Too Lazy To Write My Own

This was an email Janice sent to a couple of people today. I'm stealing it cause I just feel too lazy to write my own. Some of this will be repeat, but will give you the big picture of the past three weeks and the most recent update to today...

FROM JANICE:

It has been three weeks since Seth first got REALLY sick. Three LONG weeks filled with so many DEEP emotions. I'm sure this email won't even come close to sharing how I've felt. I'm getting teary eyed just typing this. Here's a quick update of our roller coaster ride so far....

Week 1 - The doctors didn't think Seth would make it through the week!...But by the end of the week, he was improving!! The doctor then said Seth was going in the right direction. He was still critical and it may be a slow recovery.

Week 2 - Thursday (10/14) at 4:00 in the morning, I got the first of three calls from the hospital letting us know that Seth's breathing and heart rate were dropping. They did another surgery to put in another chest tube and his breathing and heart rate were going back up, so he was okay....4:50 - Seth had another spell! The doctor was doing another surgery to put in another chest tube!!...5 minutes later - The doctor told us to go to the hospital NOW!!! It didn't look good!! Seth's heart rate was quickly dropping. They didn't think he was gonna make it!...Alex grabbed Lex and Spencer out of bed, put them in the car in their PJs and we were out the door in five minutes racing off to the hospital. (Poor Spencer didn't even have shoes!)

We called(/woke up!) my sister, and Karrie and Bishop Wood on our way there. My sister met us at the hospital and took the boys with her for the day. When we went in and I saw Seth's frail little body and the doctor and a BUNCH of nurses and three respiratory therapists working on him, I honestly didn't know what to think. It didn't look good. Seth didn't look good, his body was a blue/gray color. Tears came rolling down my cheeks as I watched in disbelief. The doctor asked me if Seth had been "baptized" (not a good indication of how things were going!). I told her that our bishop was on his way. Bishop Wood met us there and Alex was able to give Seth a name and a blessing when things were a bit "settled". Alex and I were told that we'll have to take things hour by hour.

That was my longest day at the hospital!...The social worker stopped in and asked if I wanted the hospital priest to come say a prayer. The nurses were somber. Alex and I had a care conference with the doctors and the team. That had to be the most sad meeting in my life! I was an emotional mess that day!!

That evening another doctor performed another surgery to work on the chest tubes again and she switched him back to the traditional ventilator because the oscillator that they put him on that morning wasn't working! I waited outside the NICU for over three hours for this to finish!!

This past week - Seth has still pretty much been sedated. One nurse commented that he is on so much pain and calm medication that he should be in a coma!...I've lost track of how many more chest tube surgeries he has had because his lung repeatedly collapsed!! (He had another (or more?) blood transfusions too.) They've done so much with regards to his chest tubes and his lungs that they've had to do so many x-rays. So many have been done that the radiology department called the doctor to advise her that Seth is having too many x-rays! (I've never looked at so many different chest x-rays in my life!)...One of the main goals for the week was to get Seth off of the ventilator to give his lungs a break. So they had been trying to wean him off that....Sadly, the doctor said that Seth has been through so much since he had been sick with lots and lots of poking with failed IV attempts and surgeries that we also have to work on helping him to trust touch again. Sad, huh?! It's true. When Alex or I would touch him through the incubator, he would squirm thinking that he was gonna get poked again! Oh man, he has been through lots and lots of pain!!

On Wednesday, Seth was taken off the ventilator and put on the vapotherm. This was great news! When I saw him, I cried tears of joy. (The nurse cried with me!) He looked more comfortable. His eyes were open. It was the best that I had seen him all month.

Last night, he wasn't doing so well. His sats were really dropping. So after another x-ray to check his lungs, they had to put a C-pap on him!...Today, he just looks uncomfortable and squirmy again. His body has gotten so used to the calm medication that it doesn't seem to help much anymore! His sats aren't great. =(

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!!

janice

I have some pictures I'll post soon.