Blessings

So after I posted the blog on Monday we took a turn for the worst. At 530 Merrick started wheezing again so I gave him a breathing treatment and still 20 mins later he was wheezing AND breathing over 60 times in a min. I called down to the office, they worked us in and were told that he was more than likely hitting the peak of the disease which is scary cause their breathing becomes very rapid and harsh sounding. So we were told instead of doing the neb treatments every 4 hrs to do them every 3hrs for 24 hrs then go back to the every 4hrs after the 24hrs are up. So we went home and did this and after 24hrs I thought we were on the up hill. I had planned to go back to work on Wednesday and had arranged for Grandma Tami to come and babysit. On Wednesday morning I did his treatment at 730 and he was still wheezing at 745. We then did the steam room (turn the shower on as hot as you can get it and sit in the bathroom while the shower steams it up.) At 830 his breathing became worse, needless to say I didnt go back to work to work but to see Dr. Wickenkamp to have Merrick checked again. By the time we got to the office his breathing sounded like popcorn popping. They gave him another breathing treament at the office but this did not help him at all. His oxygen stats were stable thank-goodness. We then had no choice but to be admitted to the hospital to receive the "big dog" breathing treatment--you can only get this through the hospital. We went to Mercy had a chest xray-which showed that he had RSV but no pneumonia-which we are thankful for, and his CBC came back normal. While at the hospital he was hooked up to a oxygen and heart monitor. We then found while he was sleeping his oxygen levels would drop below the desired range of 91%--at times they were down around 84% causing also his heart rate to drop as well. They continued to suction out his nose and keep him elevated while sleeping and through a few rounds of suctioning he was able to keep his stats around 93% which we were thankful for or the results would have meant he would have needed oxygen while sleeping. He rested well last night and this morning was 110% better than yesterday. His breathing is incredible better and the cough is becoming more loose and his nose is running now which shows its breaking up in his chest instead of being so tight. His spirits are good as usual. He is the happiest baby and we again say we feel so blessed to be such an important part of his life. He is such a precious gift to us and thank all of you for the thoughts and prayers that were sent our way. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful people who care about us. From the bottom of our hearts-THANK YOU!

The Taylors

PS The pictures above are from our stay at the hospital.