One Way to Kick-off 2015

So, Maverick had to try and one up his big brother, Kane, by getting admitted to hospital at Christmas, too. His claim to fame is being the first of the time-traveling twins to get an isolation room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

On Sunday, we brought Maverick into Emerg because he had caught Kane’s Christmas cold and I was concerned about the amount of difficulty Mav was having breathing, as well as his nasty cough. We were seen pretty quickly because Maverick arrived four weeks early and is now only five weeks old. Emerg staff checked his oxygen saturation (95%), listened to his chest, suctioned his snot, and ended up sending us home; legitimately in my opinion.

Unfortunately, Maverick got worse. On Monday, he spent even more time sleeping (how is that possible!?!) and was feeding even less. Just after I put Kane to bed, Maverick started moaning with each breath and the area around his mouth took on a blue tinge. My husband, Harrison, and I decided it was time to head back to the Stollery. Harrison stayed home because Kane was sleeping and no sane person wants to drag a two-year-old out of bed and to a hospital when they don’t have to!

Upon our  arrival at the hospital, the triage nurse recognized that Maverick needed oxygen immediately and we were quickly ushered into a room. I always have positive things to say about the Stollery, but the care we received in Emergency blew me away. We had quite a few people in with us, including: nurses, respiratory therapists (RT), ER doctors and residents, PICU doctors, and a social worker. And every one of them made sure I, the parent, understood what was happening. A big check mark for family centred care.

Around 11:30 Monday night, we were transferred to the PICU where Maverick has been ever since. Again, we have had amazing staff caring for him, and they weren’t even bitter that they were working over the holidays ; ) On Tuesday night, Kane came with us for his first visit and staff were completely welcoming. The great thing about being in isolation is that we have a private room where we can keep Kane on lockdown!

Shots taken on my middle-of-the-night hospital walks.

Kane and I went for a walk so Daddy could have some quality time with Maverick. We wandered around the hospital with our pink ballon, which had been delivered when Mav and I were napping. I asked our nurse what it was all about, assuming it was a New Year’s Eve thing, but learned that it was from the parents of a cardiac baby who had recently passed away. They brought a balloon to each child in the ICU in memory of their daughter, who loved balloons. My heart goes out to the family of Baby A. It always amazes me how families who have been through so much can still find ways to brighten other people’s day.

I love Kane’s sneaky little grin in the photo above.

At the time of this post, Maverick has spent three nights in hospital. He has been diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and is defintitely on the mend. He has begun bottle feeding breastmilk and been taken off oxygen. The next step will be to get him breastfeeding and move him out of the PICU.

Happy New Year, particularly to all the staff of the Stollery Children’s Hospital.