Do you ever have a day that you just wish you could forget forever? Today was a day just like that. We have been so worried about Noah the past few days as he has picked up this bout of congestion. He gets so upset around feeding time because of course, his nose is congested. I've been trying to treat it with home remedies such as holding him in the bathroom full of steam right before feeding so his airway feels more open, etc. It does actually appear to be helping. Finally today though I decided I would take him in to the pediatrician. His regular doc was in a morning meeting so we met with a new doctor. He wasn't concerned and asked that we use saline nose drips regularly as well as a bit of vaseline to clean the tip of Noah's nose.
So here we are in the midst of being terrified that Noah is coming down with pneumonia and suddenly Jonah did a horrible thing.......he choked.
He just didn't "choke," he spit up (you know the kind that comes up through the nose and everywhere) and he immediately clamped down and REFUSED to breathe. I was playing with him when this all started. I waited at first to see if he would recover and then when I saw him during a dusky color I started freaking out. I grabbed him and started yelling for my dad. I probably did everything wrong but when your child isn't breathing and turning purple in the face the only thing you can do is instincts. I grabbed him and began treating him like a choking victim because he wasn't making any noise at all. Eventually I got my wits with me and placed him flat on the floor, grabbed a suctioning bulb and started suctioning out all the puke in his mouth.
Eventually, which felt like an ETERNITY, he started to cough and breathe but it must have been over a minute before this happened, all during which I almost had a complete melt down. My dad was on the phone with 911 and within five minutes we had cops and an EMT team there to assess Jonah and get him to the hospital.
Thank the good Lord Jonah did not aspirate. They kept him hooked up to a Pulsox for several hours to monitor any change in symptoms that would signal aspiration induced pneumonia. They ran a chest x-ray and saw his chronic lung but nothing that signaled serious issues. So after over 4 hours in the emergency room Jonah came home. He had his RSV shot today and has been really cranky on top of everything else, bless his heart. Shane and I decided that as soon as we start worrying about one the other does something horrible just to remind us that they are here too.
What a bad way to get Mom and Dad's attention!
I think today was by far the most terrifying thing I have ever dealt with when it comes to the kids. At least in the NICU there are trained nurses to take over and assess immediately the issue. There is never such a helpless feeling as that of trying to get your child to breathe.
We are still worried about Noah. We've had the humidifier on him all day as well as sitting with him in a steamy bathroom before feeding and using saline drops as well as Vaselline. I would have felt more comfortable if they would have ran some blood work especially with his history of pneumonia. Now all we can do is pray that these home methods work.
I have had enough of hospitals, thank you! I told both boys when we got home from the ER today that neither was allowed to put us through this again any time soon!
Thank goodness my parents are here for support. I absolutely would not make it through right now without them. Shane and my father have been able to give both boys priesthood blessings and that also helps put a struggling mother at ease.
Keep praying for these sweet babies, today was a terrifying experience and I hope we will never go through another one again.
Love, Shane and Michelle
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