The Buckles Family

I know, it seems like I dropped off the face of the earth.  Well, for the past week, it has almost felt like it.  I'll try to start at what may be the beginning of our latest craziness.

Two weeks ago today, Erin came home from school with a slight fever.  Now, I wasn't completely surprised, because Jade had been coughing and sporting a low-grade fever for 2 1/2 weeks at that point.  I was not concerned about Erin then, because she had no other symptoms.  We were very vigilant about her chest P.T., cough assist, and nebulizer treatments every day, and she was showing no other signs of illness.  On Friday (Oct. 2) Jade wasn't feeling well, but she had a special event at school to attend.  She was chosen as student of the month for September, and there was a breakfast and awards ceremony for the special students at school that morning.  Way to go Jade!!!!  I told her that we would go to that, and if she still felt sick afterwards, we could go home.  I ended up just staying at school, in their classroom, the rest of the morning.  I had to work at noon anyway, so it would have been silly to drive home.  Jade was a bit clingy, but I was really trying to keep her in school for the day.  I knew she didn't feel great, but she didn't have a fever.  When it was time to take Erin to the nurse to cath her, Jade really wanted to go with us to have her temperature taken.  I thought it was a good idea, because then I could show her she didn't have a fever.  When we arrived at the nurse's office, the nurse took Jade's temp.  It was normal, and I think she was a bit disappointed.  Erin really wanted the nurse to take her temperature as well.  I mean, you can't do something for one and not do it for the other.  Such is the life with twins (or siblings of any age for that matter).  The nurse took Erin's temperature just for "fun", and we were all surprised when she was the one with the fever.  At that time it was 100.7.  She told me to go cath her, and she would retake it when we were done.  Maybe it was just a fluke.  I mean, Erin was acting completely normal and said she felt fine.  Less than 10 minutes later the nurse took her temperature again, and it was even higher (101.4).  We had no choice at that point but to go home.  They aren't taking any chances at schools right now (for great reason).  Erin's teacher, Mrs. B, couldn't believe it when I told her we had to go.  No one would have believed that Erin had a fever if I had not seen it with my own eyes.  Anyway, when we arrived home, that is when Erin started feeling the effects.  She wanted to lie down in bed, which she NEVER wants to do if she is feeling o.k.  She stayed in bed all afternoon, only getting up when we went to get Taylor from school.  Yes, Jade came home with us at noon.  Over the weekend, Erin was up and down with a very low-grade fever, never above 101.  She still wasn't displaying any other symptoms.  I decided to send her to school on Monday, because her temp was only 99 when she woke up.  By the end of the day when we got home, her temperature was 102.2, and I became slightly worried.  Mrs. B asked me at what point do I get really worried, and I explained that I wasn't even close yet.  I mean, we literally have so many pieces of medical equipment at our house it's like a small clinic.  Here is what we have at our immediate disposal:  equipment for chest P.T., cough assist device, nubulizer, pulse oximeter machine, suction device, blood pressure device, and my very own stethescope.  We are very well equiped to monitor our children's health.  When Mrs. B posed the question, I was very confident (even a little cocky) in my answer.  I was certain we were not on the same path as we went down in June.  I mean, gee, the symptoms were not even close, right?  I decided to keep Erin at home on Tuesday, just to be safe.  I thought that with a little rest she would be as good as new on Wednesday.  Hmmmm, I might have been slightly off.  She woke up with a temperature of 100.something and she had a bit of a stuffy nose.  Throughout the day, Erin started to go downhill.  Sometime in the afternoon, Erin said, "Mommy, it's a good thing I didn't go to school today.  I don't feel good at all."  By that evening, she was a little junky sounding, but I couldn't hear it in her chest... yet.  When Erin went to bed, her temp was only 100.7.  I gave her some Motrin, and at the last minute I decided to hook her up to the pulse oximeter.  For those of you who do not have the time to check the link, a pulse oximeter is a device that measures the oxygen saturation in your blood.  Many of you have had this done if you've gone to the doctor or been to the hospital for any reason.  They usually put something on your finger.  Most people have a steady oxygen saturation of 99-100%.  Our docs have said that anything below 92-94 starts to get concerning.  When Erin's alarms went off on that Tuesday night (well, 3:30 a.m.), I ran in to find her saturation level at 84.  Not only that, but her heart rate was in the 160's (normal is 75-100), her respiratory rate was 63 (normal is below 25), and her temperature was 104.5.  OMGoodness!!!  Ummm, where is that panic button?!  I immediately gave her some more Motrin and brought her into my room for a breathing treatment.  I listened to her chest, and I still did not hear any of the usual crackles/wheezes brought on by pneumonia.  Of course, I am not even close to being a doctor, so really that doesn't even count.  I made a frantic call to Erin's pulmonologist, knowing full well that she wouldn't get the message for another 4 hours at least.  I also made another frantic call.  Yes folks, Kevin was out of town when this happened.  He felt completely helpless as I asked him what I should do.  It was a miserable situation for everyone.  We knew I had to take Erin to the hospital; that was a given.  Our dilemma was whether I should wait or take her immediately.  At 4:30 when I took her temperature again, it had actually gone up to 104.8.  HELP!  Thankfully Kevin stayed on the phone with me the entire time, and we decided I had to leave soon.  I called my friend Michelle, who, to her great credit, answered the phone with a friendly, "Good Morning!" (at about 4:50 a.m.).  She readily agreed to come over to get Taylor and Jade ready for school and take them for me.  She said she would be happy to do whatever we needed.  Now, keep in mind that this meant she wasn't able to get her own daughter ready for school that morning.  Michelle, you're an absolute LIFESAVER!!!  Thank you!

By the time I had Erin ready to go and we were in the van, it was 5:50 a.m.  I KNEW if I took her to our local hospital, they would want to fly her to Children's again.  I also knew that I could get her there faster by driving (by the time the local docs checked her out, they called Children's Transport team, and they flew out from D.C. it would be late morning at least).  At this point, if any of you know D.C. traffic, I had one option:  I had to pick up a slug.  For everyone who doesn't know what this is, I know that sounds crazy.  The type of slug I'm talking about is not the one that's slimy and crawls slowly across the ground.  A slug, in this case, is a person who parks their own vehicle in a commuter parking lot and then catches a ride into Washington D.C. with someone else who is driving.  Our HOV lanes in this area require at least 3 people in a vehicle in order to use them.  In MN we called this the Sane Lane.  Anyway, by using the HOV lane, you can literally save yourself hours of commuting time each day.  I had NEVER picked up a slug before, and I was quite nervous to do this, but I knew it was my only option.  I had to get Erin to the hospital quickly, and since Children's is in the middle of D.C., using the HOV lanes was the only way to get there.  So, I pulled up to the line of people and picked up a person headed for the Pentagon.  I told him right off the bat that this was my first time picking up a slug, which probably made him more than a little nervous.  Not to mention that I had my little girl in back hooked up to a pulse oximeter.  Kevin, who does this all the time, said they usually sleep the entire way in, but this gentleman stayed awake.  Thankfully he helped direct me to where I needed to drop him off, and he told me how to get back on the interstate.  We made it to Children's Hospital by 7:15, which is quite amazing considering morning traffic into Washington D.C.

Here is what happened when we got to the hospital:

• Due to her breathing, Erin was immediately taken back to a room when we arrived in the E.R.
• She was given a breathing treatment, and the tell-tale crackling sound associated with pneumonia was detected in her lungs.
• She was taken for a chest x-ray
• The x-ray confirmed pneumonia in her left lung.  It was diffuse, which usually indicates that it is viral.
• Test for H1N1, and I.V. is started.
• Erin was admitted to the hospital and taken to the Respiratory Care Unit (RCU).  She was put on oxygen to assist her breathing.  She was not allowed to eat or drink anything, because she was breathing too fast.  They were worried she would aspirate it and choke.
  
• After 10 hours of really struggling, 2 consults with PICU doctors, and much worrying later, Erin was taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for closer monitoring.
  
• She stayed in the PICU for the next 24 hours, still on oxygen.
• Results for H1N1 test came back negative.
• Finally moved back to RCU.  Her oxygen saturation levels began to drop again and respiratory rate increased. 
  
• Friday she was on and off oxygen throughout the day/night.
• On Saturday morning, the monitor was not detecting her breathing/heart rate correctly, so it was literally alarming every 30 seconds.  I had to get up to turn it off each time.  I finally asked the nurse to change the settings, but she had to ask the doctor.  The doctor didn't want to change the settings, so I asked her to see if the doctor would like to come in and turn off the alarm each time it beeped.  He came in a short time later and took her off the monitor all together.  He put in the order to spot check her vitals every few hours.
  
• Erin was taken off IV fluids to see how she handled eating and drinking. 
  
• Mrs. B, Erin's teacher, came up to visit.  She brought Taylor, Jade, and her daughter Jesse.  It was so wonderful for her to do that, and we had a really special visit.  I really missed my girls!  Erin loved the company!  THANK YOU, Mrs. B!!!
  
• Erin was put back on I.V. fluids Saturday evening, because she didn't do as well as they had hoped.
• On Sunday morning, Erin was taken off the IV again.  This time she did better.  Her incentive was the fact she was told she could go home if she would eat and drink well.
• Erin was discharged on Sunday afternoon (late).
• We went home to sleep in our own beds, but Erin still wasn't doing great.
• She woke up on Monday with another fever, which made its way up to 102.3.  Ughhh!
• Since it was a holiday, I wasn't able to reach her pediatrician until that evening.  He wanted us to be seen on Tuesday morning.
• We went to see Erin's pulmonologist on Tuesday, who thought she sounded like her lungs were filled with water.  She ordered another chest x-ray.
• The chest x-ray didn't look as bad as she thought it would, so with a list of instructions, we were able to come back home.  We were very close to re-admission.
• Over the next few days, Erin slowly began to improve.  She is now doing pretty well, and we feel like we're on the right track.  Phew!

During most of this, Kevin was trying to get back home.  Thankfully my friends Michelle and Justin were able to take care of Taylor and Jade from Wednesday through Friday.  They had a wonderful time playing with Katelyn and going on outings with their family.  You guys are the BEST!  On Friday evening, the girls went to stay with Kevin's sister where they had a fantastic time playing with their cousins, had a visit from K.J., and enjoyed being with their aunt, uncle and grandma.  We're blessed to have such special people around us to help out.  We were all relieved to finally get home on Sunday, as it was extremely stressful for everyone involved.  Kevin was able to make it home on Monday, and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see him.  Talk about a sight for sore eyes!  He felt horrible for not being able to come home sooner, but there wasn't much he could do.  We're just happy to have everyone home together now.  We want to thank everyone who helped us out, and we want to thank those who said lots of prayers and left messages of encouragement.  I can't tell you how great it feels to know there are so many people out there who are willing to support us when we need it. 

Thank you again for stopping by to check on us, even after my long absence!  I need to go and give Erin a breathing treatment right now.  Have a great night!