From the Highest High to the Lowest Low...and Back Again

We started our year off with a tremendous bang! The birth of Sean and Wyatt brought such joy to me, Randy and Joanna -- we truly were on cloud nine! My mom and dad were in town visiting for a couple of weeks, we were starting to settle into a routine with the boys, when, 2 weeks after their birth, disaster struck. We had noticed that both of the boys were showing signs of congestion and were having difficulties eating because their noses were so stuffed. Wyatt was having a lot more problems with his congestion, so we called the pediatrician to schedule an appointment for him to be seen. Three hours after we called the pediatrician, my mom found Wyatt unconscious, blue and not breathing in his bassinet. She immediately called 911 as my dad and I tried to stimulate him back to breathing. My dad was able to bring Wyatt back to consciousness, but his breathing and color were still very bad -- minutes later the police and ambulance came to the home, they started Wyatt on oxygen and rushed us off to the local hospital. Once we arrived, the doctor became immediately concerned about Wyatt's condition and wanted to transfer him right away to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) because our hospital was not equipped to handle his serious state. At this point, Randy and I were beside ourselves, I was pretty hysterical after what had happened at home. As we waited for ambulance transfer to CHOP, the doctor asked us to leave the room while they performed a spinal tap and various other procedures to determine what might be causing Wyatt to not breathe -- during that time, the nurses had to perform CPR on Wyatt because he once again went unconscious and his heart stopped. They then, transferred him to a room that had the equipment for intubation, should he crash again. The minutes seemed like hours as we waited and waited and hoped that he could hold on for a little longer until more help arrived. FINALLY, the CHOP ambulance arrived and they placed him into an incubator box where his vitals where he was placed on an oxygen canula and his vitals were being continually monitored for the 1 hour drive to CHOP....I thought the worst was behind us, but as we were leaving the ER to load him into the ambulance he once again crashed, his heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen level all went to zero....this was the point where I lost it. As the nurses frantically tried to open his box to get him out so they could begin emergency CPR once again, I caught a glimpse of him and the way he look terrified me beyond belief -- I rushed out of the room, crying, pushing people out of my way -- it was all too much. Minutes later, a nurse came out and told me that they were able to revive him and that they had already left to put him on the ambulance. I couldn't bear the thought of making that drive in the ambulance, so Randy went with the ambulance to CHOP and I took a moment to gather myself and made the drive myself to Philadelphia....

Wyatt 'crashed' five more times in the ambulance ride over and was placed on a forced air breathing machine (CPAP) to ensure that his lungs stayed open so that they could receive oxygen. He was admitted to the NICU and all we could do was wait....his test eventually came back that he had RSV, a very common virus, much like a cold, that can be devastating on newborns. The worst part, is that there is no medicine to treat RSV, you simply have to let it run its course and treat the symptoms as they arise. The doctors warned us that Wyatt could very well get a lot worse before he gets better (RSV typically peaks around day 3 or 4)....worse??!! how could he get any worse!? Also, the doctors warned that it wasn't a matter of if Sean got the virus also, but when....

Randy and I spent the first 48 hours at the hospital with Wyatt -- he slowly began to show signs of improvement and before long was weaned from his CPAP to a high flow canula and then down to a low flow canula and eventually off oxygen all together. Three days into Wyatt's hospital stay, my mom called and said that she was worried that Sean was beginning to show some of the same symptoms Wyatt had only hours before he was rushed to the ER. So, Randy and I called our pediatrician and came home right away to take him to his appointment. The pediatrician did not want to take and chances with his condition and told us that we should take him to the CHOP emergency room right away....here we go again.....Emotionally drained, sleep deprived, and still recovering from my delivery, Randy and I took Sean to the CHOP ER and waited 6 hours for his admittance into the NICU -- amazingly, during those 6 hours his condition declined rapidly and by the time he was taken up to the NICU he was in the same state Wyatt was the day we called 911....thank God we were at the hospital when this happened and they were able to take minute by minute action as his condition got worse. Wyatt continued to improve, and 5 days after he was admitted, was released a tired, but healthy, little boy. We assumed that Sean would follow close behind and be released within the next couple of days, however, that was not the case.....Sean's RSV took a more erratic course. He would seem to take one step forward and then two steps back. He began developing apnea related to his RSV and would stop breathing for more than 20 seconds at a time while he was sleeping -- these apnea episodes were coming as often as 30-40 times a day at their worst. The doctors eventually did a breathing study on Sean after he had been in the hospital for over a week -- it was determined that his central apnea was related strictly to the RSV and that the best course of action was to start him on a caffeine treatment. Two days after his caffeine treatment began, Sean's apnea episodes were decreased to only 3-4 episodes per day -- a HUGE improvement!! After spending nearly three weeks at the CHOP NICU our last little guy was released! He was sent home on a apnea monitor that he has had to wear constantly. He continues to take his daily dose of caffeine and has only had 3 apnea alarms in the week since we have been home. Our doctor is hopeful that his apnea will clear up on it's own and that he will only need to be on the monitor for another 4-5 weeks.

So, after an exhausting month, things are starting to get back to normal. Because the boys were only 2 weeks old when this all happened, we really hadn't had the chance to establish any sort of bond or routine with them -- it almost feels like I brought home 2 new babies all over again! Sean and Wyatt are almost 6 weeks old now and are doing GREAT!!!!! We love them so very much and are so very thankful for the thoughts and prayers that you all shared during this horrific time -- every one was answered, because they couldn't be doing better! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

They gave us quite a scare, but looking at them now, you would never guess what they went through!

Wyatt and Sean loved to sleep next to eachother right after they were born (which ironically is what added to the problem with the RSV) -- after spending 3 weeks apart and sleeping on their own, they actually did not like to sleep next to eachother for the first couple of days they were home...luckily, their bond is strong, and they are now back to sharing sleep time together :)

We love our boys so much!!!!