it was, the hospitalist (Dr. Thompson) had started Jacob on azithromycin on Sunday afternoon. Yes, I would say it responded pretty quickly! Less than 24 hours after starting it, he was a new kid! In less than 24 hours, he was completely off oxygen, without being weaned off, and was almost back to his old self. I was in shock. Good shock.
Y'all, I am just so amazed at God through all of this. I know this was such a small thing compared to what some people face every day, but even so, God made Himself SO very evident in every. single. step. of this journey. From the moment those blue fingernails scared the bajeebers out of me, to that last conversation with our pediatrician. I am more thankful and awe-filled than I can even say. So, so thankful.
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p.s. Guess what? One of the papers they sent us home from the hospital with listed warning signs to be on the lookout for....you know, the "call your doctor immediately if...." list. The last item on the list? Blue fingernails.
Love to see those 90s! Glad you're home.
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