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Made it throught the night

UPDATE: Elizabeth says the doctor just made it official — we’re going home today!

ORIGINAL: Taylor made it through the night with no supplemental oxygen. We are currently awaiting the doctor’s final word, but a nurse says the wheels on the discharge machine have been set in motion.

It was a night not without drama, however. After Taylor had fallen asleep, I called the nurse to come hook her back up to the oxygen monitor. It immediately started alarming us. Turns out the sensor on her finger had failed. Replaced it, and all was well.

Then, shortly before midnight, I awoke to the alarm. Jumped out of bed, and it stopped. Her O2 levels looked fine. OK, I must have dreamed it. Nope, there it is again! Not her oxygen, this time, but her heart rate had dropped! This can’t be good.

A nurse came in to check on us, and I explained what was going on. She says, “But it’s alarming at 80 BPM, and that’s normal for her! I’m not sure what’s going on!” Nurse calls a tech in, who says that when these monitors are powered on, they default to “infant mode” settings, and while 80 BPM is perfectly normal for a sleeping grade-schooler, it is dangerously low for an infant. He reset the settings on our monitor, and I went back to bed to reset my own heart rate.

Hope to have another update soon, one that involves us walking out of the hospital.

November 10, 2009, 11:00 am | No Comments »

False alarm

And we’re off. Had a scare when the alarm went off immediately after hooking her up. Bad sensor. Replaced, and we’re off and running. Here is my companion for the evening.

November 9, 2009, 11:21 pm | No Comments »

Reporting live from Camp CHS

We are not going home today, as previously hoped. Taylor needs to be off of supplemental oxygen for 24 hours, and last night we had to put her back on for a little while while she slept. This, the nurse tells us, is completely normal, and the most difficult part. We’ll try again tonight.

Because her oxygen levels are fine during waking hours, she is off all sensors and everything while she is awake. She is able to get out of bed and move around the room, but due to flu protocols she still cannot leave the room. Half of our already-small room is now taken up with an infusion of Polly Pockets and Barbie dolls. Having the room in the corner at the end of the hall has its pluses and minuses. It’s nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of your typical hospital floor, especially at night. It’s been real quiet at night. But it would be nice at times to have back a little of the space the other, non-corner rooms enjoy. We do have large windows and a great view. I’ll trade a few square feet for peace and quiet, and a nice view.

At least now, we have an exit strategy. The only milestone we need to reach is lasting a whole night breathing entirely on her own. It will be up to me to push the button, call the nurse, and get her on oxygen tonight. It will be a very difficult button to push.

Elizabeth has been to the doctor, afraid she was coming down with something. She has a sinus infection, which has resulted in bronchitis. No evidence of flu, thank goodness. She is home, resting, and hoping she can come spell me this evening. Aside from Friday night, when we both stayed here, she hasn’t been up to staying here.

I’m trying to monitor Ida’s gulf coast approach from here. After covering every hurricane strike to hit Alabama since 2004, it feels strange not being surrounded with TVs and laptops and news feeds.

In a review of new children’s programming, Nickelodeon’s new show Fan Boy and Chum Chum may be the worst thing to hit children’s programming ever. Taylor will not stop repeating one character’s line, “I fart bubbles.”

So there you have it. Incremental improvements, and waiting for tonight. Thanks to everyone for the encouragements, the prayers, the love, the offers of help, and for everything else. It really means a lot to all of us. Check back here or on Twitter all night tonight for more “OxygenWatch09 – No News Is Good News.”

, 1:41 pm | 2 Comments »

Not to get our hopes up or anything …

It’s been a great day for Taylor. Early afternoon, they took her completely off of supplemental oxygen, and she’s done well. They’re increasing the amount of time between her breathing treatments too. All good news.

But tonight comes the real test. Every night so far we’ve had to increase her oxygen. If tonight goes well, one nurse says we might even be able to go home tomorrow. I’m still expecting Tuesday, but I won’t complain if they want to send us home tomorrow.

She’s been very hyper today, very sassy, and very opinionated. While being a real challenge for one particular doting father, these are good signs that suggest we’ll be out of here soon and onto our next challenge: keeping Elizabeth and I healthy and pig-flu free.

November 8, 2009, 9:22 pm | 2 Comments »

Swine flu

We were suspecting as much, but we got the official word thus morning that Taylor did indeed catch the H1N1 flu strain. Our weekend getaway at Camp Children’s has been extended for “a couple more days at least.”

The good news is we are past the worst part of it. The nurses are steadily reducing the levels of supplemental oxygen she needs throughout the day. Each morning so far has been a step back, which the nurses say is pretty normal.

While we sit here watching Spongebob and iCarly and other kids shows until our eyes explode, enjoy a couple new pictures: balloons from Grandma and Grandpa, and our EXCLUSIVE shot of the swine flu virus attacking Taylor.

, 11:46 am | 6 Comments »