This past week we took Juliet in to get her second to last synagist shot. I am so looking forward to being done with this chapter of her story. Unfortunately, the next day she started feeling very sick. She was lethargic, had a slight fever, and she was breathing faster than normal. My first instinct is to always check her O2s. She was still stating around 97, but she just looked off. My mommy instincts told me something was not right. I took her to see her doctor on Wednesday. She had a horrible ear infection, her fever had jumped up to 103, and her breathing was still faster than normal. Her doctor was concerned with the sound of her breathing, so we headed over to get an x-ray of her lungs.
We got both good and bad news. Juliet did NOT have RSV, which is always the biggest fear with premature babies with weak lungs. However, she did have pneumonia in her right lung. Her right lung is the stronger of the two. Due to being born early, her left lung was damaged more than her right. This means that her right lung was not working as well now, which was putting more stress on her left, weak lung. We started her on a steroid antibiotic and watched her like a hawk. We agreed that if possible, it was best to keep her home instead of taking her to the hospital and risk exposing her to other illnesses. Brett and I took turns staying up with her at night and keeping an eye on her breathing. By the end of those first 24 hours she was feeling better and her breathing had slowed. The doctor said it would probably take 2-3 weeks for her to fully overcome the pneumonia.
Even with doing everything we can, we cannot always keep her from getting sick. I am so thankful God has given me my mommy instincts and allowed me to know my children well enough to know when they are not themselves. Our doctor had mentioned if we had waited even another 24 hours, it probably would have ended up with her needed oxygen at the hospital. We are just so glad we caught it fast and she is on the upswing now!
