The End of Summer....

I can't believe this is the last week of our summer ...
for the most part it has been a really great couple of months. The weather here in Seattle has been absolutely gorgeous and warm, Hudson has managed to stay out of the hospital since May, I was able to jet set to CA kid- free, we did a family trip out of the country (Canada), we have enjoyed friends and family, bbq's, swimming, birthdays....the list goes on and on!
I am not ready to send my kids back to school, and all that it entails...early mornings, homework, schedules, therapists....I need another month or two of summer!

Hudson is still struggling as usual, with seizures and respiratory issues. I believe the vest has saved us from several trips to the hospital. I shake him 2-3 times a day. I think it keeps things loose and prevents him getting clogged up and into respiratory distress and failure. I guess the true test will be this fall/winter when the cold season is at its worst. I do think he has caught a few colds over the summer but has pulled through without hospitalization because of this vest. So I am really grateful we have it and serving its purpose.

This Thursday, I take Hudson first thing in the morning to Children's for a CT scan of his chest and sinuses. Thankfully, we do not have to use any anesthesia, but he needs to be sleepy and still. I will admit, I am a little nervous for what those results will show. He struggles so much in this part of his body, but answers and a new treatment to help this struggle would be the best case scenario. Remembering to lift Hudson in prayer on Thursday would mean so much.

 My trip to CA, wine tasting.

Canada

 12!

 Surprise party at GWL!

Easing back to our routine

Thanks all for the prayers...

We got discharged Friday afternoon. It was a really long week, as I literally stayed inside those hospital walls the entire stay. My mom had a cold, and so I couldn't risk either one of them catching anything more, so I powered through the week with Hudson ....sleepless and weary.
I still feel like I am recovering.
He is doing okay. We did have a go at the therapy vibrating vest the entire time we were there. The RT said she has never seen a kid cough up so much stuff after using it. So guess what? I am getting trained so we can use one at home. I am hoping insurance will cover the very unfashionable $16,000 vest...not its not a Versaci or Gucci....it's a Hill-Rom Therapy Vest with a huge price tag!!!
Our hope is it will keep him out of the hospital if we use it on a regular basis.
Hopefully by the weeks end we will be using it daily.
Hudson is still super gunky like always, but sleeping like a champ and feeling much better.
Our plan for now is to get a CT scan sometime this summer of his chest. We need to know if the pseudomonas has been eradicated, or if it has buried itself deep into the tissue of the lung. Praying it is gone...because worst case scenario, he would need surgery to remove that portion of the lung...and that is just not an option for Hudson....so we don't entertain the idea. Hopefully the CT scan will just give us a baseline of what his chest looks like.

Hudson and I were happy to be home for the 3 day weekend, to be with family, and to be in our own beds!

I thought I would share some pics of recent big happenings over the last few months...

 Hailey turned 9

 

 Hudson turned 6

 

I turned...(never mind that one!)

How did we get here????

A week ago Hudson was doing so much better, and I thought we were finally getting to the bottom of his ongoing respiratory struggles...he sounded better, looked better, and NOW look at us....

We found ourselves driving to the ER at 1:00 a.m. this morning. We sat sleepless and miserable in the ER from 2a.m. until 10:00 a.m.
Hudson is on bipap, getting CTP every 4 hours with the therapy vibrating vest, on two I.V. antibiotics to treat what looks to now be pneumonia, as wells the pseudomonas, as well as rhinovirus!

We are a HOT mess!
I say we and in include myself in that equation because I am as sleep deprived as they come, and I froze sitting in the ER for 8 hours sitting in a hard chair in a stupor....I dream of a hot bath and sleep , but that is not happening as long as I am here. Not sure how long we will be here this time around.

So your prayers are once agin appreciated.....Hudson must kick this once and for all as my little champ continues to go to battle.

Breathing Easier

Finally!!!

It took almost a week being on Ciprofloxacin to finally start seeing a change for the better. His coughing is SO much better, and no more long coughing spells. All the thick gunk he would cough up is less in volume and has thinned out alot. I still am getting some thick goobers but nothing like it was for the past several months.
Definitely breathing a sigh of relief....so good to see some relief in this area where it has been such a struggle for so long.
I honestly don't even know what Hudson's baseline is anymore, it has just been so long since he has been at baseline. Please continue to pray for this to clear up...it is not totally gone and his regimen is for 21 days, so we still have time to see the antibiotic continue to do its thing. In the meantime I am just so thankful to see some improvement.

Guess who turns 6 next week???