Sick Baby Girl

It has been a very hard week at our house. All of you moms know that one of the hardest things we have to do is watch our babies suffer, especially when there is nothing we can do for them. Kenley started developing a bad cough this Saturday. We didn't think too much of it because she was acting just fine and didn't even have a runny nose. On Sunday the cough got worse so we kept her home from church just in case she had something contagious. Monday morning she was fine but by Monday afternoon she was getting worse. I called the doctor to make an appointment for the next day. During the night Kenley started struggling with her breathing. She had a lot of rattling and wheezing in her chest. We were up all night wondering if we needed to take her to the ER or just wait to see the doctor in the morning. We ended up waiting until the morning but by the time we talked to the doctor she sent us straight to the ER.

When we got to the ER Kenley's temp was 103.5 and that was with Tylenol. They did a flu and RSV swab. The RSV swab came back positive. During the exam the doctor also found that she had bronchiolitis and an ear infection.

They debated for a while on if they should admit her or just send us home with breathing treatments and antibiotics. They finally decided we could go home.

That afternoon Kenley's doctor called me to check on her. When she found out that they sent us home from the hospital she was surprised and concerned. She asked me if I would bring her in at 8am the next morning (Wednesday) to check on her again. When we got there it took her about 2 seconds with a stethoscope to realize that the ER missed part of her diagnosis. They sent us for an X-ray and confirmed that Kenley also had pneumonia on top of everything else. She also found that the second ear was infected too. SO- our poor little has RSV, Bronchiolitis, Pneumonia and a Double Ear Infection!!! Again we went back and forth on if Kenley should be admitted in the hospital or go home with treatments. They finally decided to give her some shots (with the same meds she would be treated with in the hospital) and send her home with breathing treatments. So that is what we did. The next morning (Thursday) we went back for more shots and another check-up. When we got there Kenley's oxygen level was doing better but the Pneumonia was getting worse. After her shots the doctor prescribed a nebulizer to boost the breathing treatments at home. When we got to the doctor this morning (Friday) we had another X-ray before we even went up to see the doctor. We found out that Kenley's oxygen level is doing great! And that the pneumonia was getting a little better on the left side but worse on the right side. The good news is the left side is showing some progress and breathing treatments are starting to work!!! YAY! So.......Kenley got another round of shots (poor baby) but this should be the last round. We get to start normal antibiotics tomorrow and keep up the breathing treatments over the weekend and don't have to go back to the doctor until next week!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! We are just praying that she continues to show improvements over the weekend and gets some energy back.

With all of the breathing problems I did not sleep much this week. I would stay awake to listen to Kenley's breathing and monitor her. Between being run down and around so many sick people between the hospital and doctors office I have gotten sick now too. We are praying that I will get past this soon so that I can have all the energy I need to take care of our baby girl.
Last night Andy started getting a scratchy throat too. If you would- please pray for all of us to get well soon, especially our little girl.

Through this journey we have been EXTREMELY BLESSED!! It is amazing to us that we are so new to Fort Smith and don't know many people but we have been loved on and blessed beyond what we could have ever imagined. Our friends and church have been so helpful. We have had meals brought to us, groceries, phone calls daily with offers to pick up things for us, checking on us and TONS of prayers. I feel so overwhelmed right now with the love of Christ. Thank you Jesus for blessing us and loving us. And thank you friends for showing us the love of Christ!

Here is a picture of Kenley last night eating a Popsicle that a friend brought her. You see that smile? She was a happy little girl.