RSV is an asshole.

I was just starting to feel relieved at the end of this RSV season.  Niko got her last RSV shot of the year last week.  I love the kind and gentle nurse who administers the shots but I really don’t want to see her again until next year.  Upon leaving the office she did mention that they usually see the rush of RSV patients at the very end of the season.

RSV can cause a bad cold for healthy kids but is extremely dangerous for I-Cell kids.

A couple weeks ago, two I-Cell kids, Dori and Wynnie (three year old twins), were sick with coughing, fever and congestion.  After a week of this, their oxygen levels dropped to the low 50s and did not pick up.  So they were rushed to the ER.  Wynnie arrived gray in colour and his lips were blue.  They were both given oxygen but poor little Wynnie needed more than just the O2 mask.  His body was getting weaker and weaker.  So the doctors intubated him.  Intubation is one of the biggest fears among the I-Cell families.  It’s highly risky for I-Cell kids and can often cause more harm than good due to their very narrow air passageways. 

It turned out that both kids had RSV.  Dori slowly improved although his heart was enlarged substantially from the virus.  Wynnie remained in critical condition.  Aside from having RSV, he had pneumonia, anemia, pulmonary edema (fluid in his lungs), excessive thick congestion, constipation, and bacterial infection in his lungs.  The following day, his lungs collapsed.  The doctors paralyzed him for 24 hours to give his body a rest and to allow the machines to fully breathe for him. 

This morning an X-Ray of his chest showed that he is doing a little better and he may let be able breathe with the vent soon. 

The reason why I’m including such painful details is because these I-Cell kids go through so much without losing their fighting spirit.  They remind those of us who are lucky enough to be healthy that we ought to be grateful.  

Perhaps I've again become unreasonably affected by the critical condition of another I-Cell child.  My heart is pounding, my hands are shaking.  But they have taught me that life is fleeting.  Everyone says, "They have so much to teach you."  I used to be resentful of that patronizing statement.  I couldn't simply sum up Niko's terrible life sentence as a lesson to be learned.  However as much it pains me to admit, I am slowly accepting this.  These tiny souls in these tiny compressed bodies are teaching me things.  I look at them with such respect.  "Wisdom comes alone through suffering" says Aeschylus, founder of Greek tragedy.  If that is true then our little I-Cell babies are volumes wiser than us and undoubtably teachers to those around them.   

Dori keeps asking for Wynnie at home, calling out “Ninee”.  Please get well soon Wynnie.