The Scariest Day EVER!!!

Towards the end of March, Nathan started to present some signs of shunt failure again.  For about a week he was throwing up more than "normal"...normal for Nathan anyway.  We had begun to accept that because of his jumbled up insides and reflux, there was probably going to be some amount of vomiting associated with having a CDH baby.  It was the "extra" vomitting -- more in quantity, more in frequency, and sometimes violent in nature -- that was worrisome.

Then the excess vomiting went away and some sunsetting of the eyes returned for about a week.  That same week his head size had also gone up a little bit.

And then the sunsetting went away and the vomiting returned again.  And that's where we were at the beginning of April.

Then on Wednesday, April 2nd, Bekah had the scariest day EVER!!!

I was at work, working extra hours on a special project, trying to take advantage of an opportunity to earn some extra income.  Bekah was home alone with Nathan, which was not abnormal.  She did it every day.  But this night was far from normal.

Bekah had laid Nathan down to rest on his side on his boppy pillow in the family room.  As he was laying there, he threw up a little bit.  Again, not that abnormal.  But as Bekah went to grab a burp rag, Nathan started choking.  Then, suddenly, he started to have problems breathing.  His lips started turning blue.  And the rest of him started turning red.

Bekah quickly flipped him over and checked to make sure his airway was unobstructed and/or clear it of any obstructions that might be in there then gave him a couple of CPR breaths.  But nothing seemed to be helping.  His lips were still blue and he had begun to be very clammy and to look very drowsy, like he was going to pass out or lose consciousness.

Bekah was trying her best to stay calm and keep her composure under the intensely emotional stress of the situation and was actually doing an amazing job considering Nathan's condition.  When nothing she tried worked, she was quicklly on the phone with 911.

Fortunately, we literally live right around the corner from the fire station and the EMS.  While Bekah was on the phone with the dispatcher, Nathan's normal color started to return.  And within a couple of minutes the paramedics were at our apartment.

They looked Nathan over and listened to his breathing, but seemed to think that he was doing OK.  However, they did offer to take them to the ER to have Nathan checked out further.  But he was doing enough better that she felt comfortable staying at home.

When I got home from work, not very long after everything had calmed back down, Bekah told me everything that had happened.  She told me how awful and scary it was to have Nathan so blue for what seemed like so long.  But I was so proud of her for staying so calm and level-headed and knowing exactly what to do.  She was really, really amazing considering the horrifying circumstances.