We had a great day celebrating the anniversary, but ended the night at the Janeway emergency with Jake. Flash forward to today, Sunday, and we are still at the Janeway with Jake. Jake was admitted with a viral lung infection (most likely, we are still waiting for the swab results), he was having laboured breathing and drops in his oxygen saturations. Tonight is night #4 here, but Jake seems to have turned a corner with this bug, he's been off the oxygen for most of the day and is holding steading at 79-80 percent saturations for the most part. If he can stay off the oxygen over night, we will be discharged in the morning. And I want to go home! The staff here have been wonderful, especially our day nurse Sarah - she was a God send for Jake and for us. Jake likes her so much that he blows kisses and waves when she leaves his room. As long as she is not holding the nose suction thingie, he is happy to see her!
Here's Jake on Day 1 of his treatment...He was feeling really sick at this point.
It's tough having an IV in your foot when you are a toddler who just learned how to walk!
After day 2, Jake started to feel and act more like himself...even getting into mischief by squeezing his IV bag, and twisting the oxygen dial on the wall through the bars of his crib!
It's funny the things you miss when you can't go home. Every day we've spent in this isolation room I have longed to be able to mop the floor - seriously. It's near the top of my list of things to do when I get home tomorrow :) Also on that list is to cook a yummy homemade meal, kiss my Doggie on the nose, have a bubble bath and shave my legs, and spend all my free time on the floor with Jake. Big Sister spent this week in Twillingate with her grandparents, and she is having a great time. I'm thankful that she was happy and well cared for while we were here with Jake - if she had been at home she would have felt left out with us spending all this time at the hospital. Georgia is getting a huge squeeze when she gets home on Tuesday. I just want my little family in my cozy house all healthy and together - is that too much to ask? :)
This morning Jake had perked up enough to start acting like himself again, and I got this gem of a video of him bopping to Bobs and Lolo on the tv in his hospital room. This will definitely make you smile...Take the time to click on this one!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10154485308020611&l=545343752418445390
This is Jake's second hospital admission for a respiratory infection this year. The last one was in March and lasted 2 nights. This one has been double the time so far. And his echo was once again postponed. We are now nearing the 2 month mark with no echo - the longest Jake has gone without an echo in his entire life. The general rule for sedated echos after a respiratory infection is minimum 17 days, so we're waiting for a new appointment now. When this echo finally happens I will be one happy and relieved Momma.
Jacob is developing a true fear of some things that he sees frequently, such as strangers in gowns/face mask, and he can detect a bloodwork technician as soon as they walk into the room. He just knows. And he cries, and looks to me for protection from the hurt, and my heart breaks into pieces all over again. It's so hard. I worry at those moments what Jake's future will look like, and I have read stories of children with complex illnesses who have developed post traumautic stress disorder in reaction to their time spent receiving treatment, and then I have a new worry. It's a vicious cycle.
Today is Sunday, and I wanted to be able to go to church - but since I couldn't my Mom brought church to me through her cell phone :) Jake was napping when the service started, so I got to listen to part of the service through the speakerphone during those peaceful moments. Thanks Mom. I didn't feel alone at all during that time!
Jon and I are mentally preparing to head back to SickKids once again. We're still waiting for the date, but we know it will likely be in the next month or so. With that in mind, my family is taking part in the Ronald Mcdonald House's Red Shoe Crew - Walk for Families in September. We are raising money for the local RMH in St. John's, even though we have never stayed there - we feel a connection because of the 3 months we lived at RMH Toronto in 2013. With another stay at RMH approaching, we've set a fundraising goal of $500, and we're half way there! If you would like to make a donation to Team Jake - we have set up a Canada Helps page that sends the donation directly to RMH St. John's. Here's the link to our fundraising page - every donation helps, and donations of over $10 get a tax reciept. https://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=38565
Please consider making a donation to help us reach our goal!
God is faithful, and He's good. He's been Jake's strong foundation and protector since the moment of his conception, and this experience has been no different. My Mom reminded me today of the song that I spent hours and hours singing to Jake during his two stays at SickKids - on days when I didn't know if he would make it through, at at moments when I feared for his life. It has been months since I thought about this song, and I was thankful for the reminder.
Lord send your angels to watch over Jacob,
I'm so afraid of the night.
Lord send your angels to watch over Jacob,
wrap him in your loving arms.
That's my prayer for the night. For angels to watch over my children, both Jake and Georgia. For my fear of the unknown to be at rest. For Jacob and Georgia to know that God loves them. For Jake to have strength enough to keep his oxygen level steady overnight, so we can all go home tomorrow. Lord, send your angels.
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