I was in the girls' room one night and woke to hear crying, but it wasn't either twin. It was Theo, feverish with a headache. I took care of him, and called Zinah stressed out asking how she kept her preemie baby safe when her family got sick a year ago.
Jay got Theo a dust mask and I gave him comfort and washed and then turned on lots of T.V. for him. No one else got it. Five days after he recovered, he got a nasty cough on Friday, Feb. 21. Jay and I tried so hard to keep the germs away, washing hands, but by Monday Feb. 24 I was definitely catching it. I told the nurse about my worries at the girls' weight check. She encouraged me to keep trying and gave me a handful of face masks. She said they were getting hard to find in the stores. I hadn't realized that there was a shortage of masks here in Tucson (wasn't I naive?) and thanked her.
The next few days we intense. Luckily they were only a few weeks past their due date so still did the newborn "we sleep a whole lot" thing. Every time I had to wipe my nose while feeding them I'd replace my mask, then use hand sanitizer.
I think it was that night that between caring for the twins, caring for myself, feeling stressed that they were going to get sick, and having a bad runny nose causing a cough, I don't think I slept at all. I called my parents, who already had helped so much with other things, and asked if they could come help at night because I really needed to take some Benadryl to dry up my sinuses, and I wasn't sure if I could also wake up to take care of the girls. They came and helped that night. I got quite a bit of sleep.
I hear that Little Foot tried to snuggle with my mom and he was sent away.
On Wednesday Wendy was starting to cough and I had to wipe her nose a few times. That night she didn't feed well. The next day, Thursday Feb. 27, I was concerned and decided to call the doctor, even if I didn't know what they could do for her.
My mom met me there to help with the other kids. The nurse said we'd get get O2 levels while she was still asleep.
The monitor said that her levels kept dropping into the 70s before coming back up to the 90s where they should be.
They gave her oxygen in a nasal cannula and called an ambulance. They strapped me to a gurney and had me hold her for the ride. My mom followed with my car and the other 2 kids.
Wendy wanted to nurse and she took a better feed than she had all day. I kept pushing her nasal cannula back in. I didn't realize that it wasn't hooked to anything. After the ambulance, they didn't put it in anything and had just hooked her to monitors. Then she suddenly had several episodes of not breathing. They put her on a CPAP machine. Around this time Jay arrived.
We moved to the PICU and she still was having trouble breathing and so she was sedated, intubated, and put on a ventilator. She stayed on it for 3 days. Then she was able to come off. Stopping whatever drugs was pretty miserable for her. I remember staying for 4 hours and she only slept for 10 minutes at one time before coughing herself awake. Later she got a half hour of sleep. 40 minutes of sleep in 4 hours is not enough. It was not a good day.
She actually was moved off the CPAP after just a day onto a nasal cannula with heated high flow. Her throat was very sore and she was hoarse. The nurses said they had to keep really close because they couldn't hear her cry and had to watch her to see when she was awake and needed care.
Meanwhile, Miri was sick at home. She first had symptoms Saturday, Feb 29, two days after Wendy was admitted. Jay and I took her over to our pediatrician's office, which is open on Saturday. They checked her O2 levels and said that she didn't need to be admitted yet, but we could if it would give us peace of mind. We discussed it and kept her home, but the doctor said she was meeting someone the next day, Sunday and we could bring Miri in again if we felt like it. We took her 4 days in a row to make sure she was still okay. She was having terrible coughing fits that were lasting 15 minutes at a time. We bought an Owlet smart sock that keeps track of O2 levels and heart rate.
Day 5, Wednesday, March 4 at 6:30 in the morning I got concerned about her breathing, some. She was okay for now, but I wanted her checked. I was waiting for 8 a.m. to call the pediatrician when suddenly Miri started contacting the skin on her throat as she breathed laboriously. I called 911 and unlocked my front door and then ran back to hold her up in front of the humidifier. The paramedics arrived and gave oxygen and put monitors on her. She stabilized and one paramedic helped Theo put on a shirt and shoes as they strapped me to a gurney, again, telling me to hold Miri upright. Theo rode in the ambulance behind us in a fold down seat. Later he asked why I didn't take any pictures of him getting to ride in the ambulance with the siren on.
I wanted to call Jay, but I was using both hands to hold Miri in a position to help her breathe better. We arrived to a very confused ER doctor. It was the same one in the same room as Wendy and he thought it was the same girl for a moment. I explained that it was a twin.
Then Jay came in just minutes, it seemed, even though I hadn't even managed to call him.
He said that our front door camera had footage of paramedics, so he knew where we were. He had been visiting Wendy at the hospital already. My mom came too. Jay had the presence of mind to call her. Theo didn't want to leave without Daddy, but after a few hours, I think, Miri was placed on heated high flow and taken to the PICU too and my mom took him home.
I asked myself if I should have just put Miri in the hospital sooner, but I've decided no. She still had bad coughing fits in the hospital and home is so much better. She was happy there. The girls didn't even get to share a room so I had to choose who I saw when.
On Thursday, March 5, I spent longer in Miri's room than Wendy's, holding her up to help with the coughing fits. That night part of Wendy's right lung collapsed and then reinflated itself. She was treated with steroids.
On Friday, March 6, Miri was very improved but Wendy, after her scary lung problem, was retracting the skin of her throat and under her ribs. It was worse when she was upset and I held Wendy for like 4 of the 5 hours I was at the hospital that day. Poor Miri didn't get much mommy time that day.
A respiratory therapist gave Wendy a pacifier with sugar water on it at one point and that helped calm her.
The next day I went right into see Wendy again. She was doing better with not much retracting and I think I nursed her.
Wendy's nurse said she heard that Miri was still doing okay without much change. After 45 minutes I went into her room and saw she didn't have any breathing support and she looked good!
Apparently around the time I arrived, her nurse went to check on her and found that she gave hulk baby-ed out of her swaddle, torn off her cannula, and was just happily chilling in bed. Wendy's nurse hasn't heard. The doctor said Miri was now a regular pediatric patient, rather than needing ICU status. The next day she came home! She was there for a little more than 4 days, Wednesday-Sunday.
It was so nice to have 1 girl back home.
On Monday Wendy got her cannula out and on Tuesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. I took her home too.
Some ladies from my church came over and were helping take care of Miri and Theo while I was waiting for the discharge (which was supposed to happen at noon). My dad had helped from 4 a.m. until noon.
After feeding the girls first thing when Wendy and I got home, I put them in Theo's old pack and play in the living room. They hadn't seen each other for 12 days, since Wendy was admitted. They were so very happy, just looking at each other and wiggling.
They don't normally entertain each other that well. I'm so glad they got their best friend back.
While in the hospital I asked if Wendy could see a physical therapist about her head shape and a preference for looking to the right. We did see one and managed to get an appointment last week for an official evaluation. Apparently there was a cancellation. While going out right now with covid-19 closing the schools and all non necessary things is a bit stressful, it was good to get Wendy the care she needs because it's time sensitive. Flat spots cause actual medical problems, not just aesthetic ones. It was so helpful that Jay took off work and came so he could listen to all the ot stretches and things with me.
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| So content. Miri with the elephants |
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