Sick Kids and Radiothon 2015

Last Wednesday night I put the kiddos to bed like always and they went down pretty easily. Rylan had been a little sick for a few days. It seemed like it was just the sniffles with a bit of a cough that occasionally made him gag…maybe it was more than a “bit of a cough.” Patrick arrived home a few hours later and Rylan started coughing. Daddy went to check on him and he gagged and threw up all over both of them and then wasn’t breathing too well. Patrick sat with him for a long time and then put him back to bed. He came out of the room and said that he didnt’ think Rylan was breathing too well.

I was slightly terrified. This is a preemie mom’s nightmare! I know my babies don’t have the strongest lungs but I’ve always felt that they are so, so resilient anyway. We decided I’d take both kids to the doctor first thing in the morning. Both kids slept really well and I woke up with a start at about 5:30 because I hadn’t heard either of them coughing or moving around at all. But alas, they were fine, just sleeping soundly.

I loaded up the car and headed off to urgent care as early as I could…which, as it turns out, was close to 10:00. What was I doing for 4 and a half hours?!

When we got there they did their usual triage: weight, temp, and oxygen levels. Rylan’s oxygen levels were below where they needed to be. The doc took a good look and listen and sent us to radiology for a chest x-ray to be sure that our little guy didn’t have any pneumonia. His breathing was clearly labored and he had a bit of a fever. He was put on oxygen almost immediately and we were admitted hours later.

 

We spent the next 3 nights in the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital. The same place where our little guy spent the first 78 days of his life. It was so hard being back there with a sick little one, and even harder because we had another, less sick, kiddo at home. Poor little Neala didn’t know what was going on!

Even though essentially every bed in the hospital was full and the staff was clearly stretched a bit thin, we received the best care possible. Our little guy healed as quickly as possible and we are so thankful that his respiratory virus is mostly gone at this point and we are home and happy.

His timing provided a lovely intro for my other reason (besides just telling you that my kid was sick) for writing: 100.3 The Peak Radiothon 2015.

Every year, one of our local radio stations hosts a fundraising radiothon for the UNM Children’s Hospital. They interview parents and kids who have benefited from the services that UNM provides to families and tell those stories while raising money so the children of New Mexico can continue to receive the best care.

I will admit, this radiothon has been happening for MANY years and I’ve always ignored it, up until last year. The 2014 radiothon happened the week before our kiddos got out of the hospital and listened as much as I could. This year, I’ll be listening even more, and hoping that my friends and family make a small donation.

 

 

 

 

 

About a month ago, I was interviewed by the DJs and our story will be told sometime during the radiothon!  If you’re in Albuquerque, tune in to 100.3 to listen or visit http://www.1003thepeak.com/features/radiothon-to-benefit-unm-childrens-hospital-153/ and click the “listen live” link!