Bi-lateral Pneumonia

No sooner, had I published the early post about Piper, than I received a call from the nurse practitioner on duty at Wanaque, saying that Piper’s condition had worsened and that they were going to send her to the ER at St. Joe’s in Parsippany NJ. I begged her to do everything that she could to get Piper back to Columbia, instead of some strange ER that Piper has never been to. She told me that sometimes Columbia takes too long with the transport, but that she would see what she could do and call me back. Even though I was calm on the phone, inside I was flipping out. I truly believe that a lot of prayers were answered today. After informing my family of the situation, I was able to contain my anxiety, for the most part and finish up some critical items at work before receiving a phone call that Piper would be coming back to Columbia. This alone was a not-so-small miracle for us. I was able to meet Piper as she arrived. They had to admit her through the ER, since she hadn’t been there in so long. She was as awake and active as I have seen her since she left Blythedale. For a minute, I thought that she may have just been faking sick, so that she could come back and say hi to all of her friends at Columbia. The nurse who was on, during her admission, remembered Piper from one of her prior visits, and allowed us to be very involved with her care, all the way up through IV’s and everything. It all went extremely smooth. Even though she was being totally squirmy, I was able to get her to hold still enough for a good chest x-ray. Some of our friends from church were kind enough to come straight from work, and even pick up some oil on the way, so that she could be blessed with health.

Since the PICU was over capacity (as usual) we weren’t able to get up there until about 11:30, or so. But when we finally did, Piper got a great room in the Central section, which is all brand new. The photo above is of Piper being transferred from the ER to the PICU. She was getting really friendly with the doctor, using the doctor’s arm as a leg rest. Piper’s chest x-ray revealed that she is suffering from a nasty case of pneumonia. They are giving her a full spread of antibiotics for the next couple of days, to try to help her clear it up. We are so grateful to everyone who had Piper in their thoughts and prayers today. I was there to witness  that they were being heard. It also overwhelming, the support that Reagan and I have felt on such a tough day, especially when we don’t have any family that is close. After seing Piper yesterday, I will admit that I was expecting the worst. I thought that most likely she would have to be resuscitated after the transport. I can’t even articulate how comforted I am to see her doing as well as she is. When I left tonight, Piper had finally started to tucker out after being so active and playful this afternoon. Even though the circumstances weren’t optimal, it was so great to be able to spend 9 hours straight, with Piper today and not have to worry about parking or anything when I was ready to leave. I know that this post was kind of all over the place. I apologize for that. I guess that I had a lot to say, and am not particularly organized at the moment. I plan on hanging out with Piper all day tomorrow, if anyone feels like coming by to visit the little squirt.