Give me an R (R), Give me an S (S), Give me a V (V)...

What's that spell? A three day trip to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital!

A few weeks ago Big Sis got a nasty cold and was down for a few days. We knew it was probably inevitable that Little Sis would get to share in the experience. Sure enough, a few days later the snot was a pourin'. We watched her pretty closely, but for the most part she was doing pretty well, she never had a fever and wasn't having any trouble breathing. That all changed when I was giving her a bath. I noticed that she was starting to labor to breathe. I called my mom and said "Do you think I should call the Dr.?" Being the good nursing instructor that she is she immediately said "What do YOU think you should do?" I said "I think I should call the Dr." with which she replied "Good Plan!" Soooo, I called the Dr.'s office and luckily the girls' pediatrician was on call. I told her what was going on and she told me to go to the ER and that she would let them know I was coming. It's funny, they don't really like to mess around with babies that aren't breathing well.

Our friend Kim came over to hang out with Ella so Jimmie and I could take Aubrey to the hospital. When we arrived we had "reserved seating" (it's that babies not breathing well thing, gets you right in). Several doctors and nurses checked her out and we decided to try a breathing treatment. That actually made her breathing more labored, so we suctioned her several times, watched her and decided to stay in the hospital overnight for observation.

Getting a breathing treatment in the ER

She had mucous coming out of every orifice!

To make a four day long story very short, we ended up staying longer and putting her on oxygen. They also frequently suctioned her nose so that she could breathe better. The doctor said that I had caught the virus very early and I was glad that her worst days were spent in the hospital instead of at home where I had no oxygen or equipment to deep suction her.

She liked the hospital pacifiers

She slept in her car seat in the metal crib

She was pretty pleasant for being so sick

I was actually glad Ella wasn't there, being the overprotective big sister that she is, all these wires would have scared her.

The nurses and doctors were very kind and very good at their jobs. They all doted on her the whole time. Ella stayed with Kim during the days and Jimmie stayed with her at night. He came up each day for a couple of hours to relieve me so I could shower and rest a bit. 

The absolute worst part of the whole experience, aside from seeing my daughter sick was not seeing my other daughter in person at all for three days. I wasn't as worried as other parents might be because I knew I was in the right place and I knew what to look for if something went wrong. Not seeing Ella was horrible, though. Because it is RSV/Flu season they don't allow children under the age of 12 on the pediatric floors if they aren't patients, for good reason. We wouldn't want the healthy kids to get sick, or to bring other viruses in to compromised patients. We did get to Skype several times a day, but it was not the same as being able to snuggle up with her.

Aubrey did get better though, luckily without having to endure any more invasive procedures and eventually we got to come home. I was grateful for friends that helped out during that time and for the wonderful staff that cared for us. I now have just a glimpse of what it might feel like to have a sick child. I am much more empathetic and understanding now for those parents that have to stay in the hospital for months at a time. Thankfully other than a lingering cough for about a week, she was very healthy.