It's been a while since I've posted anything about Joey and I apologize to anyone who has been following her journey. I have no excuse except that I have been experiencing depression which I have finally sought treatment for. In case you are wondering, I am on medicine to help with the depression and I feel much better. So here I am to update you on Joe's progress to date..
October: Joey turned 4 months old on the 17th (YAY!!), we didn't do anything except spend the day loving on her (I think she likes that more than any celebration). Joey's 1st Halloween was on the 31st (Duh), we dressed her as a Ladybug and of course the costume that I bought her was really big on her. The smallest size they had was 0-3 months and she was between preemie and newborn sizes. We went to Eric and Michele's and Joey and Emma (who was also a ladybug) went trick or treating together. I suspect Joey could have cared less about trick or treating, but Emma had fun..
November: Nothing exciting in November, just more of the same old, same old.. Joey's 5 month birthday was again just us loving on her. Joey had a few days of being really crabby with excessive crying spells, this intensified my depression. It was too a point where I couldn't enjoy the time I was spending with her, so I broke down and saw a doctor to ask for help. The doctor agreed to put me on some medicine. After a few days on the meds I could tell a difference not only in how I felt, but also in Joey. I was able to comfort her when she was upset (something I had not been able to do for a few weeks). Since I have been medicated me and Joey have been having a much better relationship. I have come to believe that Joey sensed my depression and was reacting to it (and they say she will be retarded). She started to develop more of a personality. She was getting more vocal, the smiles were getting bigger and more frequent as well. We had Thanksgiving with Eric and Michele, which as always was wonderful. I am first and foremost always thankful that we have been blessed with this time with Joey, she is such a miracle.
December: The last few days of November and the first few days of December, Joey was a bit fussy, was drooling and looked like she was trying to chew gum.. Naturally I thought she was probably teething. I didn't think to much of it until she ran a low grade fever. I still attributed it to teething, so I gave her Tylenol and teething tablets. I don't remember the exact date, but I woke up in the morning and Joey's fever the night before was around 100, but in the morning her fever had shot up to 102.8. At that point I knew it wasn't teething. I made an appointment with her pediatrician for that afternoon, still thinking she just had some sort of bug. I didn't realize just how bad of bug she had until we got to the Dr's office. Dr. Corn (Joey's Pediatrician) came in took one look at Joey and ordered a pulse ox (for those who don't know, it measures the O2 saturation in your blood, normal is anything above 93, low normal would be 88-92, and anything below 88 requires O2, and anything below 70 is very dangerous if not treated right away). Joey's O2 sats were in the 60's. Dr. Corn said there were 2 possible causes for the low O2 sats. 1-because of her being sick, in which case antibiotics and IV liquids would be the proper treatment. 2-it might have been a cardiac issue, in which case nothing could be done except keep her comfortable and be with her while she passed away. Dr. Corn put Joey on O2 in the office and Joey's color pinked right up, I hadn't realized how bad her color was until the O2 started working its magic. Even though Dr. Corn felt we were looking at the 2nd scenario she ordered Joey to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Bruce went with Joey in the ambulance while I followed in our car (he didn't know how to get to the hospital we were going to).
Once at the hospital they did some testing and found she had RSV and Bacterial Pneumonia (scenario 1). I was relieved and scared. Relieved because there was a treatment for her low oxygen, yet scared because there was no guarantee the treatment would work. They put Joey on Oxygen, but she only needed 1 liter (that was a pretty small amount and a good sign). After they started the IV and gave her antibiotics, her fever was completely gone by the next day. We still had an issue with her being dependent on the O2. I thought Joey was going to have to come home on O2, but Dr. Corn didn't want to do that, since Joey wasn't on O2 before she got sick. She wanted Joey to be weaned off the O2 before she was sent home. They tried to wean her several times with no success, until the last time. I realized every time they tried to wean her, they would simply rest the cannula (the tube under her nose that delivered the O2) on the bridge of her nose. It got me thinking that may have been the reason why she wasn't weaning, that the cannula resting on the bridge of her nose was constricting her nostrils and reducing the air she was breathing. The last time they attempted weaning I asked the Nurse to completely remove the cannula and see if that didn't make a difference. The Nurse reluctantly complied with my request (she said something to the effect of "if it doesn't work, they will have to put the cannula back on again anyway").. Guess what?? My mommy senses were working perfectly, Joey weaned off the O2 completely.. Dr. Corn was willing to settle for a low normal for Joey anything between 89-92, but Joey (being the miracle baby she is) decided that wasn't good enough for her and maintained her O2 Sat Level at 97/98.. We were all ecstatic. Joey was discharged that night, she spent a total of 5 days in the hospital. Bruce had to go to work that night, so I pretended Joey was staying one more night so we could surprise him. I told him I would meet him at the house to pick him up after he got off work. When Bruce got home that morning I told him I had an early Christmas present for him and took him by the hand to Joey's bassinet where she was sleeping soundly. He was so surprised, he asked me how I got her home (like I kidnapped her from the hospital).. When I told him I wanted to surprise him, he hugged me and said this was the best Christmas present he's ever had.
Since Joey's stay at the hospital, she has bounced back 110%. She's doing so good. No more fever, she's in a great mood (most of the time), and now she's getting better head control and she is moving her arms and legs a lot more. I think it's not too much longer before she is able to hold up her own head, but it doesn't matter how long it takes her to get there.
Joey turned 6 months on the 17th and we had another quiet evening at home, just loving on her and playing with her. She is getting more playful by the day.
That's pretty much everything up to this point, I will try to post again after Christmas, but I make no promises.
Until then, thank you for reading and being a part of Joey's journey.
God Bless
