Back Again...

We had a very tough & emotional week... After another visit to the pediatrician Cooper's weight was still down. On Sunday, you were just not eating and I could not get you to eat after hours of trying. We noticed Cooper sounded congested and was breathing very deep and hard. We were worried and had already called the on call for the pediatrician. We went a video of Cooper to Aunt Sharon who is a nurse and she told us that we definitely needed to contact the doctor. Once we heard back from the on call, they told us we needed to head to Children's Hospital immediately. We went straight to the ER at Children's and tried to not worry too much until we knew what was happening.  Sassie and Gran Doc came up to help (or more to comfort us and keep us calm).  The staff of doctors and nurses were great...they put Cooper on oxygen to help him breathe.  It was very hard to watch them put the IV in his tiny little hands, but Cooper did great and barely even fussed!  Mom was the one having a hard time!

After much discussion and advice from doctors, they wanted to admit Cooper to determine what exactly it was.  They were not sure if it was pneumonia, RSV or something more serious.  Jeff & I spent the night in an AWFUL small room (or broom closest) with one chair and we rotated napping on the chair between watching Cooper breathe all night. After word got out we were at Children's, we had some good friends and old colleagues that helped us move on up to the top floor and into a much bigger room that had a couch that folded out so both Jeff & I could sleep in the room comfortably and Jeff had room to work during the day.  We were SO thankful - what a difference that made during the stressful time.

After the first night, the doctors confirmed it was RSV and we needed to keep Cooper quarantined.  Everyone entering the room had to wear mask and gown to keep from spreading it to anyone else.  Jeff & I were the only ones who did not have to.  Unfortunately, Cooper's weight was still dropping as he struggled to breathe and eat, so they kept us a few more days.  We could not have made it through that week without the help of Sassie, Gran Doc, Gran & Big Daddy - what a huge help they were coming by to check on Cooper and help Jeff & I stay positive and sane!  Jeff had a busy work week of travel and somehow managed to be up all night with Cooper, work all day from the hospital room and still squeeze in an early morning trip to Houston while Sassie helped mom out.

What a long week watching Cooper and trying to wean him off the oxygen - that honestly was the most taxing part of the whole thing.  Gran and Sassie were such a huge help during this time, we could not have managed without their help and time!  Cooper had gotten down to a scary 5 lbs 2 oz, so they were watching to see if he could get his weight up and finally be away from the oxygen for an extended period of time.

 Finally, after 5 days, Gran & Big Daddy talked Jeff & I into getting out of the hospital for an hour to help relieve some stress... what a great idea so we could take a quick break, get some fresh air and know that Cooper was being well taken care of...  FINALLY, after 6 days, Cooper was released from Children's and we headed home.  We were so greatly for all the wonderful nurses and doctors at children's.  We really could not have made it through that week without their thoughtful care & sincere concern for Cooper.  We even ot a pic with one of our favorite nurses, Jamie, on the way out... Sad to leave them, but we were ready to go home!!