Graydon's hospitalization

So I had a darkly humorous post about our first few weeks as a family of four. We had a rough go of it...mom with an episiotomy (aka "the devil's laceration") which literally hobbled me for a week, a sick toddler, a sick dad, and a brand new baby with a broken clavicle and a circumcision. That was tough but still kind of funny...it was the kind of stress where you can laugh or cry and we mostly chose to laugh.

Now of course things are serious. And we are not laughing very much. I'm sitting here in the pediatric ICU watching my son 's chest heave with each breath he takes. He is working hard just to keep up his oxygen levels. And it is heartbreaking.

The good news is that Graydon's life is not in danger. I want to say that first of all. Yes, he is very sick. But this is not a life threatening thing, at least for Graydon. It is just a life crappening thing. And yes I just invented that phrase.

G started to show symptoms on Saturday. Tim was in New Orleans at a course and I called my friend Jen (a PICU nurse) to come check little Gradycakes out. She and her husband (Tim's fellow ortho resident) checked him out and thought he was ill but not in dire shape. Terri, my stepmother-in-law and a family practice doc, very kindly drove down from the Cities to spend the night and help me assess Graydon. She agreed that he had some congestion but felt he was basically OK. G seemed tired but fairly normal on Sunday until that evening.

Tim had flown home that day and we decided together that I would take Graydon into the E.R. I took him in at 11 pm and they admitted him almost immediately. Truly, I was shocked...I thought we would get a nebulizer treatment and they'd send us home. Not so much.

Graydon has bronchiolitis, probably caused by RSV. This requires him to have help breathing properly, which is why he is in the Peds ICU. The upper right lobe of his right lung collapsed and he is also spiking some high fevers. Right now, Graydon is on high flow oxygen and he is occasionally on CPAP treatment...which is basically a medieval torturel looking device that jhelps keep his airways open. G is also on a nasal feeding tube. He is basically a mass of wires and tubes. It is really sad to see.

The good news is that Graydon is doing well, all things considered. This illness usually peaks around day 5 or 6, and that is where we are right now . His doctors are pleased with his progress though they continue to prepare us for some rough days before the little guy really turns the corner. We will likely be here for another week.

I will try to continue updating, though some of that depends on how tired I am and how things progress. Thanks so much for all the kind words of support and all the offers of help and especially thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts so many people are sending our way. We are all hanging in there.