Thursday, January 17, 2008

Jan. 14-18, Bronchiolitis and the Hospital

Alex had a fever of 102.4 F last Sunday. He stayed home from school sick on Monday. By Tuesday, he was working very hard to breath, he was refusing milk (since Sunday), and he was very dehydrated. Mom and Dad took him to see his doctor early Tuesday His doctor recommended that he check in to the hospital to at least get some fluids and some more tests done.

The hospital (Valley Medical Center) gave him a saline IV on Tuesday and he started feeling a little better. They diagnosed him with 'bronchiolitis' caused by the RSV Virus with a positive test for RSV. Below is some information about bronchiolitis.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bronchiolitis/DS00481

Since Tuesday, Alex has been in a hospital bed on a blood oxygen saturation monitor and with an IV for fluids. He has never needed supplemental oxygen, but he is on the monitor just in case. He is awake more than normal because of his bad cough and because breathing is so much work. His fever subsided on Wed. Wed. and Thurs. he has started to take milk again, but not full amounts yet. He almost went home tonight (Thursday), but we decided to err on the side of caution and spend one more night in the hospital. Mom has stayed with him every single night on a little cot next to his bed (Dad stayed the first night in the hospital). As of Thursday night, he is still working hard to breath and is still wheezing a little bit. We expect he will be coming home on Friday and back to normal in a few more days.

Alex has been a real trooper through his sickness. The hospital is a scary and frustrating place for a 7-month-old with strangers coming in to poke and prod him every few hours, but he has taken it in stride. We hope to have better news tomorrow.

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