Thursday, April 2, 2009

April Fools and the ER

Wednesday morning around midnight, Matthew and I were settling into our nightly routine of taking care of the girls. They were supposed to eat around 11:30 p.m. and hadn't started stirring yet. We decided to go ahead and wake the girls and get them fed so we could go to bed. Matthew set off to the kitchen to get bottles ready and I went into the nursery to wake the girls and get their diapers changed.


I don't normally flip on the overhead light when I go into the girls room as I think that's a very rude way to wake up. I usually turn the lamps on the changing table on as they aren't as bright and unswaddle the girls as I walk in to get them wiggling. For some reason, I flipped the overhead light on as I walked into the girls room that night.


I unswaddled Addilyn first as she is notorious for wanting to potty on you as soon as you change her diaper if she is not awake enough. I noticed when I unwrapped her that she didn't make her usual Pee Wee Herman noise and start stretching. Then I noticed that her lips and eye lids were blue and she wasn't breathing. I immediately dug my fingers into her ribs and began rubbing her very hard. I also stuck my finger in her mouth to check that she wasn't choking on anything. It was when I did this that Addi started breathing again. I didn't stop rubbing her ribs until she was screaming. I wanted to make sure she was good and awake and breathing well.


The shock of seeing her like that hit me very quickly. I sat down in our nursery chair and just held Addilyn and cried. This whole time Matthew was unaware of what was going on. He had made bottles and was sitting down in the living room waiting on me to change a baby and bring one of the girls to him to feed. I told him what happened and he wanted to hold Addi. I told him no in a not so nice way, not intentionally, but more out of the fact that she was my baby and there was no way in hell I was letting go of her, even to let him hold her.


I didn't know what to do then so I called my parents and told them what happened. This news was not something grandma and grandpa wanted to hear in the middle of the night. My mom told me to call the ER and ask what I should do. I called the ER and spoke to a very dumb girl who told me, "if you're calling, then you must think something is wrong and you should bring her in." Well duh something was wrong. It's not normal for anyone to stop breathing.


I called my parents back and told them I was taking Addilyn to the ER. I didn't want to take any chances and for my own piece of mind, I needed to know that she was going to be okay. I left Matthew at home with Ella (we didn't want to expose her to any unnecessary germs or illnesses) and my parents met me at the hospital at 1:00 a.m.


The ER checked Addilyn's blood for RSV and the flu, which were both negative. They also did a chest x-ray of her lungs to make sure they were clear. Her lungs looked good. The ER doctor called the girls pediatrician to let her know what was going on. She wanted to admit Addi for observation. It was just before 8:00 a.m. when we were taken to PICU. Addi was hooked up to an EKG machine that monitored her heart rate and respiratory activity.


I stayed all day with her. It was later that afternoon when her pediatrician came by that I found out we were going to be staying the night and that someone from Brit Care would be by with the apnea machine we would be required to use at home. I was shown how to operate the machine. My mom was with me during this time and left shortly afterwards so we could both try to get some rest. I was going on 34 hours of no sleep.


Addi was an angel last night. I got up about every 4 hours to feed her. When she was done eating I would hold her and talk to her. I told her this was the meanest April Fools joke ever and that she better NEVER do this again. The little toot just grinned at me. Addilyn was discharged this morning around 11:30. We didn't have any episodes last night and I am so thankful for that. I am also so thankful that she had an angel watching over her. I couldn't imagine if she hadn't started breathing again. God is good.


Addi has to wear the apnea machine at bedtime, nap time, riding in the car seat, and any time she is unobserved. I'm not sure how many months she will be required to wear it. We aren't sure what caused her to stop breathing. The doctor thought if she had had excessive spit in her mouth that it might be reflux, but she didn't have any when I found her. She also told me that this could be a one time event. Addi may never stop breathing again. I sure hope that's the case. I love my little girls and would be crushed if anything happened to either of them. A mother should definitely never have to go through finding her child blue and not breathing. We are so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

5 comments:

CL said...

I am so glad this story had a happy ending. If you will listen to that small voice inside you, it will help guide you. Blessings to you and the girls.
cindy Lee

Anonymous said...

WOW!! Well you were her angel that night! SIDS is a real thing. Just think if you didn't go in that room when you did that is what they would have ruled it being. I heard fans in the room are good for infants because they circulate air. There are some articles out there about SIDS is related to carbon monoxide which is what a baby breaths back in because they have such short breaths and if they are not in a well vented area they could possibly stop breathing. I bet you that she will never do that again! My little one is sick for the first time with an ear infection :( - Carmella

Katie said...

I'm am so glad that sweet Addi is ok and back home with you. I know exactly how you felt when you didn't want Matthew to hold her - I felt that way after Santiago's surgery. I wanted my sweet boy all to myself to make sure he was ok. It is still hard to get him out of my arms a week later. I pray that both your girls stay healthy and strong. Love you!

Amber said...

Oh my goodness!!!! That is so scary! I'm glad you checked on them when you did. I still worry that something will happen to Blaze while he is sleeping, so it doesn't get any better!

Anonymous said...

Praise God that the timing was such that you were in there it catch it! That is divine intervention!

-Jody