Helicopter ride....

Monday morning certainly didn't go as planned. ABC were to attend summer school again and I was looking forward to a peaceful morning by myself. I should learn that things rarely go as planned.



That morning, I got Brock out of bed and could tell he just wasn't Brock! A glazed over look to his eyes, no smiles, just out of it basically. I changed him and sat him in his chair to feed him breakfast, and low and behold a seizure strikes! So....Diastat to the rescue and about 10 min later I thought we were in the clear. Nope, it started up again, so another smaller dose of Diastat..... More time passed and I realized this was not stopping with Diastat.



Avery and Cora were excited about going to school and thankfully all this was timing with the bus coming to our house. Girls boarded the bus and I eventually got Jason to go with me to take Brock to the ER. Each time we question if we should call the ambulance, but each time we think we can get there faster. Still on the fence with that decision as I know we don't have oxygen or equipment in our van like an ambulance does.......



Once Brock arrived at the ER, he was taken back immediately and they begin assessing and giving anti seizure meds. Nothing. More meds. Nothing. At this point Brock had been status for 3 hrs! The dr had been dispatching Life Flight, but they were too busy. Air Heli from Quincy was called and they arrived to air lift Brock to the children's hospital in Peoria. I swear it was like a scene out of a movie when 2 blonde gals strut into the ER in matching red, white, and blue jumpsuits. They cut off Brock's shirt, gave a shot of Versed and intubated in a matter of a few minutes. The Versed seemed to be the trick to stop the seizure, but I have conflicting reports from the OSF doctor who thinks that they also gave a paralytic to calm Brock for intubation. That would make Brock's clinical (physical) seizures stop, but the brain could still seize. Whatever the case may be, it was a relief to see the convulsing stop! Watching Brock get intubated was pretty rough. Aside from surgeries, Brock hasn't been on a vent since the early days after birth!



After being air lifted to OSF, Brock was admitted into their PICU. We had a great staff of docs and nurses and all went fairly well. I was very frustrated with the speed of things, but I should learn by now nothing is a quick process when it comes to testing and procedures in the hospital. They ordered a CT scan STAT for Brock. STAT ended up being well after 4:30 going on 5pm. Not that big of deal as I didn't think the scan would reveal anything, but they were keeping him intubated until after the CT scan. Brock was ticked the entire time! He was breathing over the vent, and hadn't seized anymore since arriving at PICU. However, since he was fighting the tubes so much they were giving Versed to calm him every hour----with the thought that each dose would be the last so they could do the CT. Finally he got the scan, then he had an hour or so for the sedatives to wear off, then they extubated. Phew!



Brock had a very peaceful night aside from coughing and having a sore throat. In the ER they used a larger ET tube than necessary, so I know he had some irritation once that was removed. Tuesday morning, the PICU team of doctors made rounds and decided Brock was well enough to step down into intermediate care. While all the details for the transfer were getting into place, I was witnessing the fastest recover from Brock I have ever seen! The boy was trying to roll in his bed, but getting tangled in his IV and all his cords. He was even babbling again and back to giving "Five" upon request.



By the time we got settled into the Intermediate area, Brock was soon giggling and screaming and back to 'Brock'! While stepping out for lunch, I discovered that doctors in this area were making rounds and since they missed us, they said they would be back soon. (And just to clarify, 'soon' ended up being 3.5hrs later) During that time, I was watching how great Brock was acting. He was tolerating all his feeds, and was 'back to baseline'. I knew I wanted out so I began plotting my strategy for discharge. I have learned what hoops to jump through to get discharged and if you miss an opportunity while doctors are making rounds, you may as well forget it. Tuesday afternoon, I had convinced the nurses, residents, and finally the doctor of the floor to sign our walking papers!!!! Once signed we were out before 5pm I think. The doctor told me it was the "fastest discharge she had ever witnessed." I was about to go crazy and surely would have if I had to sit in a hospital chair overnight again.



When Brock needs attention and is ill, I want him to receive care. When he is well enough to be home, that is where I want him! That is where we ended up last night and he is doing great. The boy was more resilient than ever this time. I honestly haven't seen him bounce back like this. There are still some lab results pending from the hospital stay, but some won't be known for 2-3 weeks. There was no obvious sickness or anything that directly caused this seizure. Brock did get a little off schedule with a houseful of guests over the holiday weekend and could have gotten over-stimulated. He is to have a followup with the Pediatrician Friday, and a Neurology appointment in about a week. Once some bloodwork results are back, we may consider increasing his seizure med dose, adding a 2nd medication, or switching meds all together. No one knows the plan just yet.



Thanks to each of you that were keeping Brock in your thoughts and prayers. It is hard to believe Monday my boy was flying in a helicopter, with a breathing tube, and now just Wednesday he is sitting beside me playing like nothing happened. Truly amazing. :)