Just when we were settling into the joys of being home, we were off to the hospital again today.
Last night I noticed William's breathing was a bit labored at times, but it didn't seem too bad and I attributed it to his lack of energy and strength. He slept with me and I set my alarm to give him his Zofran every four hours. He slept fine. This morning we took things slowly and tried to ease in the food. William asked for a second bowl of Cheerios so I thought things were going well. Then William stopped eating saying he was full and it was too hard to breathe and eat. I had noticed his breathing again, but when he acknowledged it, I knew I should probably considered it a bit more seriously. How can you brush off breathing?
I called the doctor around 11:30 AM and he asked us to come in for blood work and x-rays to make sure we weren't missing something that might be going on. Ahhh, okay. I got dressed and quickly drew a bath for William because he'd been in the hospital all week without one and I had no idea how long we'd be at the hospital again. I know, breathing vs. bath? Sometimes stress and motherly standards do funny things!
We loaded in the car and I ran back into the house to do a final sweep to see if I forgot something. The pink bucket! I grabbed the bucket and we were off. William wasn't feeling too good. Ten minutes into the drive while traveling on the freeway, William started throwing up again. Thank you, pink bucket! I debated whether to stop or just keep going. He was coping so I kept going. The car stunk! Oh well.
At the hospital they drew blood for his regular various counts (CBC). Most things were good, a few marginal, and a few abnormal, but possibly explainable. No need for any transfusions, blood oxygen levels acceptable, white blood cell count high, but likely due to the shots he's receiving to prepare for the harvest, no fever to signal an infection, and shallow breathing in the lower right lung lobe. Chest x-rays were taken and looked clean. Since his vomiting was manageable, his immune system was still functioning and he is scheduled for a clinic visit in the morning, they sent us home after 4 hours.
We were doing the happy dance!
The happy dance stopped when the red flashing lights showed up in my rear view mirror. I told William to hold the bucket tightly and look really sick. (Not to hard for a really skinny, bald kid who's been throwing up anyway). I checked and double checked my speedometer and was incredulous that I'd be pulled over for going 3 miles per hour over the speed limit. The officer walked up to William's window and announced he was pulling me over for a safety concern. Really? It was my cracked windshield that I refrained from telling him has been that way for possibly 4 years. The crack is a rainbow arc along the bottom 6 inches of the driver's side. I asked if it was considered a hazard for my line of sight since it obviously isn't. He said my windshield was at a greater risk for shattering in the high heat of the summer. Oh my. There have been some hot, hot summers here and this year is not one of them. Wouldn't it have happened by now? And how in the world did he see it while traveling on the freeway? It must have been a slow Sunday. He gave me a "fix it" ticket (no cost involved, whew) and said that he normally gives drivers 48 hours to get it fixed and signed off by a police officer, but he'd give me until October. Thanks. Just what I need, another project and expense to juggle while cleaning up vomit and running to and from the hospital.
The upside was a happy teaching moment to show my son that I wasn't breaking the law by speeding. However, the smart little boy that he is said, "If the speed limit is 65 mph and you were going 68 mph and you didn't get a ticket because that's not really speeding, why do we even have speed limits?" How do you teach about the gray areas?
William threw up again after we returned home as he attempted to eat again. I felt so bad because he was saying how hungry he was feeling (He hasn't said that for a week). We waited, did the Zofran thing again, waited and pushed the Gatorade. He's kept it down and now he sleeps.
Now it's my turn to sleep.
You can have someone come to your home to fix the windshield. The only trick is to be there for the appt. ;)
ReplyDeletePraying that the tumor responds well to this round of treatment. Love you guys & thinking about you all the time!
Thanks for the update Julie. I've often wondered if Jesus would have speeded. I sorta think he would have. Ya know, it's safer to just keep up with traffic. And often we just aren't paying attention but our intention is good and safe.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I love that William was hungry. Hopefully you'll have more of that and less of the throw up. I can't imagine how unfun that would be. Keep on being strong for that little guy! you guys are all amazing. (hugs)