So Braden has been very healthy other than the allergies that are getting everyone around here these days. When I had to get up in the night at 3:30 Tuesday morning I was surprised he was upset and kicking around and not a happy camper. I suctioned him and settled him a few times until 4:30 am. At this time his sats were dropping, but I really wasn't getting much out in suctioning, so I figured he just needed his morning vest treatment which comes at 6 am.
Oxygen seemed to help, but after vest therapy he didn't seem too much better. And once we were on the road to daycare, I noticed he was doing those three little "recovery breaths" like after you've been crying which had me concerned at this point - because he still wasn't acting like he was getting sick. Braden has a few tell-tell signs like gunky eye stuff or purple eyelids when he's not feeling good. So we put him on oxygen when we arrived at daycare.
I had already called the doctor's office 5 times and left messages in 3 places at this point, so I headed to work. LaTacia calls me about a half hour later to say that Braden is acting like he's kind of gasping for breath. Not good. I tell her I am on my way. As I am getting over there I am of the mindset that I will be taking him straight to the ER... but I'd so much rather him see the pulmonologist, because the ER folks don't always have a great grasp on his respiratory issues, and they will probably have to call them for consult to come down anyways.
So I finally get the nurse at the pulmonologist on the phone who asks me some questions and suggests that I should just TRY to change the trach first, and if that doesn't help, bring him on in and we will get him to somebody. So I get to the daycare and Latacia helps me get Braden prepped for trach change. We change out the trach and he immediately coughs up some stuff that's been building up, and see that the trach we just pulled out had a mucous plug - YUCK!
Not just gross, but when I ran water through it to clean it out, I could tell there was only a TRICKLE of water and my poor baby had been trying to breathe through that tiny hole! No wonder he was gasping for air! I felt like a bad mom for not recognizing that this was the issue, but it was our FIRST plug. The signs weren't clear because I was able to suction some, I was able to go a little past the normal suction line - turns out it was probably bunching up in the line.
Crisis averted, no visit to the ER. Within two minutes Braden was breathing normally again. His strength and fighting spirit never cease to amaze me - he is one amazing kid! Thank you God for a solution that worked and for being with our boy while we worked through how to fix it - our little guy is resiliant!
The picture is from our photo session in the park a few weeks ago - he and Jackson were "taking five" while mommy and daddy posed for pictures. Our little guy wasn't super cooperative and got bit on the corner of his eyelid by a mosquito that swelled up pretty fast - so he wasn't much for photos that day.
This Thanksgiving be thankful for all the little things you take for granted every day - you might have to slow down to think about what those are. The crooked smile of your ornery child, the way your kid skips down the hallway, the way someone you know always greets you with a smile... be sure to tell those you are thankful for why you are thankful for them, for you never know when their time may come and you miss the chance to tell them how much you care.
Mommy was asked to write for Baton Rouge Parents Magazine, who will be putting out a Special Parents edition. The assignment was to report on daycare options for special needs children in Baton Rouge. If it's not heavily edited and chopped down, you will get to see all kinds of my personality come out. I'll be sure to post a link when it's available, I'm not sure when they plan to go to print. I think early December. Thanks for checking on us,
Kodi, Brad & Braden
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