Hospital Fun or An Update on Aurelia

As many of you know by now, Aurelia was admitted to the hospital for the second time this year on Thursday. She has been sick with some colds on and off since she had pneumonia the first time in November, so when she started to get those symptoms again, we just thought we were in for another cold. To our surprise [not necessarily the kind that makes you all giddy inside], she woke up Thursday struggling to breathe easily. Noticing that this is how she was acting when we took her in the first time, I told Josh we should probably head to the hospital.

So our adventure starts at the Marlette Hospital at about 9am, if I remember correctly. Aurelia gets some xrays done and gets a breathing treatment, but is still wheezing pretty heavily. The doctor first told us it was croupe, and while I wasn't convinced, I thought he could be right. But they kept us for observation, and when the wheezing wasn't going away, the doctor gave us a choice: We can give her a steroid to help and send her home keeping a close eye on her, or transfer her to Saginaw, where they have a Pediatric Unit. He left after that, made some calls, and must have gotten conformation that she needed to be transferred, so sleepy little Aurelia was taken to Saginaw**.

When we made it to Saginaw, they put in an IV (Dad stayed strong while Mom left the room... I can only take that so much in a year!) and some blood samples, and the doctor came back (almost three hours later) to let us know that it was pneumonia and that she would be admitted (We already knew she would be admitted).

And that is pretty much the whole story. Now, the update... We saw the pediatrician today, and he said that she might be able to go home today because she was doing well. Then he remembered that she was still on oxygen, and said that she had to be weened off of that and must be off of it for 24 hours before she could leave. She hasn't had to use oxygen since 4:30 this afternoon, and her oxygen levels are really good. (They want it higher than 92% at the least, and hers is up at about 96-98%) She is also off of her IV, and is taking oral steroids, which means that we don't have to worry about pesky cords getting all tangled up all over her!

We have overall had a really great experience, and have met some of the NICEST nurses, doctors, and EMT's. And this time, we were ready for the long stay: I made sure to pack all of us an overnight bag, just in case this happened! Also, the food here is really good!!! Also, they have a play area that Aurelia has been able to enjoy some since she was taken off the oxygen machine, and that helps with the restless state she has been in.

A really fun side note: Our RA tonight is a wonderful nurse named... Aurelia! She is the first person I have met with the same name as our little girl, and everyone was excited for Nurse Aurelia to be taking care of baby Aurelia tonight :) It's the little things I am thankful for, and the little things that help get us through the frustrating times that seem to never end. So, even though I find myself writing to you from a hospital room where my daughter lay full of medicine and covered in band-aids, I can thank God for bringing us here, and only hope that He can use us in some way :) Praise God!!!

PS: Also, Pastor Len brought us some really fun toys to play with while we passed the time... I will put pictures up when we get home. He may have just started a new collectible item for the Hill household :P

**We even got to ride in the ambulance -- They strapped her car seat to the gurney, and loaded her up! It was pretty cool, and made for a nice easy ride. Aurelia slept the whole way and I met some nice EMT's!