gus vs rsv - day five six & seven.

on friday, marking the 5th day in the cherokee hospital, gus's stats were a little off. his breathing was more distressed & his chest retractions were similar looking to how they were 5 days before. a chest xray was ordered to compare to the initial one taken monday when admitted. this was a quick turnaround & the doctor came in w/ news i was not expecting. little gus developed pneumonia on top of the rsv & they were transferring him to children's hospital. with his age & the further complications, this was the best choice for him at this turning point. my stomach sank & you can't help, as a mama, feel like you've failed something. but also, as a mama, you need to stay strong, be positive & move forward. after making calls & shuffling around getting all of our belongings ready...we loaded up & headed to sanford children's hospital in sioux falls via ambulance. gus slept the whole way & i watched his every breathe...except for a few million glances at the slow-moving clock & the speedometer!

what after seemed like the longest drive in the history of all drives...we arrived at the giant castle hospital & were admitted, shuffled up to a room & procedures started right up. we met mary, steve & aunt emily at the entrance & i felt a little relief to see family! mike was on his drive up with oliver, but didn't arrive for another hour. i hadn't seen oliver in 5 days & couldn't stop squeezing & kissing him once they showed up. and when they arrived, oliver handled everything so well, as i was nervous how he would react to seeing 'his baby' with oxygen tubes in his nose & 7 cords attached to him. he looked over & saw him laying in the crib & the first thing out of his mouth was "gus"! and he smiled & gave him a kiss & hug. if that didn't pull at your heartstrings...then i don't know what would.

oliver has been staying with aunt liz & uncle jolin, as well as grandma & grandpa schweitz through the weekend. and from the sounds of it, he has been the best little boy ever...and the fun has been non-stop playing with cousins & enjoying the weather. he may have an issue when we do have to go home ;) we are so thankful to the schweitz's for all of their help! my parents came up for a quick overnight visit this weekend too & are planning on returning sometime this week to help shuffle the o-monster around as we continue to cheer gus on.

back to the treatment... gus had an iv inserted into his little hand for fluids, antibiotic & eventually a steroid to help loosen those airways. the road so far @ sanford has been up & down. the care we are receiving is amazing, but the health of our little man has been in question...yesterday was a crossroads of determining us staying where we were in the hospital or moving to the icu. after some much needed positive news by his doctor & respiratory therapist today, we have been spared a trip to the icu. so we will remain recovering right where we are. receiving aggressive nebulizer treatments, iv steroid & antibiotics. it is improving gus's breathing as he's not struggling as hard to get in those little breaths. the airways are opening up & making it easier to move mucous. and that's where we stand. we're uncertain how much longer we will be here but hope each day brings us more positive progress. we love you little fighter baby! xoxoxo