Caleb woke up from his nap Saturday afternoon, and we played together for about thirty minutes. Suddenly, things changed. He got very clingy and upset. He started feeling warm. A fever and cough developed. He coughed and cried so much that he vomited a little. We didn't want to take any chances of Caleb getting sick around Tyler, so Brad took him straight to pediatric urgent care. The doctor said that Caleb probably just had a virus. We were supposed to do Tyler's baby dedication at church the next morning, but we cancelled those plans when we realized that Caleb wasn't going to feel well enough to go to church. Since he had missed out on Tyler's birth day, we didn't want him to miss out on the baby dedication too.
Caleb's fever and cough persisted through Sunday and Monday. I called the pediatrician's office on Monday afternoon. The triage nurse said to watch him for another 24 hours. My mom was visiting that day, and we decided that Caleb should go home with her that evening. That way, we were able to keep Caleb and Tyler away from each other. Before they left, I noticed that Caleb had some waxy drainage in his right ear. We started giving him some antibiotic ear drops that Caleb's ENT had given us after he got his last set of tubes. We were told to use them any time we saw drainage. Caleb's fever broke Monday evening, but he still had a cough.
On Tuesday morning, my mom called. She was really concerned about Caleb's cough and was bringing him back to OKC. I called the pediatrician's office again, and I spoke with a different nurse. She said that his symptoms were probably just from a virus that was turning into an ear infection. She said to watch him for two more days, because she said it might take 72 hours for the antibiotic ear drops to start helping. She was sure it was an ear infection, and she didn't want him going in for an appointment and catching something else in the waiting room.
I didn't feel comfortable waiting two days, so I asked Brad to take him to the pediatric urgent care after he got home from work Tuesday evening. Caleb had a terrible cough, his fever had returned, and he was getting very lethargic. Brad and Caleb waited about two hours before they were called back to the triage area. The nurse put the pulse ox sensor on his foot, and his oxygen saturation was in the low-80s. The doctor saw him immediately. He tested positive for RSV and an ambulance was called to have him transported to the local childrens hospital.
Caleb spent the next 27 hours in the ER at the childrens hospital, because there wasn't a pediatric ICU bed available. The doctors checked with other hospitals in the state and in the Dallas area, but they couldn't find a bed anywhere. Late Wednesday evening, a bed came available at a hospital in Wichita, KS. Brad and Caleb were flown up there Wednesday night.
Caleb is receiving excellent care now. He's on a bipap machine which is forcing oxygen in through his nose and mouth. He's receiving breathing treatments every two hours and is getting fluids through an IV. He has developed pneumonia, so he's getting a couple antibiotics for that.
Tyler and I can't be at the hospital, for risk of Tyler getting sick. For now, we are at home in OKC. We might go to Wichita and stay with friends soon, but we'll just see how things go. Brad's mom and my parents are in Wichita and are helping Brad out since I can't be there.
Please pray that Caleb's health improves soon. And also pray that Tyler remains healthy.
