Home Sweet Home: Jordan's Health Update

{02.19.10} - St. Joseph ER/CHOC Hospitalization

To our family & friends:

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers these past few days. It has been a rough week but we are glad to finally be home. It is always a scary thought to have to go back to the hospital where Jordan spent the first 5 months of his life due to his premature birth. It is always hard to see little ones during their sickest moments. You just feel so helpless.

Jordan has been dealing with some viral infection for a few weeks now. It began as a week long battle with diarrhea which then seemed to turn into a common cold. Last Wednesday, he started having fevers well over 102 and then started to cough. We were concerned because he was wheezing this time around. Since he has a history of having chronic lung disease, we wanted to make sure that he didn't have pneumonia. We spent the entire Saturday (John's birthday) in urgent care, hoping to get some answers. Jordan still had a high temperature and his coughs seemed to be getting worse. Chest xrays showed that he was negative for pneumonia. He was sent home on an inhaler treatment, an anti-inflammatory, and an antibiotic. Seeing how things would progress, we continued his treatment through Monday morning until we could schedule an appointment with his pediatrician. The doctor agreed that something was going on in his lungs and the crackling/wheezing was a little concerning. We were told to continue what had been prescribed by urgent care doctors and to return to the pediatrician later in the week to see if he has gotten any better. At that time, Jordan was diagnosed with bronchiolitis.

In the middle of the night on Tuesday, we woke up to a very disturbed toddler who seemed to be scratching his neck and stomach. Thinking that he was sweating and it was causing irritations, I changed his diaper & clothes. To my surprise, his entire body was covered in red, raised rashes. It must've been an allergic reaction to one of his medications, I thought. Hives. I would know because just last week, I had broken out in hives as well (due to an allergic reaction to pineapples, which happened to be one of my favorite fruits!!!) I tried to ease the pain by using cold compress but it didn't seem to work. I was hesitant to give him any antihistamines because I was afraid that he would react to that as well. I managed to put him back to sleep but I stayed awake to make sure he was comfortable. As soon as the doctor's office opened, I would take him in.

We visited the pediatrician again and this time, the doc told us that his lungs sounded a little worse than the previous day. He decided to check his O2 sats (oxygen saturation level). Jordan's O2 sats were at 82%, he was breathing really shallow and the pediatrician felt the need to have him looked at immediately. The paramedics came soon after and we were on our way to the ER at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. (Being in ER is never a good experience...but we won't get into details. Grrr...) There, Jordan would be evaluated and eventually admitted to CHOC across the way.

Nebulizer treatments were the main course of action for Jordan during his stay but we also wanted to make sure it wasn't any other infection that was causing all this. His blood tests revealed that he was negative for any baceterial infections. It was definitely a viral infection around his bronchial area. After a 2-night stay at CHOC, Jordan's fever had come down and his hives went away. He received breathing treatments every 4 hours and his vitals seemed okay. He received oxygen during his first night but was eventually weaned off of it by day 2. He was a pretty good patient for the most part, but it was hard to keep him entertained 24/7 once he was acting his normal self. He completely disregarded the fact that he had an IV stuck in his right foot and was hooked up to monitors. Jordan attempted to jump on the bed, slide down the bed rail, and even tried walking out of his patient room while hooked onto the IV! How does one explain to a toddler that he has to stay in bed all day?? I am not sure how I would've managed had my husband not stayed with me the entrire time. This experience definitely took a toll on our own health as we tried to make sure that Jordan was back on his feet. (So now mommy & daddy are sick from lack of sleep!! The cycle never ends!)

Jordan was able to come home last night based on his improved condition but he still has bronchiolitis, a bad cough & some wheezing. He is acting his goofy, active self so we are glad that he's back! We aren't sure what caused the hives to break out. An allergic reaction to something but we don't know exactly what. He is currently on a few inhaler treatments and an anti-inflammatory steroid and will be followed up by a pulmonary doctor. Even though we were only in the hospital for the past 2 nights, it seemed like forever. It is definitely harder to take care of a sick toddler than an immobile infant. Thinking back, Jordan was easier to manage in the NICU for the 159 longs days versus the 2 nights we spent with him this week!

Unfortunately, due to all this unforeseen circumstance, we had to cancel his birthday party. We plan to reschedule in the near future once Jordan is feeling better. (We don't want him to grow up and hate his parents for not having a party for his 2nd birthday...) Hopefully you can all make it out when we reschedule in the months to come. Again, thanks for all the positive thoughts. We are glad to be home.

Love,
Sandy & John Paolo