The Lucas Lowdown: A little premature...

*didn't have a camera with us so took these pics on my phone...may be a bit fuzzy*

...that is my last post about Molly's hospital happenings! Little did I know there'd be more to add to the sickness saga!

Molly had a cough (no fever) so I took her to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon. By the time we got there she was very lethargic and just wasn't herself. They listened to her chest, heard little movement and checked her blood oxygen level. The reading was 80 (it's supposed to be somewhere from 96-100) which prompted them to start her on oxygen and call hospital transport. Well, hospital transport was too far out so they called 911 and within minutes the tiny exam room was packed with 3 doctors, 2 nurses, 4 firemen, 2 paramedics, 1 wide-eyed baby girl and a weepy mommy. Molly had perked up a bit from being on oxygen and had all those firemen smitten with her before they handed it over to the paramedics:) They strapped her little self in a full size stretcher and off we headed to meet Ryan at the Scottish Rite ER.

Strapped in for her first ambulance ride

Poor sweet girl

Back in the saddle again

We got there at 3:30 that afternoon and were admitted and in our room by 8:30. They diagnosed her with RSV which had led to bronchiolitis. This is a very common illness in babies and, although she's one of the earlier cases they've seen this season, the nurses told us they would have hundreds of babies come through with this from now until about March. They started her on oxygen, began administering breathing treatments and used a vacuum to suction out the mucus that had collected in her lungs. She's been on this course of treatment since her admittance though they've had to tweak it to keep up with her.

Getting her first breathing treatment in triage

Sweet Cheeks

She had a rough day on Wednesday so they transferred us to an ACU (acute care unit) room so they could monitor her more closely. She seemed to improve after the move and they gradually moved her oxygen down from 35% to 30%. Today (Friday), however, she had a few setbacks...a couple of coughing spells and a lowered oxygen saturation level so they had to crank up her oxygen to 40%. They also changed her breathing treatments to include pressure (PEP) to force open her airways and hopefully get the oxygen flowing. The goal is to decrease her oxygen all the way down to 21% ("room air") and she will have to sleep through the night without oxygen and keep her sat level between 96 and 100 in order to be discharged. The doctor predicted that she'd be done Sunday at the earliest--possibly Monday or Tuesday if she keeps pulling these tricks:)

Rockin' the backless gown
So we're back to life at Scottish Rite--something we're getting quite good at! We're on a new floor this time and some of our previous nurses have come by to say hello and see our Molly (who continues to make quite an impression on her caretakers)! A big warm-fuzzy thank you for all of the prayers, cards, meals, goody bags, balloons, visits, phone calls, texts, emails, facebook comments... We're so thankful for such a caring, believing, praying group of friends and family to rally around us while we try to get our baby girl well! Check back for updates...