Collapsed Lung!

I have felt the last three days that Oliver needed to be on oxygen, and yesterday afternoon I decided to call the Pediatrician and give an update. He told me to take Oliver to the ER, and immediately I knew it was the right call because his O2 levels were way too low. An X-ray showed he had a collapsed lung, and a nasal swab showed he has RSV again. They can't treat a collapsed lung at this hospital so we went by ambulance to Geisinger. My baby is 2 years old and this was his second transfer by ambulance between hospitals, and his second time being hospitalized for RSV this year.

He was so out of it ( not that he was on any medications yet) that he didn't cry for a blood draw and only winced when they put in his IV. He cried when I left the room to go to the bathroom. We were there about 3.5 hours before we left by ambulance. I had lost all track of time and forgot I had not eaten since 11am. On the ambulance ride at 8pm I thought I was nauseous from low blood sugar, so when we arrived at the hospital and they wouldn't let me go with him to his room, I went to the cafeteria and bought a grilled cheese sandwich and cookies. Big mistake! I continued to feel very nauseous and finally started throwing up at 11:30 and did so several times throughout the night. The youth pastor at church showed up right before the doctor went to put a chest tube in through his side for his right lung. That procedure took about an hour.

After being separated from him for 90 minutes, I was allowed into his room in the PICU. It was heart breaking to see so many wires and tubes connected to him again he was crying and I couldn't hold him. The doctor said it was a 50% chance he would need to be on a ventilator instead of a bipap, and he said the left lung looked like it might collapse and that he might have pneumonia. Thankfully none of those possibilities were true! He had a rough night until they put him on morphine and a Tylenol suppository in addition to the Versed. He was crying for Mommy and saying "hold me, and it was heart breaking especially as going vertical caused me to have to run to the toilet and vomit.
This morning they started giving good news. He went from 60% oxygen gradually to 30%, and the X-ray showed that his lung was reinflated. Thya said it collapsed from coughing too hard with the RSV.

Nadia and Ian are feeling much better today, and Paul's parents stopped at Walmart on the way here for her biopsy to buy me some underwear. I packed clean underwear for Oliver, and he's just been in diapers due to the sedation, but I forgot to pack some for myself. Someone from the church I was a member of from 2004-2008 picked up my keys so they can drive my car from the other hospital to this one since I was on the ambulance with Oliver. I slept a little on a very uncomfortable cot last night. Hopefully I will get more sleep tonight. I just took some Tylenol for my fever and headache. Now to see if I can keep some crackers and ginger ale down. They put a feeding tube in Oliver a little while ago because he has not really eaten since Friday and has already lost more than one pound.

When I called the Pediatrician yesterday he thought Oliver would just need IV fluids. Not even close. I am glad I took him, and I wish I had taken him sooner. For as long as we live in this area, I will take him straight to this hospital rather than the one closer to our house. Live and learn. I sure was not expecting to spend a few days at the hospital this week! I am glad he is getting the care he needs, and in the future we will pack up and head back to PA if any of the cousins are sick or just not come at all is we know any of them are sick. I would rather not ever go through this again if possible. He is one very sick little boy.