On the Road to Going Home

Right after Christmas they finally started talking about going home. I had alot of mixed feelings about that, I wanted him home so I could Finally bond with him and give him all the attention that he needed, but I was SO SCARED. Scared that I wouldn't be able to take care of him, scared that the huge amount of responsibility would be more than I could handle, mostly just scared of all the unknowns. The Doctors wanted him off the vent before they sent him home, so they started weaning him and he did great, within a few weeks he breathing on his own! The hospital set about making plans, getting things straight, and started training us on the ins & outs of a special needs baby. We were taking CPR classes, memorizing his supplies, practicing cleaning the trach & g-tube, suctioning the trach, changing the trach (the scariest part for me). 

By the end, my confidence had improved. At 5 months 1 week old, Bodie finally left the hospital. He is alot more work than a regular baby, but since he's a NICU baby, he doen't demand attention like a normal baby. So I think it evens out. He is the absolute sweetest thing, his smile lights up the room. We were home for a week, started getting into a routine, finally getting to use all the baby stuff that had gone unused for so many months, then he started to deteriorate. Constant dry cough, Low Sats, Unhappy and Sleeping constantly. We ended up in the ER 10 days after he came home. Within 24 hours he was being transported back to Ochsners. They think he caught some sort of virus, he was in the PICU for a week. They sedated him and used a paralytic so they could put him back on the vent. He was fighting the vent and they didn't want him to blow out a lung. Pretty scary stuff! He was well enough to go home after 2 weeks but we got to add a few more machines to our arsenal, Humidified air & breathing treatments. They seem to be working though because he's been home again for about 2 months with no major problems.

-Brandi