A terrible scare and another ER visit

Just when I thought we were settling into a comfortable routine, I was slapped in the face with the reality of Joshua's situation on Wednesday evening.  David and I were moving Josh to the back of the house (it's much easier to do with two people when the IV pole is involved) and into bed when I heard a snap, Joshua cried out, and I saw blood pooling underneath his outfit.  My immediate thought was the worst possible scenario was happening - Joshua's chest tube had ripped out and he was spurting blood from the entry site.  [Insert objectionable language here]  I had been taught emergency procedures before leaving the hospital for just this situation although at the time I thought it was quite unlikely to happen.  I knew I had to stop the bleeding first and foremost.  I ripped Joshua's pants and onesie off in a complete panic trying to brace myself for what I was about to see.  To my immense relief the chest tube was still sutured in place, but the sterile line had snapped in half making it impossible for Joshua to receive the life sustaining nutrients he needs.  Even though it was not the worst case scenario, it was still very bad. 

Joshua's central line snapped in half below the clamp.

Luckily the snap occurred below the clamp so I was able to immediately clamp off the line before completely freaking out.  I called our home nurse, but I knew the whole time that we had to take Joshua to the ER.  He simply cannot go for more than a few hours without being on his fluids.  I was incredibly upset with myself and understandably distraught by the situation. I still have yet to figure out what the line caught on that caused the snap.  I have been reassured by countless doctors and nurses that this happens all the time and is just one of those things you have to deal with when you are raising a baby on long term IV fluids. 

We arrived at the Egleston ER around 1 am and Joshua had his line repaired within a few hours.  This was wonderful news since we were not sure if the line could be repaired or if it would have to be replaced which would require another surgery.  The bad news - after a line repair you have to stay in the hospital at least 24 hours to confirm proper performance before going home.  Joshua is expected to be released Friday morning.  One of the most disturbing things we have heard from both nurses and doctors is that this will more than likely happen again and may happen several times while Josh is still on the fluids.  Say what!?  We were told to be prepared to have more ER visits and overnight stays in the future.  This is terribly difficult for me to accept.  We have to live our lives in constant fear of having to pack up our stuff and rush to Egleston on any given day.   A rather unpleasant way to exist for sure.

Joshua, on the other hand, does not seem to mind coming back to the hospital at all.  He is a total ham in front of the nurses and loves socializing with all the different people that come in his room.  Josh is constantly winning over the hearts of new staff members.  Below is a short video of Joshua chattering away as a nurse searches for a vein to put an IV in.  He has tourniquets on multiple appendages and the nurse is thumping away on his skin looking for the best vein, but Josh doesn't seem to mind.

 We waited in the ER for around 5 hours before being admitted to our room on the 6th floor.  The line repair occurred at the bedside in the ER which was a good thing, because I pointed out three different mistakes to the surgery resident who was performing the repair solo - no other nurses or doctors were present so I was the only one observing what was happening,  This is highly abnormal for Egleston since it is a teaching hospital, there are always multiple people observing/learning/teaching.  I ended up lodging a formal complaint against the surgery resident and was strongly backed by our nurses once they saw his handiwork.  The dressing that is critical to maintain a sterile field around the line insertion site in Joshua's chest was done completely wrong and exposed Joshua to all sorts of nasty hospital bacteria that can easily cause a serious line infection.  I am now watching Josh like a hawk for any signs of infection.  I will hunt down that resident and beat him to a bloody pulp if Joshua comes down with a line infection.  Forget complaints and lawsuits, I will go for blood.  I was already forced to watch Joshua have the dressing changed again once we got up to the 6th floor.  He was absolutely exhausted by this point and the second dressing change threw him into a tailspin.  If looks could kill, that resident would have collapsed on our floor during that process.

I want to see Joshua happy and smiling again in his Bumbo chair at home!  We are so hopeful this can happen by Friday afternoon.  I guess we will have to navigate our way through this freezing rain event first.  Stay safe out there folks!