Just Call Him, 'The Nebulizer'

As many of you know, James was admitted to the hospital last Friday morning because of his RSV (a common respiratory virus) and bronchiolitis which caused him to suffer from some fairly severe dehydration. He was having a lot of trouble breathing and coughed almost constantly.

The pediatrician put him on oral steroids and ventolin (through a mask) for his lungs. RSV, when contracted by babies less than 3 months old, causes their bronchioles and alveoli (lungs) to swell, thus preventing them from breathing. The ventolin is a bronchodilator which means it expands the airways for a short period of time (usually about 4 hours), allowing the baby to breathe. While the medication did not help him to get better, it did help him to breathe so he was able to eat and get re-hydrated. So after 3 long days and 2 even longer nights we were allowed to take him back home on Sunday.

I stayed with James the first night (Friday night) but there were 2 other babies in the room who took turns screaming all night long. Joe was really sweet and offered to stay the second night so I could get some sleep and I quickly took him up on his offer (even though I felt guilty for leaving the baby)! The RSV virus is extremely contagious so we were all put in isolation which meant the babies could not leave the room nor get within a metre of eachother and us parents were supposed to put on gowns, masks, and rubber gloves every time we left the room. All visitors, doctors, and nurses also had to wear protective gowns, gloves and masks whenever they entered the room ... nothing like making us feel like we had the plague! :P

We came home Sunday afternoon with a prescription for Ventolin and a rented nebulizer. (It gives the medication in a vapour form which is more effective than a regular 'puffer' chamber). By Tuesday morning, though, James had started experiencing apnic episodes where he would briefly stop breathing (for maybe 10 seconds at a time) and then start again on his own. I was worried but sleep apnea is a complication of RSV so I figured we would be okay. I held him most of that morning so that I could keep an eye on him but then needed a shower so put him into his swing, hoping that if he did stop breathing the rocking motion might remind him to inhale.

Well, I emerged from the shower about 15 minutes later to find my little baby in the swing - limp, not breathing, and blue around the lips. I freaked out!! I immediately picked him up and shook him and then called our family doctor, crying. He advised to me call the ambulance and so there we were on our way back to the hospital for the second time in one week. We had to wait in Emergency for over 5 hours before they finally admitted James and moved us up to Pediatrics for yet another stay in isolation. We were in a different room, again with 2 babies, but they just happened to be 2 families we had stayed with last time. One was still in there and the other had been discharged Monday and was back on Tuesday, just like us. Apparently RSV can get better and then worsen again many times in the 6 weeks it usually takes to go away in small infants. We stayed another 2 long nights (this time Joe was at work so I had to stay both nights) and now we are home, extremely exhausted yet feeling lucky to be out of that room!! James' pediatrician has advised me to watch him closely for the next several days for apnic episodes. I am not sure why we were released from the hospital already when James has suffered from 10 episodes in the past 36 hours, the most recent being 2 of them overnight last night but here we are at home.

I am ready to stare at his chest for the next week, if I have to, to make sure he's going to be okay ...