Our Little Miracle

I know most of you have seen on my facebook that little Aubrey was in the hospital last week.  Well this is the story behind it all. 

Tuesday afternoon I took Aubrey to her regular doctor to check on a wet cough that she had.  They checked her for RSV..which turned out negative.  The doctor checked her lungs (sounded fine) and gave her a breathing treatment and said if she had anymore severe coughing fits, take her to the ER.  As soon as we got home she had a bad coughing fit so off to the ER we went.  The dr there also checked her lungs and said they sounded fine.  They did the protocol xray....which showed her left lung to be completed white (which usually means pneumonia).  From there we were admitted into the St. Francis Children Hospital.  The doctors we had were absolutely amazing (not to mention OSU docs).  They however were not convinced this was a bad case of pneumonia. She had no fever and her oxygen saturation's were perfect.  All she would do was cough and smile at them.  The next day they talked to one of the surgeons and decided to do a CT and then a bronchoscopy (to check if she had ever swallowed a foreign object).  They gave her anesthetic to do the CT (hated that part) and were going to move her straight into the OR from there.  About 20 minutes later the surgeon came to consult us.  That is when she said "I didnt do the bronchoscopy because from looking at the CT...she has no left lung".  It was silent until she started talking again.  And honestly I have no idea what she said after that.  They moved her into the PICU and while she was under they did an echo of her heart to make sure everything was normal there (all good!).  They woke her up slowly and then moved us to a regular floor.  This is a very rare situation and none of the doctors at St. Francis had seen this except one Cardio Surgeon.  But the case she saw was pretty severe and she actually wasnt treating the patient.  The next day poor little Aubrey had another xray but this time it was a full body one to check if her bones were growing properly.  I forgot to mention, from the research our doctor (and of course Jon) did it showed that this condition most often has other factors added in....like other missing organs, heart problems, and much more.  The full body xray was perfect.  Next was an ultrasound to check all her other organs...all there and all perfect!  Before they dismissed us on Friday they set up a consult with a pediatric pulmonologist in OKC.  She did have a little pneumonia in her right lung so they sent us home with an antibiotic (her cough is now gone).  I also asked for a monitor (like she was using in the hospital) to go home with.  The doctor didnt think it was a great idea because he thought I would drive myself crazy.  But agreed to send me home with one to use on her at night.  Of course ive been using it and she has never dropped under 98% oxygen :) 

Yesterday we drove to OKC for her specialist appointment.  We were hoping that this doctor had treated this before....but she hasnt :(  She was a great doctor and gave us alot of information on how to prevent her from getting sick.  But, I really dont want Aubrey to be a "test" baby...and have more procedures done that she really doesnt need.  Jon and I both want to find a doctor that knows exactly what steps to take because he/she has done this before.  Jon spoke with the St. Louis Children's hospital today and they have treated this and would like to consult her.  But we also got great news from a doctor today that the best pediatric pulmonologist in the country is in KC.  We are getting the number for him tomorrow and hopefully we get good news there. 

I dont want anyone to think she is different than any other kid. She is perfect!  All she does is laugh and talk all day.  She is sooo healthy and gaining weight like crazy! lol  She holds up her head and loves to watch you walk around the room (by the way she is 10 wks old).  I know she will be able to do everything any other kid can do....I just want to know steps to take to make sure she KEEPS healthy!  Aubrey is our little miracle :)