A Trip to the ER

We had a wonderful day and a half of getting to know our little Wyatt before we had to get him back to the hospital. We were concerned about how much he had been gagging/choking and spitting up, but just figured we had a spitter. Neither of the girls were spitters so this was new to us. Good thing we have a bunch of burp rags!

During my stay at the hospital after having Wyatt I had the chance to watch the news a few times. There was a storm coming through Utah and Wyoming and it was supposed to be pretty bad. Lots of snow predicted for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Mom and Dad were going to be bringing the girls home on Friday, but with this storm coming they decided to try for Thursday. I was so happy to be getting my girls home, and to be able to see Mom, Dad, Mandi, Sadie and Kinley. There were a few things we needed to do before they got here so Glenn headed out to run some errands while I stayed home and got things ready.

My phone had been out of service for a few days and for some reason Glenn decided to leave his phone with me. I wondered why since he would be the only person I would call. I was just finishing feeding Wyatt when he left and was just enjoying holding him in my arms for a few minutes before trying to put him down. I was watching his face as he slept hoping to catch one of his cute sleepy smiles when he started to spit up a bit. I reached for a burp rag and just as I turned to wipe his face I was blasted by a vomit geyser. The volume of vomit was enough to scare me and then as I wiped his face I noticed a streak of blood on the burp rag. I pulled his blanket back and started wiping his face I noticed something in the neck of his onesie. I looked at it and just started bawling. It was a clot of blood. There were threads of dark blood throughout the pool of yuck, but the clot scared me to death. What does this mean? What do I do? I couldn't call Glenn. I didn't know how to work his phone to call someone here in town. I couldn't get out of the chair without making a mess everywhere. The only person I could think of to call was Mandi. I'm not sure how she understood anything I was saying to her, but she kept her cool and told me to call 9-1-1.

I called them immediately and they first sent a couple of cops over and then minutes later the ambulance showed up. I had police officers and EMT's at my door and in my living room. I have never been more scared. All I wanted to do was get a hold of Glenn, but had no way of doing so. I really didn't know where he would be or how long before he would get home. The EMT's were great. They were very nice and trying to keep me calm while helping me decide whether to go in the ambulance or wait for Glenn to get home. One of them approached me a few minutes after getting there and told me that he had just been on the phone with the ER Doctor and he highly recommended bringing the baby in immediately. Considering he was only a few days old they knew they needed to get him in quickly. After hearing that the other EMT grabbed him out of my hands and started wrapping him up in blankets. He put him in his car seat and was out the door before I could even process what had just happened.

My heart just about stopped as I climbed into the ambulance. I have not had much experience with ambulances, but I know their purpose and I know that if you are in one you are not in good shape! The whole ride I kept watching out the back door to see if we passed Glenn. I left him a note on the door saying we were on our way to the ER. Not a pleasant note to come home to. I imagined what his reaction would be and how concerned he was going to be. I hoped he would be better under stress than me and he would make it the hospital without any problems.

At some point during all the craziness I was able to get back to Mandi and let her know we had gone in the ambulance and they should just meet us at the hospital. She kept asking me what Glenn was doing, where he was going, what were the errands he was doing. I started getting a little angry, because I had already told her I wasn't totally sure. I knew he was going to get his driver's license and go to Wal Mart, but there some other things he had mentioned that I couldn't remember. I hung up with her and just tried to focus on what was happening with Wyatt.

When we first got to the ER they started poking and prodding and getting his vitals. Luckily for me Glenn walked in before they started trying to get blood and do his IV. Somehow Mandi was able to keep her head and track Glenn down. She had him paged in Wal Mart and luckily enough he was still there to hear it. Thank Heaven! I don't think I could have lasted through all they did without Glenn there. It looked like they were torturing him and I couldn't watch any more. I left the room and one of the nurses offered to walk with me while they worked with him. It's a good thing I left. When I got back Glenn informed me they tried to do the IV in his head. I would not have been OK with that.


They had a very hard time getting his blood. By the time they decided they had enough to take to the lab Wyatt was exhausted and so was I. We didn't get much time to breath before they came back with the results. His white blood cell count was dangerously low and they were now getting ready to do a spinal tap on him. While they were explaining the procedure to us I couldn't take anymore and just broke down. They had me leave the room again while Glenn helped them hold Wyatt for the procedure. It took quite a while and a couple of tries before they got what they needed. Glenn said Wyatt did really well. He didn't even cry and the only time he jumped was when they put the cold iodine on his back. The results of the spinal tap would be the deciding factor of whether we had to stay for two days or two weeks. Either way we were going to be there a while so they got us into a room.


For some reason once we got into the room they had to adjust his IV as well as figure out how to put a onesie on him around all the tubes. Again he got pretty upset and decided that cuddling up to Dad's arm was a safe place to rest. They were unsuccessful at getting the IV in on the first try. Poor guy has veins like his Mother apparently.
This looks so uncomfortable to me! The IV alone is bad enough, but then they had to tape his fingers down to prevent as much movement as possible. I actually get a little claustrophobic just looking at this.

I know this is not the way any Grandparent wants to meet their new Grandson, but I am so glad that Mom and Dad were able to be here with us for most of the day. Mandi and the kids spent their time in the waiting room. Most certainly no the way the were expecting to spend their day. Sorry guys! Hopefully you can come back soon and actually get to play.

Through swollen tear stained eyes I jokingly said that it looks like he is giving the world "the finger". Mandi had to get a shot of it.

The girls actually got to sneak into the ER for two seconds to see Wyatt before we went to the room. This is the second time they got to see him. The hospital has said that no children under 15 are allowed to visit patients. The Dr. that did Wyatt's circumcision happened to be checking on a patient and as he walked by he recognized me. I was sitting in this foyer area doing the girls hair when he walked by and he suggested that since the baby is already on antibiotics he didn't see why we couldn't bring him out into the foyer for a few minutes. Glenn and the Dr. talked with the nurses and a few minutes later the girls were in heaven as they got to see, kiss and hold their new brother.I stayed in the hospital room with Wyatt until Saturday afternoon when we were released. It was a very long couple of days. Not much rest with all the monitors beeping and nurses coming in at least every hour. Most of the nurses that came in and out would leave the door open a little bit. Just enough that I could hear other patients machines and all the nurses talking. Very courteous right? Actually all the nurses and Doctors were very nice and helpful. They were all very concerned about Wyatt and were sad to see him go home, because they wanted to keep him.

I am so happy to be home. With all my kids. We still don't get much sleep, but at least there are no machines, tubes or nurses to deal with.

I am so grateful for all of our blessings. Our children being the biggest of those blessings. I can't imagine our lives without Wyatt even though he's only been here a short time. I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing him to stay with us. I know he is here for a reason and has a very special mission to fulfill. I look forward to being able to get to know him and help him along his path. I love my family!

** I realized a little too late that with all the craziness I didn't get a single picture of Mandi and her girls or of us all sitting in the waiting room singing Happy Birthday to Glenn. Mandi brought down a yummy cake for us to celebrate with, but I just didn't think to grab my camera when I left the room. Sorry guys!! Next year has to be better and we will get pictures of Glenn blowing out his candles!