New diagnosis: RSV plus pneumonia equals one sad baby girl

Saturday and Sunday were tough on Lily - in addition to her cold symptoms she had high fevers and began breathing rapidly. I called the ER and while they agreed that her breathing was fast they said that I shouldn't come because her temperature was not high enough.

Lesson number 1: it is better to go and feel stupid if there isn't anything wrong than to not go and to wish you did because the situation needed it.

Neal and I took the kids to their pediatrician who decided that Aedan just needed eye drops and time to heal but Lily got some xray work done and it appeared that she might have pneumonia. She was given a nebulizer treatment but her O2 levels did not improve so they called for an ambulance.

It was a strange thing that they brought out the big stretcher for such a little person and an even stranger thing that they wanted to just buckle her carseat on top. We were quite the sight leaving the office to the ambulance. The EMT's were surprisingly in a joking mood the whole ride to he hospital, it felt so out of place while they were prepping her but I was in no mood to complain.

We were admitted to the emergency room instantly and the pediatric doctor felt like she just had something viral so he quickly moved her up to the pediatric floor. A handful of tests later and it was determined she has RSV. They tested for some types of pneumonia which came back negative and the test for influenza first came back positive but was retested and came back negative. She was put on oxygen and they've been trying to wean her since but haven't had any luck.



This morning they took more xrays and they determined that she has a combination of RSV and pneumonia. She started antibiotics and they have someone coming in every once in a while to literally pound on her chest for a few minutes straight to try to loosen up some junk in her lungs. She is not thrilled with all of the needles and tubes and wires and suctions and interruptions and it is a hard thing to watch.

She has a long list of complaints which she likes to tell me many times a day. It almost sounds like she is saying "ow" when she cries. She looks long and hard at her tormentors as if she is means to get her revenge, someday. Okay not really but she may just develop some stranger anxiety from all of this. She cries at the sight of some things and some people.



She gets some joy out of little things: a balloon from the hospital, some toys she got for Christmas, and kisses on her little double chin.

I wouldn't be surprised if we were here until next week. Meanwhile Neal and Aedan are hanging out. Aedan can not visit is because he is sick and Neal seems to have gotten worse so he is staying away. We are in isolation here so no visitors and while at times it gets a little lonely, I keep plenty entertained with books, phone, internet, and of course trying to get some smiles out of my little girl.