Gavin Update

First of all, I want to thank you ALL for the sweet comments, text messages, phone calls, and messages you have sent. Your prayers and concerns mean the world to the Warner family. If I haven't had a chance to respond, please know your kindness was not overlooked. I truly appreciate you, and we are so blessed to have such great family and friends standing behind us through all of this.

Landry: Landry had an asthma attack on Monday morning (1:30am.) We tried to handle it at home with breathing treatments and medicine. I took him into the pediatrician around 2:00 on Monday afternoon because I felt he was just not improving the way I wanted him too. He responded well to the treatments there, but by the time we got to Children's Medical Center (I will give you that story in a minute), he was struggling to breath again and was wheezing like crazy. They decided he needed to go ahead and be admitted also. Landry spent Monday and Tuesday night in the hospital due strictly to an asthma attack! He was released Wednesday afternoon. I am happy to report he is home and doing great.

Gavin: Here is the more complicated story. Same exact thing as above happened with Gavin also. It was strange having them both wake up and in so much distress that morning. Later we found out from the doctors, that with the huge change in weather the day before, they were seeing LOTS of asthma episodes. Some of you may recall, Gavin had a similar episode like this last year in October. The difference in my two boys is Landry responds well to treatments and pulls out of this stuff quickly, Gavin does NOT!! :( So- Monday when we went to the pediatrician, he wasn't responding at all to the in office treatments. So, they sent us over to Children's ER with him. After his chest x-ray, they discovered that Gavin's left lung (upper lobe) had "collapsed." This on a regular day would scare me, but it happened last year as well.....so the news was not shocking. During his attacks he pulls SO hard in to breath his left lung just can't hold up. They say it "collapses" but what this really means for him is he is sucking in so much, and there is so much mucus in there, that they kind of stick together, or deflate. The doctor is not sure why this happens other than the history of Gavin and respiratory problems is not good. He had RSV at 3 months (which we were hospitalized for), and then last year's 4 day stay at Children's also. So- his lung (left side particularly) is weaker than the other, and causes problems.

So- why are we still in the hospital now: they are having trouble getting his lung to "inflate" if you will. After all the trouble he has been through the past week, his little lung is just not healing fast enough. They are having a hard time getting him to clear the mucus ("secretions") from his chest, and without doing that, the lung is having trouble inflating back. They have done all kinds of therapies to try and help him with this, but it is just taking it's sweet time. Obviously, with one lung not functioning 100%, his oxygen levels are staying pretty low. He will do OK during the day, but at night his levels drop to 85-88%. They will not release us until he can stay above 97% ON HIS OWN (no machines) which he hasn't even made it to yet (the no machine part.) His respiratory therapist described to me, that the way he feels at the end of the day after fighting to breath, is the equivalent of you and I running a marathon A DAY!!!! Could you imagine....being 3 years old and feeling like that? Poor baby!!! So- although we were admitted with an asthma attack with him too on Monday, we are now facing a "lung issue" that is keeping us in there. His asthma itself is under control. They have spread his albuterol breathing treatments to every 6 hours as of yesterday. But, we have to get his lung back to 100% functioning before we can leave (obviously.) So- it looks like we will be hanging out in ICU until his little lung feels like it is ready to heal, and Gavin feels like he can breath normally again. The doctors are having to push back the estimated day of going home every day. As of right now, it looks like Tuesday or Wednesday, but it really all depends on Gavin's body. So basically, we have no clue when we will be getting out. It is a waiting game. :(

Everyone is doing OK. Poor Landry is just being shuffled around. I feel guilty that he is not getting tons of attention from Mom and Dad considering he was just sick and not feeling good either. But, he is a trooper and understands. Thanks to my Mom and Dad who took him all day yesterday. They went and saw the Muppet Movie (which I am jealous about b/c I really want to see it.) But- it helped having him something to do. Gavin is under "isolation" (meaning you have to wear mask, gloves, gown) at the hospital because they are trying to prevent ANYTHING getting into his lungs and setting us back even further. So- we haven't allowed Landry to go up there since he left (for his sake too.) Gavin is hanging in there. He has good and bad moments. The steroids make him mean at times. And, of course he is hating the wires and needles all over him....but he is also a trooper and is doing the best you can expect from a 3 year old. Kyle and I are tired, but we are OK. We have been switching off nights up there, and the other comes home to be with Landry. I just can't wait to have us all under one roof again.

Once again...I can't thank you all enough for the thoughts and especially the PRAYERS!!!! Please keep them coming for this little guy's left lung to heal quickly and get back to it's normal functions.

We love you all!!!
The Warners