raising hunter

So last week was super fun....can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?????? Wednesday Hunter started to feel pretty yucky. Bad cough, fast breathing, extra trach secretions, high fever...you name it. Over the course of the day it got bad enough where we felt it was best to take him to the emergency room. We were checked in right away and the doctors started him on some breathing treatments, a steroid and some oxygen. It all helped but he was requiring enough oxygen that they wanted to admit him....as much as it sucks being in a hospital, it also makes me feel a little better knowing that he's going to get good care and be monitored closely as opposed to Jeremy and I guessing if he seems "ok" enough etc etc..

So we stayed Wednesday and Thursday night and we were discharged Friday afternoon. Luckily Hunter didn't have to be hooked up to a million wires while in bed so were were able to keep him short breaks off oxygen and let him look out the window and watch the cars..he loves that. We made ourselves as comfortable as you can be while in the hospital, nurses were nice, happy with the doctors, no major issues. Hunter speech therapist, Emilie stopped by to say hi and she even brought Jeremy and I Starbucks! How sweet was that?? Thank you again Emilie! You are the best!  Jo Ann, Hunter's trach nurse  stopped by as well. She has been following Hunter since the beginning and has been a life saver for us.

 We were sent home with some Prednisolone, which is a steroid and were told to keep watch for any worsening conditions etc etc. They did do a chest xray and we were told it didn't "look concerning" but it was more than just a head cold, some sort of upper respiratory infection. Most likely a mild case of bronchiolitis. It seems that is what they say if there is no obvious signs of something else, RSV, pneumonia etc. Since Hunter has been home, he's been doing great, just a couple of rough days at first...I almost don't dare type that as I don't want to be jinxed....

It just couldn't have been worse timing as we were scheduled to leave for Cincinnati for Hunter's stent removal just a few days later..which would have been today actually. I was in contact with the nurses/doctors in Cincinnati and they felt it was safest to wait another week before he goes to the OR again....we don't want to stent in longer than needed but at the same time, anesthesia isn't safe if you are sick or just getting over from being sick. I was really bummed at first but at the same time, I would never want Hunter to be under anesthesia if it wasn't safe. So it's been rescheduled for next week. I pray we can keep this boy healthy until then....



We've kept him low key just staying in the house, but he gets his dose of fresh air with a short walk around the neighborhood...here he is yesterday...he wanted to push his stroller most of the time...