This is the amazing journey of our two miracles. John Craig was born on November 30, 2005 at 24 weeks and 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 inches long. John is a true miracle and an inspiration to all that meet him! Hope Amanda, our perfect little girl, is currently recovering from two brain surgeries to remove a 6cm mass from the center of her brain. Hope represents everything good in this world and she too is an inspiration to all.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29.11

Monday, February 28, 2011

Day Four - Good & Bad

Well, day four post op started out great!  We were moved out of the PICU the night before and into a regular room.....with a great view!  Daddy spent the night at the hospital with John and I was able to get a good night sleep at home.  

The night went smoothly and the day was progressing wonderfully.  We gave him a sponge bath, lathered him up with lotion, put clean PJ's on him and let him choose which new pair of socks he wanted to wear.......he choose one "Cars" sock and one "Dr. Seuss" sock.  He ordered a chocolate chip cookie for lunch......totally my kid:)  And every time he sat it down he said, "Momma don't eat any of my cookie!"



After lunch (and PT) he took a long two hour nap and awoke to some fun visitors......two of Mommy's good friends and his sweet little friend, Lily.  They brought cards and balloons.....and John was beyond thrilled to see them.  Lily and John told each other knock knock jokes for a good ten minutes.....and were cracking up the entire time.  It was WONDERFUL to see my boy laughing again.  They even performed their own version of, The Fresh Beat Band.  Lily sang and they both clapped along to the beat......and even took a bow at the end.

A wonderful afternoon it was!

And then......

The nightmare began.  Around 3:45pm he was given Lortab (Tylenol with Codeine) and exactly an hour later he was given Valium because he was still in pain (we have been doing this regimen for three days now without any problems.)  I am actually thinking  a lot of his pain/discomfort is constipation.  He hasn't had a bowel movement in over five days.  Anyhow, the nurse handed me the syringe with the Valium and I administered it via g-tube.  While pushing the medicine through his g-tube I thought to myself....this dose seems a lot more than the previous doses.  

We gave it a few minutes to take effect but he clearly was in a lot of pain.....so I climbed in bed with him and together we played his Leapster Explorer.....trying to get his mind off the pain.  After about ten minutes I noticed he was sweating profusely.....and then the alarms began to sound.  His heart rate drop to 48 and his face was turning blue.  I screamed for the nurses to come help me.

I repeatedly shouted, "Do something!"  I mentioned that the Valium dose that the nurse gave me looked more than the previous doses and in seconds the Dr came in, started an IV (took two tries) and gave him a full dose of Narc-an....an extremely strong drug used to reverse what was given to him (with HORRIBLE side effects.)  Per a close family member of ours (who is an RN) they definitely overdosed him because there is NO WAY they would have given him Narc-an if they didn't.....it is a drug they give heroin addicts when they overdose.

So, as mentioned, the side effects of Narc-an are terrifying.  He was trashing around uncontrollably...tore his IV right out of his arm...arching his back, flailing his arms and legs, twisting in all directions.....and all of this days after major surgery on his spine (with strict instructions to lay flat with no twisting of the upper torso.)  This went on for fifteen LONG minutes....before they gave a hefty dose of Morphine straight into his arm muscle:(

In the mist of all of this I called Jamie panicking.....not sure he even understood what I was saying but he knew it was serious and was out the door in minutes.    Thankfully our parents are close by..... and my awesome next door neighbor ran over to get Hope until our Moms could get there.  I cannot even imagine the flood of emotions Jamie was feeling as he was flying down the freeway trying to get here.....brought him right back to the horrible NICU days I'm sure.

We then were transferred back to the PICU and that's where we remain today.

In all honesty we have been very pleased with every part of this hospital.  It is kid friendly, family centered and the best cafeteria around:)  We've been treated with the up most respect from everyone.....not to mention, our Neurosurgeon is the BEST (bed side manner and all.)  It's unfortunate that a potentially deadly mistake was made by one person....but we do not fault the hospital at all.

I cannot even put into words how scary this all has been but it's over and thankfully he is okay.....AND we are headed home TOMORROW.

Oh and in all the chaos of moving us back to the PICU, we lost our camera.....that had the video of John and Lily dancing on it:(



post signature

11 comments:

Stephanie Halvorson said...

Wow Jill. SO beyond relieved John is okay and all seems to be back under control. I've been thinking of you guys and continue to be impressed and inspired by your amazing attitude. John and Hope have the best parents around and I'm bringing you guys some chili next week. Hang in there Momma! xoxo

JaBLes Mommy said...

Jill, when I heard the news late last night I just stayed up praying for John, you, and Jamie. I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. What a scary time for all of you. I am so relieved John is ok and back to healing. I am excited you are coming home tomorrow and will definitely have to stop by soon with that Sunbutter! You all continue to be an inspiration. Love you so much!

Kimberly (Anthony's Mom) said...

OMG I would of been hysterical! How very very scary! Glad John is okay and you guys get to go home tomorrow.

Kim

Grace, Ruby, Hazel OR Katie said...

I have tears streaming down my face. How scared all of you must have been. How Jamie felt driving there and how you felt standing by him had to have been the worst feeling in the world. I love you guys so much. Thank God he is okay. Enjoy going home. Hugs!

I teach . . . said...

Your story is gut-wrenching, but what amazes me the most is how you are choosing to not blame anyone for the mistake, but instead are recognizing that though VERY unfortunate, it was a mistake. Praise God for saving John once again. YOU are all amazing!

Amanda

Justine, Romy's Mama said...

Oh my gosh, what an absolute nightmare! Ugh, that makes me kinda sick to my stomach. Romy's going in for g-tube placement on Friday and it's got me extra freaked out. Well, I'm glad you guys are going home. I think John will be so happy to get outta there.

abby said...

OMG! That was hugely scary to read, and I cannot imagine how scary it was to live through. Hallie was once overdosed (on steroids) in the NICU and we were beside ourselves (it took a while to figure out what was wrong, and nothing seemed nearly as wrong as what happened to John today). Anyway, I am so thankful that John is okay (and that you are going home tomorrow). May you have an uneventful night and easy day tomorrow.

Randi said...

Ohhh my goodness, Jill. How horribly terrifying for you guys. I'm so sorry you all had to experience that. Continuing to pray for you all. Glad to hear John gets to go home tomorrow.
Thank you for keeping us all posted.
xoxo
Miranda

The Herberts said...

OH MY GOODNESS!! I am SO happy to hear everything is okay!! Just reading your post definitely takes me back!! Keeping John and your sweet family in our prayers!! Love to you all!!

Kristin said...

Oh dear! I am sorry you has to go through that. But, I am sooo glad to hear he is doing well and will be going home soon!

Billie said...

Omg I got sick to my stomach reading this. Glad to know he is ok now, but so sorry you all had to go through this due to someone's mistake. Wishing John a speedy recovery and strong legs! Can't wait to see what his future holds.