Huntington Memorial

Well… hello there. It has been a while since I have written a blog here on the site. As you’ve noticed, Tiffany has taken over blogging duties over the last month or so and has done a fantastic job. I would love to have more time to write on here, but with the 2.5+ hours I’m spending going to and from work each day, the little spare time I have, I enjoy spending with the family. The reason I am writing this blog today is that Tiffany is sitting in Huntington Memorial hospital with Makoa, who will more than likely be there for a couple of days.

This all started about 10 days ago when Makoa finally started to come down with the illness that both kids had been fighting in Hawaii. We we’re on it right from the beginning. We got him in early to our pediatrician who said to just monitor it for now and he was sounding pretty good. If is mood changed, however, she suggested we bring him back in for another check up. Last Thursday, Tiffany noticed that Makoa wasn’t his normal self, so she decided to take him back in. Our normal pediatrician had the day off, so another doctor examined him. She didn’t hear anything in his lungs, but wanted to be sure, so she sent us off the emergency room at Huntington.

We spent about 5 hours or so in the ER where they drew blood, took chest x-rays, and gave a nebulizer treatment. Everything was came back normal despite the raspiness in his voice, so the doctor was planning on sending us home, but he wanted to check his temperature one last time to make sure he didn’t have a fever. He was fine when they took it during check in, but of course when they took it now it was up to 100.9. The decision was made to keep him overnight for observation. Naturally, once he was admitted, Makoa was laughing, cooing, and eating his entire bottle. It was a short-lived stay, and he was released the next morning.

Over the weekend, he was doing splendid. We had an amazing Mother’s Day, getting Makoa baptized by Pastor Gary at LCPC. It was a magical day that we got to share with all of Tiffany’s family. The worship band even played Matt Redman’s song, You Never Let Go, especially for us and it was so unbelievably special, we cannot thank them enough.

Makoa had a scheduled follow up appointment with the doctor this morning. Just like the other days, he had been up, active, and playing all morning. He had been coughing more since Saturday, but we were told this was good and he was fighting the cold. At the appointment, they decided to give him another nebulizer treatment just like they had given him multiple times on Thursday. Unfortunately, the treatment didn’t go so well and they eventually had to call an ambulance to have him transported back to Huntington Memorial.

Apparently, this round had the adverse effects of what was supposed to happen. His saturation levels dropped down and he was not looking good. I got a panicked call from Tiff at work and immediately hopped in my car and drove to the hospital. It was around lunch time so my 1.5 hour drive only took 30 minutes which was great to be there so quick.

The medicine they used in nebulizer treatment at the doctors office was a different type then they used the week before. They gave him additional nebulizer treatments in the ambulance and once he got to the hospital. They were all the same type that had been used on him the week before. Once again, no trouble signs from this medicine. Maybe that new medicine they introduced at the doctors office was the catalyst for this whole episode but we definitely don’t know at this point.

I arrived at the hospital to find Makoa hooked up to oxygen and being poked and prodded. Wow, talk about flashbacks to the NICU. I thought we were past this? They finally got him stabilized, got an IV in, and transported him into his room in the pediatric unit. We went through the same procedures as last week, chest x-ray and blood work. This time, however, they said he would probably be there for at least two days.

That’s the latest. Makoa is stable and has been eating well, in fact, he ate 7 ounces around 7pm. He is still on oxygen, but they are just making sure he’s not stressed. We will see what happens from here. Once again, thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully we will get him back home soon.

Total bummer, but he still looks pretty darn cute.