What's happening to me?!

     By Thursday, I was still short of breath but was finally able to catch a cat-nap once in a while.  The inhaler wasn't helping at all, all it did was make me jittery.  I still had a wheeze that kept me from sleeping, and I still felt like if I laid down that I would stop breathing and die.  My sister Andrea decided that it was her turn to stay with us.  She was amazing.  She took it upon herself to not only help take care of Evan, but she took care of me as well.  I am forever in debt to her everyone else who was able to be there, for taking the time to make sure we were taken care of.  I decided that since Evan was in good hands (Daddy's AND Aunt Andrea's), that it would be a good idea for me to take a shower and get the rest of the sticky adhesive residue from my trip to the ER off my skin before it gave me a rash.  It was lovely.  The steam even helped to clear my lungs a bit. 

     After my shower, Andrea suggested we play "photo shoot" with Evan so we could finally get some pictures up on Facebook for everyone to see. After she took a few, I decided that it would be nice to wash Evan up a little first so he would look his handsomest.  While we were giving him his little washcloth bath, I began feeling a little light-headed and I started having shortness of breath again.  My legs were really weak and I started to feel a bit funny. It was kind of weird because I have never passed out before, but it kind of felt like I was going to. Andrea finished getting Evan all dressed and I went to the living room to sit down.  

     After sitting down for a while, my breathing began getting worse and I started to cough. All of a sudden I began coughing up orange goo.  It was awful.  I had no idea what was going on.  At first I thought I was just panicking and hyperventilating.  I asked Andrea to look up online what to do if you hyperventilate.  She called my mom to see if she knew what to do.  I began coughing harder and I really couldn't catch my breath.  I was terrified.  I told Aaron that we needed to call 911 because something was seriously wrong.  I told the paramedics all about what had been going on so they knew about my hospital stay and what the doctors had thought was going on.  They checked my blood pressure and listened to my lungs.  My BP was 200ish over120ish and they said that my lungs sounded "wet".  They checked my oxygen level, it was 85%.  Normally, it should be above 95%.  They started me on oxygen immediately.  At this point I was still panicking, but Shelly, the lady paramedic, was very sweet and was helping me try to calm down.  They put me in the ambulance and Aaron rode in the front.  Andrea told my mom what was going on and she took Evan and hopped in her car.  Thank God she was there that day.  Shelly, put an IV in and we drove to Sparrow Hospital  Halfway there, my oxygen level started to go down.  Shelly said that it would be a good idea to put the oxygen mask on instead of the one that was up my nose.  I was so scared.  When we got to the ER, my dad was there waiting for us and my mom was on her way.  Andrea would be there shortly with Evan. 

  I was taken to a room while Aaron gave the intake person all of my information.  I was scared.  There were nurses and technicians all over the place poking and prodding me and hooking me up to all kinds of machines.  They told me to be still and not move, but because I was still coughing stuff up, it was really hard.  I didn't want to be left by myself, so Shelly waited with me until Aaron was able to be with me.  They took at least 10 vials of blood and then had to have a specialist come and take blood from an artery to get a better read on my oxygen levels.  It was pretty painful.  I was still having fairly labored breathing.  They moved me to a trauma room, they said it was because of all of my visitors.  I knew it was because the doctors were the ones who needed more room to move around.  I know it was really because they were thinking they would need to put me on a ventilator.  I was just praying they didn't need to do that. I was so scared.   I kept asking if they were going to crack open my chest.  Dr. Castle, one of the trauma docs, jokingly said "No, that gets too messy."  He was very kind and kept reassuring me that everything was ok and they just needed to figure out what was going on with me.

     Let me take you back to a few days before.  Evan was a bit jaundiced when Clarice, one of our midwives visited us for Evan's 2 day check-up.  She suggested we put him in the sun as much as possible, but took his blood to be checked anyway.  Before we moved to the trauma room, Aaron got a phone call from Clarice.  Evan's Billy Reuben was 21, which was way too high.  He would need photo therapy and would have to be admitted to the hospital.  Aaron explained that we were already there for me.  She called and made all the arrangements.  My mom and dad stayed with me while Aaron and Andrea went upstairs to the Pediatric Unit to have Evan admitted.   

     They did an Echo cardiogram and an EKG.  They didn't like what they saw and immediately started me on medication and hooked me up to a different kind of oxygen mask.  Many people call it the Darth Vader mask, but in reality it is called a C-Pap.  It is basically pressurized oxygen that is FORCED into your body.  It helped bring my oxygen level up, but all it really did was make my mouth and throat dry.  I was so thirsty, but for some reason they wouldn't let me have anything to drink.  I didn't know why.     My dad is diabetic and hadn't had dinner yet.  My sister Angie was able to come and sit with me so my mom and dad could get something to eat.  I was hooked up to monitors and IVs and  then they put in a catheter.  I was scared.  I still didn't know what was going on.  I felt bad for Aaron.  He had to be with Evan and I wanted him to be with me.  He had to divide his time between us and we were on opposite ends of the hospital.  I wanted to go home.  I wanted to be with Evan.  I was leaking breast milk and needed to nurse or pump. There were so many different doctors coming in and out and talking to me and asking me questions but they weren't telling me anything. I still had no idea what was wrong with me...