Darn it! Another hospital stay with our Jett man.
He had been doing really well too...those darn $#&@%$ viruses will get you every time. I'll give you quick details on the hospital stay, but then I really want to focus on how GREAT Jett's month really has been.
On Thursday, Jett started showing signs that he may be sick. He had been congested for the previous week, but I attributed that to allergies. In fact, that very day, I had gotten a prescription for Claritin in hopes that it would help his stuffy, mucousy (is this is word?) nose. Well, he began to develop a fever. Tylenol and Motrin weren't helping. I went to teach dance in the afternoon and came back to a very irritable and hot baby. His temperature was at 102, which is never fun, but a temperature I can deal with.
Over the course of two hours his fever jumped up to 105...and that, my friends, is when Cody and I jumped in the car and took him to the hospital (Omaha Children's Hospital). Usually we feel comfortable keeping him at home when he's sick since we have all of the medical equipment, but when a temperature reaches 105 it can get scary...and it did. Within minutes of his temperature reaching these dangerous heights, Jett began seizing (small seizures), his teeth started to chatter, and his color turned blue. Cody and I immediately put him on our pulsoximeter to check his oxygen levels. He was dipping down into the 70's. Not good. Luckily we have oxygen tanks in our home. Even though Jett hated every second of it, we taped the oxygen cannula to his face and away we went to the hospital.
At the hospital, Jett received all kinds of needle pokes and tests. Results came back positive for Parainfluenza 3 and Rhino Enterovirus. Poor Jett had TWO viruses to fight. The docs quickly booked him into a room and observed him from there. They also had Cody and I update Jett's DNR. If you don't know what a DNR is, consider yourself lucky. We really do not like making those difficult decisions.
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| I captured this sweet moment at the hospital. It was about 1 a.m. and Jett was miserable. Daddy to the rescue! |
In these two pictures, Jett is saying, "It's okay Mom...I got this." What a stud.
He was able to come off of oxygen within 24 hours and is now resting up to get rid of that stinkin' fever. We are at home now and Jett is loving his snuggle buddy...a doggy rice bag.
Random, I know, but he loves it. He smooshes his face into it as he is sleeping. The last I checked, he didn't have a temperature so hopefully we're on the up and up!
Now, for the details of Jett's FANTASTIC month...
Up until the beginning of March, no medication could even TOUCH Jett's chorea. He was miserable almost 24/7 because his poor little body couldn't stop tensing up and moving. It was really painful for Jett and extremely painful for us to watch. Well, the neurologist decided to try Jett on a new medication that is only used in the adult population...Adults who suffer from Huntington's Disease. At this point, we were desperate to try anything. The medication, itself, you are unable to get in a regular pharmacy. Therefore, we had to wait for it to be shipped to us. I won't get into the nasty details of HOW blasted LONG it took to get to our doorstep, but we were super excited when it showed up.
The drug is called Xenazine (Tetrabenazine) for those who are curious and I feel that it has done wonders for Jett. He is a different kid! Not only has it calmed him, but he has become more aware of his surroundings as well. He focuses more on our faces and listens very intently to anything we say. We are also discovering his unique ways of interacting with us, including MORE SMILES! An even bigger bonus, Jett is gaining weight finally. He is now up to a stout 13 lbs 10 oz.
I gave Jett his first popsicle! He loved it, but then choked on the juices. It's all good, I just had to suction him out. It was still worth it for the smiles.
Jett went on his first road trip to Kansas City. He was seriously an angel the entire time.
For more on that trip, click HERE
We also visited the Lego sculptures at the botanical gardens that are right by our house. Jett learned how to push a lawnmower with daddy.
He dressed up with me for St. Patrick's Day and also took a horsey ride on Kusaba. (Bottom left pic)
We visited the zoo and the jellyfish were Jett's favorite part.
He loved the bright colors and how slow they were moving. We probably stood there for an hour. Im sure people were like, "Get a move on, lady!"
We've enjoyed the spring weather that is headed our way and hopefully here to stay...
and Kusaba stays true to form by always photobombing our pictures. Good doggie.
Jett also learned to bite my nose.
It's a shame that such great progress had to be impeded by sickness, but we are going to focus on the positive and kick these viruses in the a@@! Better days are ahead.
