Thank You

I would like to express my appreciation for all of the support while Jackson was in the hospital...

Thank you to my sister Shawn for getting Austin from school and keeping him for 3 days.  Thank you for cleaning my house while we were there.  That was a HUGE surprise!  I was actually dreading walking in the door because I knew what a mess I left it in.  I really appreciate you and Chad keeping him busy!

Thank you Tracy Robinson for letting Austin hang out with you and the kiddos on Monday and for coming to the hospital to visit.  Austin totally loves it at your place! 

Thank you to my parents, Ken, Donna, Jan and Bob for coming up to the hospital and spending time with us.  I know that Jack loved seeing you guys!

Thank you to my sisters, Lendi, Jennifer and Kim for constantly checking on us and Jack's progress.  Love you girls!

Thank you Donna Dean for coming with your Mom and Austin to the hospital.  I have watched the video you took of Jack 187 times.  ;)

To all my family, co-workers and facebook friends, thank you!!!!  It is amazing and such a blessing to have so much support and people willing to help.  I appreciate all of your comments and prayers.  It was a difficult 4 days and you guys really helped get us through it. 

And finally, thank you God for answering our prayers.

Adenovirus

Last night was much better for Jackson.  He ran a low grade fever and ate a little more.  He slept until 11:30 am today at the hospital even with the vital checks every four hours.  Waylon and I were able to sleep until about 10 am which was nice. He was taken off of IV fluids about 8am. The doctor came in and said that his ear infection is still present but should clear up with the meds he is currently taking. The infectious disease team did a series of tests and he came back positive for Adenovirus.  Back to Google we went...

Adenoviruses — a group of viruses that infect the membranes (tissue linings) of the respiratory tract, the eyes, the intestines, and the urinary tract — account for about 10% of acute respiratory infections in kids and are a frequent cause of diarrhea.  Adenoviral infections affect infants and young children much more frequently than adults. Childcare centers and schools sometimes experience multiple cases of respiratory infections and diarrhea that are caused by adenovirus.  Although these infections can occur at any time of the year, respiratory tract disease caused by adenovirus is more common in late winter, spring, and early summer. However, conjunctivitis and pharyngoconjunctival fever caused by adenovirus tend to affect older kids mostly in the summer.  The majority of the population will have experienced at least one adenoviral infection by age 10. Although adenoviral infection in kids can occur at any age, most take place in the first years of life. Since there are many different types of adenovirus, repeated adenoviral infections can occur.

This does explain all of the symptoms that he was having.  The doc said that there are still more tests/cultures pending but if any of them came back positive, it would not change the treatment plan.  She approved his discharge from the hospital.

We are finally home!  {Big sigh and happy tear}  Jack is napping peacefully in his own bed. 

Because this infection is a typical day care infection, I am dreading taking him back.  I plan to keep him here for a few days until he is totally fever free and the congestion is a little better so that he can eat more.  Unfortunately, my kids have to be "day care kids".  I can only hope that this has built up his immunity to tolerate whatever may come next. 

I will put my list of "thank you's" in my next post. The "thank you's" deserve their own post as we had so much support and have so much to be thankful for.  For now, I feel as though I have been hit by a train.  Waylon and I are completely exhausted.  Off to get Austin and rest....

On the Mend

Phew!  Looks like home is on the horizon.  Jack's congestion is doing much better.  It's still there but he is able to suck on a bottle.  He just took 4 oz which is a vast improvement.  His doctor came to visit this morning and wasn't happy with the amount of fluids he has taken in so she ordered more IV fluids.  These were stopped in the middle of the night when the second IV would not work.  It turns out that the IV catheter was bent and preventing fluids from going in.  You know what that means...yup, he got his third IV today in the same arm.  I did not want him to have it but like Waylon said, it is the only thing that we cannot do for him at home.  While the hospital is supporting him, we need to get him everything he needs.  The doc also confirmed that he still has an ear infection which has not gotten better since it was originally diagnosed on Wednesday.  They changed his antibiotics to help with that.  At this point, she is attributing the fever to the ear infection.  

Here he is in his baby jail.  Ever see a hospital crib?  They're interesting.  :)

So, what is the plan?  The plan is to continue to monitor his fever and his eating.  Hopefully these new antibiotics will kick in to help fight the infection.  The doc said that there are several tests cultures still pending.  It could be weeks before results are in.  Their goal is to release him tomorrow if he is eating well and fever free.

Super Trooper

 I fell asleep yesterday afternoon for a minute and literally forgot I was here.  I was quickly reminded by the sound of the IV machine (which is going to be the death of me by the way).  The darn machine kept beeping even when Jack was still.  The nurse recommended that we take out the IV from the top on his tiny hand and replace it with a brand new, shiny IV in his arm.  Really???  So we did.  UGH!!!  They had to use an ultrasound machine to find his vain and and to put it in.  He can't bend his arm at all in spite of it, but he is receiving fluids (I have to remain positive here).  Last night Jackson ran fever of 101 and was quickly relieved by his new BFF, Tylenol.  He goes from feeling miserable one minute to this the next....

This kiddo is a trooper.  With all that is going on, he only cries when we wakes up or when they are poking, sticking, pinching, squeezing, or suctioning him.  One of the challenges right now is getting food in him. He can't breath when a bottle is in his mouth.  I watched him fight is way through 4 ounces last night which was major progress.  Seriously, we wanted to throw a party in our room!  He has learned to recognize the "blue people."  When the nurses have to do something to him (take temp, blood pressure, suction) they put plastic, blue smocks over their scrubs.  A nurse will check on him and talk to him and he is fine.  That same nurse will come back in with her blue smock and he starts to get upset.  He's on to them. ;)

It's 5am-ish on day three at TCH.   Jackson just woke up running fever of 103.  This morning I am seeing more blood from his nose than mucus.  We hope to hear more today about all of those tests they say are in the works.  At this point it looks like one hella-bad viral infection (in my professional opinion).  We just can't get control of this stinking fever or congestion.  He still has an ear infection as well.  I do feel like he is on the mend because of the down time from fever when he is happy.  We have to get his temp and congestion and eating under control before he can leave.

Jackson Update

They have officially ruled out Kawasaki Disease, thankfully (after scaring us half to death).  I know they have to consider everything.  There are still lots of tests and cultures pending. Jack will not be released until he can regulate his temperature and eat more.  He is eating like a newborn baby since he is so congested.  His fever continues to spike and can only be controlled with Tylenol.  He has had three deep suctions of his nose today already.  Those are not fun by the way. 

The team of doctors and nurses here are unbelievable.  They should each be paid a thousand dollars an hour for what they do and what they put up with.  Jack is in good hands. 

Be back with more later.

Thanks again for all of your support!

8 Days of Fever

I was planning to do something creative for my 100th post on our little family blog, but our life has taken a turn in the last few days.  My work, cookies and creativity have been put on hold.  

Jackson is on his 8th day of high fever and severe congestion.  When I say "high fever", I'm talking 104.6 folks...every 4 hours.  He started day care last week so we attributed the initial fever and runny nose to the "day care crud".  On Wednesday, when it wasn't getting better, his doctor wanted to see him.  She did a chest x-ray, (which was clear) diagnosed him with an ear infection and he began antibiotics that day.  Two days later (Friday), he was still running fever and blood was now in his mucus so the doc wanted to see him again.  Another chest x-ray was done in which the doctor saw "a little something" and he received a breathing treatment to help the congestion.  Our doctor is wonderful but there was only so much she could do so she sent us to the ER at Texas Children's Hospital for a complete workup on Jackson. 

We arrived here at 2:00pm yesterday (Friday) and his fever was 104 again.  They got him a room in the ER pretty quickly.  He had blood taken, a catheter put in for a urine sample, another chest x-ray, a deep suction of his little nose and got him ready for an IV.  Around 7:00pm they let us know the results and that they were admitting him.  His chest was clear however the blood work was concerning.  He is a very high white blood cell count which means his body is working very hard to fight off something and his infections-something-or-other was high too (sorry, I'm tired and can't remember all the technical terms).  There best guess at that point was that he has Kawasaki Disease.  I had to google it too!  

Kawasaki disease (KD), also known as Kawasaki syndrome, lymph node syndrome and Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome,^[1]is an autoimmune disease that manifests as a systemic necrotizing medium-sized vessel vasculitis and is largely seen in children under 5 years of age. It affects many organ systems, mainly those including the blood vessels, skin, mucous membranes and lymph nodes; however, its most serious effect is on the heart where it can cause severe coronary artery aneurysms in untreated children. Without treatment, mortality may approach 1%, usually within 6 weeks of onset. With treatment, the mortality rate is less than 0.01% in the U.S.^[2]There is often a pre-existing viral infection that may play a role in its pathogenesis.^[3] The conjunctival and oral mucosa, along with the epidermis (skin), become erythematous (red and inflamed). Edema is often seen in the hands and feet and one or both of the cervical lymph nodes are often enlarged. Also, a remittant fever, often 40℃ (104°F) or higher, is characteristic of the acute phase of the disease.^[4] In untreated children, the febrile period lasts on average approximately ten days, but may range from 5 to 25 days.^[4] The disorder was first described in 1967 by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki in Japan.

Jack only exhibits a few of the criteria for this disease however.  Like I said, this is there best guess to explain the high fever and red lips. The doctors explained that if he is still running fever in the morning, then they will do an echo on his heart to see if it in enlarged.  That will determine if they treat him for Kawasaki or not.

That brings us to today.  It is 6:30am.  I think I fell asleep at 1:00am and Jack just woke crying at 5:30am with high fever and bad congestion.  His poor little eyes were glued shut with gross green stuff.  They just did another deep suction on his nose so that he could drink some of his bottle and he is resting.   The Infectious Disease Team (sounds scary) will be here in a little bit to examine him and let us know if they want to follow through with the echo.

Waylon and I are holding up well.  We just want to see our baby able to breath better and fever free. Thank you to all of our family, friends and co-workers for your support thus far. Thank you to Aunt Shawn for getting Austin from school and caring for him while we are here.

Jackson, my 100th post is dedicated to you baby.  We love you more than you will ever know and can't wait until you are your crazy, busy, happy self again.

Please keep Jackson in your prayers today.

I'll continue to update so check back. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

The Heflins have been crazy-busy.  We had a two-day garage sale last weekend. The boys were at school for the first day and they "helped" us on the second day. Austin was excited all week for the chance to sell his things. He went through his toys and picked out a few things he was willing to part with. He priced them too.

I didn't realize that when she said he wanted to sell his things, it meant that he wanted to stand behind the table where he placed his stuff and watch it. He would get really disappointed when people would just look at the toys and not purchase any of them.

Austin didn't understand why they didn't want to buy his stuffed Elmo for $5 or why they did not want to "make him an offer" on his train.

It was harder doing a garage sale with a baby then I thought it would be, especially a sick baby.

Jackson started to get sick on Friday night after his first week at day care.  I just attributed it to the day care crud.  It has lasted however, for five days.  Today the doc said that he has an ear infection and she ordered a chest x-ray for pnemunonia. If you haven't see an infant have a chest x-ray, it's very interesting (and a little disturbing).  Jack was put in this contraption which made his arms stay above his head.  It was not fun to watch while he was screaming.

My poor sweet baby.  This is his second illness and it has been rough on him and Mommy.

As bad as he feels, he still manages to crack a smile.   

Austin and I went to a birthday party on Sunday.  I am pretty sure that ALL of our weekends are booked for the rest of the year.  ;)

Whip It Good!

So you might have noticed that I now have a little side gig, Whip It Good Cookies.  It was recently featured on the blog of one of the most creative people I know, Tracy Robinson of {doe-ee-bird photography}.  Check out her post here.  I am so excited to do some creative work with her this year.  If you haven't already, check out Whip It Good Cookies which is slowing turning in to Whip It Good All Things Sweet.  :)

Bittersweet

This week is bittersweet.  My niece, one of my greatest friends, and nanny to my boys will have her last day at the Heflin house on Friday.  She recently graduated from dental school and will begin her new job on Monday.  Why am I fighting these crocodile tears?

Because Donna Dean has been there for the boys since the beginning. She was the first sitter Austin ever knew.  She started watching him at 6 weeks old until he was 18 months.  

Austin loves his "Nonna".

 There isn't anything that she wouldn't do for him or Jack....

 

 ...or the rest of the family.

She returned to us when Jack was 11 weeks old and has been watching the boys since.  Okay, here comes the waterworks...

Donna, thank you so much for EVERYTHING you have done for all of us.  Thank you for driving out of your way every day to our home to spend time with the boys.  Thank you for constantly being such a positive influence and loving them with all your heart.  

We love you so much and wish you the very best on this exciting new chapter in your life.