Thursday, May 12, 2011

Brigham Update: Day 4

I wish I was a better blogger. My horrible blogging skills along with my brain filled with mush is going to make this hard to understand.

On Tuesday night (day 3) we noticed that Brigham was still breathing really fast. He was on high flow oxygen and it really didn't seem to be helping him. The nurse we had was really great and called the dr. Eventually the dr. decided to put him on nasal cpap. This just ticked Brig off and he would not calm down. Around midnight Josh and I went to bed. The nurse had given him some morphine so eventually he didn't have a choice but to calm down.

Wednesday morning I got up to pump around 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep so I went down to the NICU. Even on the nasal cpap it seemed like he was still having a hard time slowing down his breathing. He was retracting quite a bit and I just felt like it might be time to transfer him to a different hospital. I asked the nurse about it and she seemed like he would be fine in Logan because he wasn't getting any worse. The fact that he wasn't getting any better was really bothering me. The dr came in that morning and it was decided that we should transfer. Normally they would have sent him to McKayDee in Ogden but we decided to come to UVRMC since its closer to my parents house and to where the kids are.

Things started happening really fast after this. Josh came up to the room where staying to fill me in on what was going on. I of course lose it.....just in time for the social worker to show up. She was really nice and had been calling our insurance company and UVRMC to make sure things were all going to work out that way. Pretty soon after that the pediatrician and the family dr. showed up to kind of let us know how things were going. They told us life flight had been called and it would probably be a couple hours before the showed up. It didn't take that long though and pretty soon the NICU nurse called to tell us they were on their way.

Once they got there they went right to work getting Brig switched over to their vent. Josh and I were able to stay right close to him until the helicopter took off. Josh was able to video the whole thing so that might be fun to watch sometime.

We got down to the hospital around 3:30 or 4. Its really different that the NICU in Logan. After being there for a while with a lame nurse we finally found someone who could answer all of our questions. Right before we left we were able to talk to the neonatologist. He was really nice and helpful.

The reason Brig hasn't been getting better is because he has an infection. It seems like his body is working so hard to fight the infection that his lungs just can't get better. He has pneumonia and the were concerned that he might have spinal meningitis. The dr called me late last night to tell me the lumbar puncture had gone well and that he does NOT have spinal meningitis. (YAY) The other good news is that his bilirubin had gone down quite a bit. Yesterday morning it was at 17 and when the tested him at UVRMC is was down to 11. I think today he might be able to go without the bili lights and then we can take his blindfold off. I miss seeing his cute eyes.

As for the rest of us: We are doing good. It was so great to see the kids yesterday. I was pretty emotional and missing them so much. Of course they have just been having a great time playing with grandma and grandpa. I am sure I needed them more than they needed me. Josh has been amazing through this. He keeps me calm and helps me understand things. He is really great at asking questions. Really he needs husband and dad of the year award because without him I am pretty sure they would be doping me up with morphine too.

It looks like we are going to be here for a while longer. My guess is that we will be here into next week sometime. Josh is able to miss work. Its been nice to have his coworker and principal tell him that will just take care of things there for him. I really have needed him with me. We have had MANY people offer to help us with the kids. Right now I feel like we need to be together as a family so the kids are going to stay down here with us. I am not concerned at all about them missing school. As for what you can do for us.... just keep praying. If I think of anything else I promise I'll ask but for now there just really isn't much that can be done. I really appreciate all of the phone calls, text messages and facebook messages. They have really cheered me up and made me feel loved. If I don't respond please dont be offended. Things have been really busy so sometimes I just don't get around to responding and then I forget. It also gets kind of hard to tell the story over and over again.

We really appreciate the thoughts and prayers and love. I know there have been some fasts organized too and we really appreciate it. I will try and update this every day with all the details that I can give. Please check back and share the blog address with people that ask about us.

Thanks again for all of the support!

(and please forgive the typos)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations! I am happy for you and little Brigham that he is getting the help he needs. You need to trust your mommy instincts. We are praying for you and your little family.

Rachael said...

Abbey, you and your little Brigham are in my prayers. My first was in the NICU for about a week and it is SO, so stressful. My heart goes out to you and your family. I am sure things will turn out fine, but in the meantime hang in there and I hope you feel comfort and peace.

Unknown said...

Abbey, congratulations on your sweet little bundle. He is so handsome. Lots of prayers for your and Brigham and your family.

Corinne said...

He is so, so adorable. We just left the NICU at UVRMC a couple months ago. They are so great there. Some of the nurses we absolutely loved and I really liked most of the neonatologists. There are tons of emotions you are going through right now; I totally understand! I'll be praying for your family!

Harris Family said...

Abbey, we are praying for your family. Taylor was in the NICU for a month and a half. It is the most stressful thing for a family to go through. Keep up the pumping:) It's not fun but so worth it. I know our Heavenly Father is mindful of your family at this time and will continue to bless you.

Kaylene said...

(((HUGS))) Thanks for taking the time to update.

Molly said...

Things are looking up! It will be so nice for you to be with your other kids too! That was hard for me when mind was in the NICU. I also really like UVRMC when #2 was born there. I think you made a good choice on that one!