The Terrors of Childhood Illness

We've all at some time had our own terrible cold or injury. Wether it be a bad case of the flu or food poisoning to sprained ankles or a nasty car accident. When these things happen to us we often find ourselves being the focus of our own attention. We ignore the world around us and focus on the poor me or why me or whatever else. Well, normally we know that things will look up, and we will get better, we can basically take care of ourselves with medications and the rest that we need. We will regain our strength, our stamina, our previous energy and morale, But, what happens when your little one faces these terrible happenings?

I think we often find ourselves lost in worry over some of the problems our children face. We don't always know what the problem is or even how to fix it, had we known what the problem is/was. We often have to rely on others to help solve our problems for us. This can take an extreme amount of faith at times, and even then also a lot of patience.

I'm not one to like relying on others for anything. Most of my family and friends can attest to this. Perhaps it's paranoia or even PTSD, who knows? But, I don't think I'm alone in these feelings when it comes to my children. I always want to be in control of helping them get better. I've been blessed with two beautiful little girls, both very mild mannered and pleasent to be with. Mind you Emma is starting her "Terrible Two's" and adjusting to having a new sister hasn't been easy on her (or us), but all in all, she's done very well and shows an extreme amount of affection towards Little Samantha.

Several days ago, Sammi started having breathing problems. We weren't sure what the problem was, but could definitely hear mucus built up in her sinus. When she breathed you could hear it sloshing around. We called the nurseline at the hospital to find out how to help her, and were told to simply use saline to break up the mucus and a bulb sucker to remove it. Sounded simple enough and for three days it seemed to work fine. That was until last night. Last night our Little Sammi started turning a shade of blue. I immediately checked her breathing and her capillary response (both were slow) and could hear her trying to breathe through her nose. (it was completely plugged) I cleaned it out like the nurses advised and informed Melanie to keep an extra close eye on her.


While at work this morning I was preparing for a test when Melanie called me with tears in her voice. Little Sammi had stopped breathing several times. Melanie had instantly started to help Sammi breathe again, and contacted the hospital for further advise. Sammi would stop breathing and then gasp for air for awhile and then repeat the cycle. The hospital advised her to take Sammi straight to the ER. This is where relying on others has been such a blessing to us.

Melanie called Jana (our sister in-law) and asked her to take Emma for us, which she gladly agreed to. She then called Bryan (her brother) to ask if there was anything else she could do on the way to the hospital. (All this while getting two little girls and herself dressed and ready to go to the hospital) Bryan was gone, but Julie spent quite a bit of time talking with Melanie and helping give her strength to deal with the situation. Not to say that she was relieved of all her concerns, but she had the strcngth to face them. Melanie then called me to let me know that she was on her way to get me. (My work is on the way to the hospital). I was able to find Daniel (Jana's husband) at work as well and we were able to give Samantha a blessing. I'm so grateful that Daniel is the kind of husband, father, and man that lives worthy of his covenants so that he can help me to bless my family, and me help him to bless his family in times of need. Melanie shed about a galon of tears this morning, and only finally received the consolence that she needed at the end of the blessing given to Sammi. It gave her a peace that helped to strengthen her further.

When we arrived at the hospital Sammi had no flesh colors at all, she looked like a cadaver for those of you who haven't seen one, she was a light yellowish tan color with no pink or redness. She was very raspy and comletely clogged with mucus. During the taking of an X-ray of Sammis' chest, Melanie caught sight of Doug Thompson, a good man who was in the bishopric of our previous ward. He spoke with her about her concerns and offered his friendship and service. After having Sammi on oxygen for some time her levels were again strong and they tried to let Melanie nurse her, but almost immediately stopped her. As soon as Sammi began to nurse, her oxygen levels dropped from high 90's to mid 70's, literally within seconds.

The doctors found Little Sammi to have RSV(Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a virus that can be a real challenge for newborn and young infants). Of course this caused some concern for the other children that have been around both Emma and Sammi, but the doctors assured us that it would have been difficult for Sammi to spread RSV (without touching or coughing on them etc., and that Emma and the other older children would be able to fight it like a bad cold, but would be fine elsewise.) Because of the oxygen level problems the doctors felt it best to keep Sammi for a while (maybe a day, maybe more) to make sure she can breathe on her own and keep her oxygen levels up. As soon as Daniel and Jana heard this they immediately planned on making us dinner to help lower the stress of our situation.

Sammi is doing well for now. She has oxygen hooked upto her, an IV and is being monitored constantly for her breathing and oxygen levels. We're really happy with the pediatrician we have. He has been very informative to us and has been able to solve all of our girls medical problems so far. (not that they've had many, but it's nice to get answers from a competent doctor in a quick manner no matter how infrequent they're needed).

We were able to bring Emma in to see her mommy and little sister for a little while, and Emma was very concerned that 'her baby' was crying and had wires and tubes hooked up to her. Every time an alarm would go off, Emma would look over at the baby and let us know that the baby needed us. I guess the purpose of this post is to share appreciation for those around us that are so willing to help out. During an (extended family) family home evening several weeks ago, I was assigned a section of a talk that covered how we have family members wherever we go. In our wards and stakes there are so many people that extend the hand of fellowship and service that we truly do have family all around us. Although most of those that have been helping us through this trial have in fact been family, there are always those like Doug, and Dr. Horkley that are just waiting for the opportunity to bless anothers life through friendship and service. They only need to be invited to help.