2 Years Ago Today...

On Sunday, March 22nd, Noah had his 2nd Birthday. As with any family event, we had been very much looking forward to the big day, organizing a little party for him, Grandma was coming up for a visit, I had grand plans to create a huge 'dump truck' cake using fondant. But on the days leading up to his big day Noah was not feeling too well. What started off as a simple cold steadily grew into a bad cough and a very high fever. So, Saturday morning we decided he probably wouldn't be 100% for his party so thought it best to post-pone. At this point we were just thinking he had a bad little bug that would run it's course while we administered Tylenol and the humidifyer. And just to throw a spanner in the works, our crazy dog Diego injured himself playing with some neighborhood dogs and was behaving a bit like Shay did just before she became permanently paralyzed...so we (I) was freaking out about that and sent Matthew to the emergency vet with Diego Saturday morning. Meanwhile Noah was becoming more and more listless, his fever was not going down and we noticed his breathing was very labored....so we decided once Matthew returned from the vet we would take Noah to the emergency care center to get checked out (kids always seem to get the sickest on the weekends when a simple doctor's visit is not an option.) Well, the situation was not good. Noah's oxygen levels were at 78% which is really low - they get really worried when the levels go beneath 90%. So, next thing we knew Noah was getting breathing treatments and oxygen and needed to stay at the hospital. It was so scary. As a mother you feel like you know pretty much what your child is going through, you know what they look like when they are sick and how they act....but I guess unless you are Tom Cruise with all the medical gears in your home you don't know whether they are getting enough O2 or not. Noah wasn't blue in the lips or anything, but his eyes were soo sick. The doctors and nurses in the Pediatric ICU took incredibly good care of Noah. We definitely felt we were in good hands and when I really realized how serious a situation this was and asked the dreaded question no parent ever wants to ask "is he going to be okay?" The nurse turned and looked at me straight in the eye and very reassuringly said "yes Mam." I think the fact that he was in such good hands helped me to be able to calmly and confidently care for him. I was very much a part of the care team in the hospital, and as strange as it may sound, it was a wonderful bonding experience for us. We slept in the same little bed all snuggled up together, just like we did exactly 2 years ago. And just like when he was a newborn, I was his everything. I was there for him watching him sleep, helping him eat, I was there when he woke up, when he cried, or when he just needed cuddling. This was a scary thing for him, he needed me constantly and I guess in a funny way it was good to be in a place where I could be there for him without interruption.


On his birthday Grandma brought in Noah's favorite pippa (pizza) and made a birthday cake. He opened a couple hospital friendly gifts and the nurses came in with another cake and sang him happy birthday. So even though it was definitely not the birthday we had been planning for, and probably not the one he wanted, it was actually very special.


After undergoing several tests and x-rays they concluded that Noah had RSV which is a common respiratory virus that can have devastating effects on very young children. Usually children 2 and older are not badly effected by it, but in Noah's case they are thinking he may have asthma as well (this they will be better to diagnose if he has a wheezing sickness in the summer months)which means he may be more susceptible to respiratory illnesses. Little Grace Anderson had the same thing in January and was hospitalized for 8 days. It is a really nasty virus, very contagious and something no kiddo should have to endure.
After 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital, Noah was able to breath without oxygen assistance and was able to go home. It took several days before he fully recovered, sleeping all the time. Now he is totally back to normal, apart from his pants which keep falling off his skinny little bum... and it is soooo nice and such a relief to have him back. Sophie was very concerned about her little brother, she did not like him to have oxygen tubes in his nose and although she doesn't come out and say it, she is glad to have him home too. AND I just have to say a big THANK YOU to my Mom, who came up for a long weekend to spend visiting, dining out and playing with the grandkids, but ended up staying an entire week helping us out in every way during this tough week. Hopefully the next visit will go without incident...