an impromptu road trip

I'm usually a fan of spontaneous road trips. This one? Not so much. We're back in St. Louis a little earlier than we'd planned, unfortunately. Brooke came down with what seemed to be a cold. Turns out it's a type of respiratory flu that could lead to pneumonia if it worsens. 

She started with sneezing and coughing yesterday. After speaking with our cardiologist's office yesterday afternoon, we agreed to wait it out and keep an eye on her sat level and breathing overnight. She ended up having a really rough night of coughing spells. Sat level hovered in the low 70s and even dropped below 70 several times. Her baseline is 80. After a really long night with her coughing and restlessness, we decided to call in again early this morning to get some feedback on what to do. They requested that we head on down, come in to the ER  (as is procedure) and plan to be admitted. They even offered transport, but we felt like we were fine to drive the three hours. We had an uneventful trip down and checked into the ER around 12:30. Though Brooke looked pretty good in the ER, as did her numbers, the decision was made to admit her as a precaution so they can observe her sat level and breathing, especially since her condition could get worse before it gets better. They did a chest x-ray and nasal swab. Chest x-ray looked good. Nasal swab confirmed flu. Doggone it! 

We've tried SO hard to limit her exposure to anything by not taking her anywhere other than doctor visits and having very limited traffic into our home...and always making sure folks have been healthy. We are adamant about our girls not being in her face, covering their mouths/noses when they cough and sneeze, changing clothes as soon as we come home from school/work/doctor visits, washing our hands ALL the time... But, our fragile little one still got sick. :( And it landed her in the hospital. Poor baby. I have to say though, as much as I didn't want to end up here until we come for her pre-op cath sometime in the coming weeks just before her next surgery, I had such a sense of relief when we walked through the door. This place that feels a bit like home. I suppose it's relief that we're here where our babe can receive the attention and care her special little heart needs. And it feels a bit like home because these folks love our Brooklyn Hope. Inevitably, there are at least a handful of doctors, nurses, support staff and even housekeeping folks, who seek us out and want to check to see how our babe is doing and how she's grown. I love that. I love these folks. 

We'd love for you to pray for us tonight. Four out of the five of us have been battling respiratory stuff. Yuck! Emily has been the worst and then Brooke. Please pray for quick healing for all of us and that our stay in St. Louis will be productive, uneventful and brief! Brooke will have an echo in the morning, and they will continue to monitor her sat level for the duration of our stay. So far, she has been resting comfortably without much coughing for most of the time we've been here, and her numbers look good. If her sat level drops again throughout the night though, they may have to put her on oxygen to give her some relief and help her breathing. I'm trusting that they won't! :)

I will try to post an update sometime tomorrow midday as time allows. Once the day gets rolling around here at 7:00 a.m. or so, things can get pretty crazy with a steady flow of folks in and out. Thanks for praying! :)