Elliott's Roller Coaster Ride

April 8, 2015 – Elliott’s Roller Coaster Ride

Photo of Elliott taken a couple of weeks ago at home

We’ve been through extreme ups and downs since my last post.  A couple of weeks ago, we were so thrilled that Elliott was able to get out with his portable oxygen concentrator.  We were busy getting ready for a visit from Elisa and Christian, for the Passover Seder, and for the cherry blossoms to appear.  Spring has been a little temperamental so far, but the daffodils haven’t been intimidated by the sometimes chilly weather.  Their bright sunny faces remind me that it’s time to get some gardening done.  My intentions are good.  I’ve bought several pots of pansies.  Now I just have to get them planted.  And then I have to trim last year’s dried growth from the liriope.  

One week ago, Elisa and Christian arrived for a long weekend visit.  They came just in time to help me prepare for Friday night’s Seder.  Of course, there was a lot of grocery shopping and menu planning to do ahead of time.  This year, I even made a foray into Maryland (that’s all the way across the river from Virginia) to pick up some Passover items at Moti’s Kosher Mart in Rockville.  The Seder menu was somewhat traditional.  I tried to take into account the eating preferences of the seder guests, but Passover is clearly not the holiday for low-carb or gluten-free eating.  And with the coconut macaroons, jellied fruit slices, Barton’s chocolate covered mint crèmes, and more holiday sweets, this isn’t the holiday for those watching their blood sugar either.  As a matter of fact, now that I’ve finished off the last piece of chocolate covered matzah, how will I get through the remaining days of the Passover?

The Seder (Christian’s first) was wonderful, but everything started going downhill quickly the following day.  I did the Torah reading and chanted the Haftarah at services on Saturday morning and came home at noon to find Elliott lying in bed.  He had severe chills and felt miserable, but had no fever at the time.  After checking his oxygen saturation, I turned the concentrator up from 3 to 4 liters.  His oxygen saturation remained lower than usual.  When he still wasn’t feeling any better by mid-afternoon, we called our family doctor for advice.  He told us that if Elliott’s condition didn’t improve within a couple of hours, he probably had an infection and we should go to the emergency room. 

I drove Elisa and Christian to Greenspring to say a quick hello to Grandma Katie.  We told her the exciting news (again) that she is going to be a great-grandmother in July and then hurried back home to check on Elliott.

Elisa, Grandma Katie, Christian

When we returned home, Elliott was still having difficulty breathing, even with the additional oxygen.  Even the slightest exertion made him struggle for air.  We both knew it was time to head out to the emergency room.  When Elliott said goodbye to Elisa, he thought this might be his final chance to see her. 

At this point, Elliott was so weak that he could barely get into the car.  The ER staff at Fairfax Hospital went into action right away, hooking him up to oxygen, taking vital signs, starting an IV with fluids, drawing blood for testing and taking a chest x-ray.  Now he was running a fever, as well as coughing up stuff that terrified me.  The diagnosis of pneumonia came back quickly.  Considering Elliott’s age, pneumonia is very serious.  One encouraging note was that the infection had not entered his bloodstream. Once the results of the tests were in, the doctor started Elliott on three intravenous antibiotics. 

While all of this was going on, I stayed beside Elliott (who was barely conscious) and worked my way through Seder leftovers (roast chicken, eggplant caponata, and arugula salad) that I had wisely packed in my lunchbox before we left the house.  Arrangements were being made to transfer Elliott to a bed in the hospital’s acute pulmonary unit. Finally, around 9:30 p.m., I decided to go back home while I was still awake enough to drive.

When I went to the hospital Sunday morning, I was disturbed by what I saw.  Elliott felt terrible, looked terrible, and sounded terrible.  He hadn’t gotten much sleep during the night.  Because his lungs were so weak, he was wearing an apparatus that delivered high-flow oxygen.  He was hooked up to multiple IVs and monitors.  I brought along some chocolate chip macaroons, but he didn’t have any appetite.  Later that day, however, he called me to say that he was actually feeling a little better. 

From that point on, Elliott continued to make slow but steady progress.  With the help of the antibiotics, his body was fighting off the pneumonia infection.  An additional dose of Lasix helped clear fluid from his lungs.  Gradually, the medical staff weaned him from the high-flow oxygen so that by Wednesday, he was back to using the same type of oxygen equipment he’d used at home.  He was able to switch from intravenous medication to oral medication.  So it was time to move on to the rehabilitation phase of his recovery.

Fortunately, we were able to transfer Elliott to a rehab facility about 10 minutes from our house.  He’ll be there for 2-3 weeks, receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy to help him regain his strength.  And then he’ll be back home, in time to see the azaleas bloom in all their spring glory.  It looks like the amazing Elliott has done it again!