Last week was a long one...
On the Wednesday before Easter, Ethan went home from school early because he had some trouble breathing and a 99 degree temperature. I made a doctor appointment for him and off we went to Wichita to see if we could get an inhaler for him to have at school so he didn't get sent home all of the time. I was able to get him fit into the last appointment slot of the day. (In January he was diagnosed with mild asthma when we went to urgent care for an ear infection and was sent home with a nebulizer to use as needed) Ethan has the coughing kind of asthma so we had always assumed he was just sick but not sick enough to go to the doctor.
We got to the doctor and they tested his oxygen levels and they were surprised by how low it was, (88) and tested it again to make sure that they were reading it right. They were. So they said that they couldn't send him home unless his levels were at least 94. They gave him a breathing treatment and 2 steroid pills and checked again. It was only 89. They gave him one more breathing treatment and it did not go up at all. So off to the hospital we went... thinking they were just going to monitor him overnight and bring his levels back up. 
The next day after looking at the x-ray he had taken they discovered that he had pneumonia in his right middle part of his lung. (Not the contagious kind, but the kind caused by asthma) He was put on antibiotics and had to have breathing treatments every 2 hours. He was not able to leave his bed for 2 days even to go to the bathroom. 
Finally on the 3rd day he was able to leave his bed because he could maintain normal levels of oxygen during the day. Ethan was so excited! But, at night, the machine would start beeping like crazy and he would have to be put back on the oxygen while he slept. 
On the fourth day, he forced himself to take a nap because they told him if he could maintain his levels when he slept, he would get to go home the next day. His levels did stay up! We were ecstatic! Ethan would finally get to come home. :) But, yet again that night, the machine beeped like crazy and he screamed and cried and hid under his sheet so that the nurse could not put in his breathing tube for what seemed like an hour but was really probably 15 minutes or so. He knew that if the machine went off and he had to get the oxygen he would not get to go home the next day. We finally talked him into wearing the nose tube again and he went back to sleep. 
The next day his brother and sister came back to cheer him up... the nurse gave them all penguin masks and they thought it was fun to wear them just like their big brother. Too bad their big brother would give anything not to wear his. :)
I made sure to have my husband also take a picture of me and Ethan together since I was a big part of the story and wanted to remember me being there with him someday when he looks back on these pictures. 
His Aunt and Uncle stopped in for a visit...
The Easter bunny made a visit... along with a news crew! They were very generous and gave Ethan a huge trash bag full of toys and even some for his brother and sister too. I was sad to read about why the Easter bunny came to visit. Their was an 18 month old that passed away of the same cancer that my 23 year old cousin died from this year. A few tears came when thinking that the little girl had to go through the same horrible situation as my sweet cousin. If I find the link again to the website I will post it again later. I am thinking of collecting toys throughout the year and donating them for this cause. If anyone of you want to donate, just let me know! It is a way for me to honor my cousin's memory and the sweet little girl too. 
Between the window and the wood panel on the wall is where Ethan liked to hide when he was mad. 
He cheered up again and took a nap again trying to make his levels go down so he could go home for Easter the next day. 
But, yet again the machine went off and he had to stay yet another night. :(
He had more visitors come to see him... his cousins from Lawrence that were down for Easter... (some of his other cousins came but I must have been too tired to drag out the camera) 
and his Poppa. :) 
That night, thinking that there was no hope for making it home on Easter... he slept through the night and the machine did not go off!! He made it home in time for Easter lunch at Grandma's house.
We got to the doctor and they tested his oxygen levels and they were surprised by how low it was, (88) and tested it again to make sure that they were reading it right. They were. So they said that they couldn't send him home unless his levels were at least 94. They gave him a breathing treatment and 2 steroid pills and checked again. It was only 89. They gave him one more breathing treatment and it did not go up at all. So off to the hospital we went... thinking they were just going to monitor him overnight and bring his levels back up. 
The next day after looking at the x-ray he had taken they discovered that he had pneumonia in his right middle part of his lung. (Not the contagious kind, but the kind caused by asthma) He was put on antibiotics and had to have breathing treatments every 2 hours. He was not able to leave his bed for 2 days even to go to the bathroom. 
Finally on the 3rd day he was able to leave his bed because he could maintain normal levels of oxygen during the day. Ethan was so excited! But, at night, the machine would start beeping like crazy and he would have to be put back on the oxygen while he slept. 
On the fourth day, he forced himself to take a nap because they told him if he could maintain his levels when he slept, he would get to go home the next day. His levels did stay up! We were ecstatic! Ethan would finally get to come home. :) But, yet again that night, the machine beeped like crazy and he screamed and cried and hid under his sheet so that the nurse could not put in his breathing tube for what seemed like an hour but was really probably 15 minutes or so. He knew that if the machine went off and he had to get the oxygen he would not get to go home the next day. We finally talked him into wearing the nose tube again and he went back to sleep. 
The next day his brother and sister came back to cheer him up... the nurse gave them all penguin masks and they thought it was fun to wear them just like their big brother. Too bad their big brother would give anything not to wear his. :)
I made sure to have my husband also take a picture of me and Ethan together since I was a big part of the story and wanted to remember me being there with him someday when he looks back on these pictures. 
His Aunt and Uncle stopped in for a visit...
The Easter bunny made a visit... along with a news crew! They were very generous and gave Ethan a huge trash bag full of toys and even some for his brother and sister too. I was sad to read about why the Easter bunny came to visit. Their was an 18 month old that passed away of the same cancer that my 23 year old cousin died from this year. A few tears came when thinking that the little girl had to go through the same horrible situation as my sweet cousin. If I find the link again to the website I will post it again later. I am thinking of collecting toys throughout the year and donating them for this cause. If anyone of you want to donate, just let me know! It is a way for me to honor my cousin's memory and the sweet little girl too. 
Between the window and the wood panel on the wall is where Ethan liked to hide when he was mad. 
He cheered up again and took a nap again trying to make his levels go down so he could go home for Easter the next day. 
But, yet again the machine went off and he had to stay yet another night. :(
He had more visitors come to see him... his cousins from Lawrence that were down for Easter... (some of his other cousins came but I must have been too tired to drag out the camera) 
and his Poppa. :) 
That night, thinking that there was no hope for making it home on Easter... he slept through the night and the machine did not go off!! He made it home in time for Easter lunch at Grandma's house.
