Revenge of the Pnuemonia

Well today became our third episode to battle pnuemonia. (Star Wars references for you enthusiasts out there). But there are many positives this time around. We convinced our medical team to send us home to recover instead of admit us to the hospital, and risk exposure to other infections we could pick up there to further complicate our scenario. So the good news is that we are home for now.

The early morning hours were of more concern, as Braden had labored breathing, escalated heart rate, 100 degree temp, was throwing crying fits, was not responding to higher oxygen levels, etc. By the time we had our chest x-rays done and bloodwork taken at the doctor's office, his temperature had subsided, he was no longer needing oxygen assistance, and his heart rate was only slightly elevated. So we got the nurses to access his mediport (you know this is always a "fun" adventure and today was no different), so he could get antibiotics through IV instead of injection (the body responds better and faster to the IV drugs vs. intramuscular injections).

So home health will come give us our IV infusions over the next few days here at the house, and Tuesday mid-day we will go back to the Dr to re-evaluate our situation, provided we don't need to go to the hospital before then. Let's pray Braden will be the little fighter we know he can be, enough to keep us out. His white count was a little elevated at 14.9, so cause for concern, but not enough to be scary. The x-rays showed a slight pneumonia in the right lung, which is a new thing for it to show on the films so early on. The doc thinks we caught it on the early side this time since his white count is not severely escalated, and that we are doing a great job paying attention to his needs and recognizing when something just isn't right.

Send us some extra prayers for our little fighting angel, we appreciate your thoughts.

Mommy Kodi

The end of Xmas in Kansas

Well, after the blizzard conditions in Kansas City, we had relatively nice trip from St. Joseph, MO to Wichita, where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Brad's clan. We got the great news that aunt Jenny & uncle Brian are expecting a baby this July, and we are so excited to have a cousin for Braden!

We made our way out to Western KS (Ashland) to see Kodi's clan. Some of Kodi's step-siblings had to leave to get back to their respective homes in other states to work the next day. The good news, is that Aunt Jodie got engaged to Brad, and they are planning a summer wedding in Omaha, NE. The unfortunate weather conditions lead to Aunt Regina rolling over and totaling Aunt Shauna's SUV. Luckily, she was OK and suffered minor injuries and was able to be released from the hospital that evening. Uncle Cody (Yes, Kodi has a step-bother named "Cody") and Cousin Lance were able to leave with Shauna that night to get to Regina, which I am sure was such a relief on her nerves. We are so very grateful she was OK.

We did get to spend time with Aunt Shala, Cousin Paxton, Uncle Shane, Aunt Jenny and Cousin Peyton at Gram & Papa Tom's. The rest of our stay in western KS was misty, icy, and snowy, so we didn't venture out much, other than to get grandma's minivan ("Braden's Personal Chariot") into the shop to get it road-ready for the trip back to Wichita and then on home to LA.

We made a pit stop in Pratt, KS on the way back to Wichita, where the minivan decided it wanted to stay for a few days. Luckily, it broke down directly across the street from a dealer who was able to fix it New Year's eve. We made our way back home to LA relatively uneventful (Thank you, Lord!). We got home in time to prepare for our LSU Tigers to take on the Ohio Buckeyes for the national championship football game, and as you know, our beloved Tigers WON!!

I will post some snowy/icy photos from KS later this week. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to leave a note for Braden if you get a chance. (Mommy will be scrapbooking the blog for him).

Love from the Bayou,
The Wilson clan