Fresh off a trip to the hospital, Peyton is bouncing back and feeling like her old self. She had been sick for two weeks, with the past week spent at Children’s Hospital in Springfield, IL. It’s a place very familiar to my family, since we spent nearly half of 2013 there due to my pregnancy and the premature birth of the triplets.
As her doctors kept reminding us, we’re pretty lucky that it took this long for Miss P to come down with an illness. We’ve been home from the Nicu for 10 months and Peyton has stayed healthy. That’s because we stayed in isolation through winter and much of spring. We started taking her out this summer, but only once or twice a week. I honestly think that I brought home germs from the TV station. There were a lot of sick people around the newsroom, so I’m sure I brought it home with me!
Two weeks ago, Peyton came down with a fever. It then progressed to a little cough, and after three days, we went to see her doctor. Because of her being “high risk”, they sent us for an X-ray. That’s where they found out she had pneumonia. We tried treating it at home with antibiotics and a nebulizer, but a few days later, she was admitted to the hospital. Is it scary? Of course! But, it was also a relief for Ryan and me. As I say time and time again, a little cold or cough means so much more for Peyton than most other kids. She has very little and weak lungs and a weak immune system. So, we expected her to end up in the hospital.
The staff at St. John’s were wonderful! Peyton made herself at home and was instantly “Miss Popular” among the staff. We had made a home out of each floor of that hospital–the only missing piece was the pedi-floor, which was her lovely hotel for a week. Peyton had a lot of trouble with her oxygen levels, which isn’t a surprise since she spent the first 7 months of her life with a nose cannula covering her face. Doctors treated her with an IV of drugs and lots of oxygen support. It took several days, but our little girl turned a corner and came home oxygen free on Tuesday!
Her Nicu doctor thinks she most likely came down with the enterovirus. That’s the nasty bug running rampant throughout the Midwest. They didn’t test her for it because she was sick two weeks ago, but all of the symptoms were things Peyton experienced. We are crossing our fingers that she did contract it because that would mean should wouldn’t get it again. It’s so scary to think that she came down with a terrible illness in August/September. We’re not even into the winter cold/flu season!
Needless to say, Ryan and I are EXHAUSTED! We slept at the hospital for the week, which meant a few cat naps each night. My mom came to town over the weekend and is helping out so I could return to work. I took a leave of absence for several months, so I don’t have much time to take off these days. We are so grateful that Peyton is on the road to recovery and are counting our blessings. It’s a good reminder that while she looks so strong and sturdy on the outside, Peyton is a 22 week micro-preemie on the inside. We know that she will most likely have more hospital visits in the future, but we look forward to the coming years when she hopefully grows out of it!
No tears on the blog this week, but next week grab a tissue. It was an extremely emotional hospital stay for our family. Not because of the illness, but because of the memories it brought back. Peyton is very well known at that hospital and we ran into many people who cared for me and all three triplets. I’ll share what it was like to revisit and the rush of emotions that came with it.
Ok, off to catch up on sleep for the next several days!!
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She is so adorable. You can tell in one of the pictures that she didn’t feel good, so glad she is back to “normal”. Thank heaven for grandma’s who can come and visit and help out. Hugs to all and stay in were it is warm.. Tell the WAND crew to keep them germs to themselves….LOL
HI! I`m so glad Peyton is doing good.Was worried and praying for her.
hugs jane
hi peyton pray that she stays well she is such a cutie so happy shes getting better and out of the hospital
So glad Peyton is home!!!
So glad you are feeling better Little Princess!! Now Mommy & Daddy can get some much needed rest. Thank heavens for “Grandmas” – – we do our best as Mommy & Daddy replacements for a short period. Bless your little heart for staying strong and getting back to a healthy Princess. Take care and stay well!! Hugs to all of you!
Give that little doll a big hug for me. Glad she home and has her grandma let Mom get need sleep
So glad she is ok. Have worried about her and wondered how she was. So glad she is on the mend and feeling better. Hope she continues to get stronger and healthier each day. thanks for posting!
The first day you were missing from WAND I had a feeling Peyton might be sick. I have worried, and prayed until I knew she was healthy, and back home again. I got a kick at her standing up in the crib, and smiling of course.I knew she was working on crawling, but did not know she was standing. Way to go Miss P.
Hi Miss Peyton, So glad to here that you r back at home and feeling better, Mom and Dad can get some sleep now. Stay well and God Bless you all.
tell Peyton that I had a good visit with her Grandpa in Nebraska this last Friday. I was visiting my Aunt in Chappell Nebraska and he came to inspect her apartment and fix a kitchen door for her and we got to talking and found out that he is Ryan’s Dad.. small world. he showed me the video of Peyton talking and blowing bubbles so cute… follow her progress every week…
forgot to say the I am from Sullivan Ill….. that is why it is a small world…