Last Saturday night (January 23rd), we were hanging out at my parents house. It was a very good night. Aaron was eating solids so well and went to bed early. We had a good dinner with Tetta, Gidu, my aunt and uncle, and twin cousins. It was a full house. Aaron woke up asking for more food so we figured it was a good time to head home, which we did. At home, he took a few more ounces of formula and laid down. Then, Aaron started a cry that we've heard on numerous occasions before. It was his "I ate too much and my tummy hurts" cry. Usually, we try to burp him and he spits up a whole bunch of food and immediately goes back to sleep peacefully. This time, that didn't happen. Aaron just kept crying and crying. Nothing was coming out even though it seemed like he really really wanted to get something out. He was crying so much that his skin started to change color. It was a this point that we called 911. I was freaking out while Clayton was on the phone. I did the finger-sweep to see if there was something blocking his airway. There wasn't. I tried to suction out his mouth, I got nothing. Aaron's lips started to turn blue and I cried. There seemed like there was nothing I could do get him to stop and I thought we would lose him. After all we went through, this was it.
All that fear and desperation put me in a dark place and thankfully I came to my senses. I got on my knees on the bathroom floor (where we usually go when Aaron wants to spit up since it's a lot and getting it in the tub saves on clean up), and held Aaron out in my arms and prayed. I said, "God, Aaron is yours. Please heal him." I repeated this a few times and then just hugged Aaron. By the time I got to my feet and walked out into the hallway, Aaron was fine. Sucking on his fingers, like he usually does. Looking at me like I was crazy. I looked at him and couldn't help but laugh and ask him if he was serious. Mind you, all this happened in a matter of minutes, before EMS even got there. So, Clayton, Aaron and I went downstairs to wait in the living room for the EMS. They came and checked Aaron out. I promise, I think they thought we made the whole thing up because they couldn't stop commenting on how good he looked. His skin, his temperature, his heart rate. Everything. Except the wheezing they heard in his lungs. With his history, their first thought was RSV. Oh boy!
So, we were off to the hospital. Luckily, Aaron was very stable and the ride was much less stressful than it could have been. It was about 10:30 pm. We got to DHMC and all kinds of tests were run to figure out why the ALTE occurred. Blood was drawn, a catheter and an IV were placed. A chest xray was taken. We waited around for quite some time before they decided to admit us while they figured things out.
We got up to the pediatric floor at about 2 am. Aaron was miserable. His eyes were red and he was just so cranky. He eventually fell asleep at 3 am. Clayton went home to take care of Hurley and get some sleep, since there really isn't room for 2 parents to sleep. Aaron did well overnight, but he needed some oxygen to keep his sats up.
Sunday came around and most of the test results were already coming up negative (thank you, Jesus!!!). They still couldn't rule out RSV or other infection because the chest xray wasn't that good. Although, doctor after doctor commented on how much clearer his lungs were sounding. Eventually, RSV was also ruled out. So, at this point, there was no "real" reason why the ALTE occurred. In efforts to get him home, we did explain that about 3 hours before the event, Aaron ate twice as much solids in one sitting as he usually does all day long. So when it came time for bed and he realized he ate too much, it was really difficult to get it all up. The wheezing in his lungs was summed up to him aspirating some spit up during the incident because everything sounded absolutely clear now. But since Aaron needed the O2 overnight, they decided to keep us another night for observation.
Then it was Monday. To further rule out any possible cause, a cardiologist and ENT came along. The EKG wasn't so bad but Aaron was just so miserable during the ENT exam. They sent a scope down his nose to check if there was any narrowing in this throat that made it difficult for him to breathe. The exam was so terrible I had to leave the room. I've been able to see Aaron through lots of difficult exams but this I could not handle. The doctor found nothing. At this point it was clear that the ALTE occurred because of reflux and, although Aaron needed O2 while sleeping, I insisted I wanted him home while the O2 was delivered to our house. He just wasn't comfortable in the hospital and neither were we. Nothing was found that could explain the ALTE and Aaron had gotten back to normal within minutes of the onset of the event. They asked us to wait just one more night and the O2 would be delivered to the hospital instead of our house so we could "practice" using it. After 4 months in the NICU, we needed no practice using an O2 machine and pulse ox. Clayton actually spent that night with Aaron because I had a job interview on Tuesday. It was the first time I left the hospital since getting there Saturday night. After sleeping in a sleeper chair for 2 nights, our king bed was a very welcomed blessing.
Clayton took the day off from work on Tuesday in case Aaron was discharged while I was interviewing. This wasn't really necessary since we didn't leave the hospital until 4 pm! We were able to leave with the oxygen and had a small tutorial on the equipment. It was funny because Clayton and I knew more about those machines than the tech who delivered them. But, we humored the hospital staff and listened.
We were home by dinner time and we set Aaron's room up. Six months after coming home from the hospital with no machines or monitors, we now have an O2 machine and pulse ox. Needless to say, Aaron hates the cannula being taped to his face every time he sleeps, but he needs it so we do it. We don't know how long he'll need it or why he even needs it all of a sudden. We're praying for a quick resolution.
So, other than the ALTE on Saturday night and needing O2 to sleep, Aaron is back to his amazing little self. My two lessons from all of this: 1) Thank God for prayers, and 2) God always manages to save Aaron in bathrooms (ok, maybe not as funny as it sounds in my head, but, definitely true!).
Sorry I've been a bad blooger. So much has happened since I last blogged and I promise to write all about it. I will write a series of enteries devoted to each happening so it's not one giant entry with a months worth of updates all over the place. Stay tuned! And always pray!
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