Forbidden Wishes

I knew better than to tell Brendan he was NOT allowed to get his gold helicopter charm for his "Colors of Courage" bead strand.  Telling an 11 year old that is never a good idea (or any child for that matter).  Well, Brendan got his wish.

This morning Brendan got up and was very tired.  But he had blood draws early.  Then he went to his cousins mission homecoming.  I was just leaving home on my way to meet the family there when Shaun called and said Brendan was fevering.  So I turned the car around, and headed home to pack Brendan's bag and call the hospital.

We were told to take him to the closest hospital and have them start antibiotics and do some blood cultures.  (Brendan had to fill them in on the finer points of accessing his port.  The doctor there told him he only does it 3 or 4 times a year.) Then they thought he would be able to come home overnight and still have his chemo treatment tomorrow.  But things changed rapidly and Brendan's blood pressure kept dropping.  I was at home and Shaun was at the hospital with Brendan.  Shaun called and told me they were going to take him by ambulance to Primary's.  Then he called and said they were going to Life Flight him.

 The minute I heard the news, I threw my clothes in my bag-- (remember I said I could pack in nothing flat?  Well, I beat my record)-- and I headed to Primary's.  Life Flight flew over our house on its way to Logan just as I started into Sardine Canyon.  I hoped I could be close to Salt Lake by the time they had Brendan loaded.  It was a quick and easy drive on a Sunday evening.

 As it turned out, I got to Primary's about 10 minutes before Brendan landed.  They made me wait out in the PICU waiting room until they had a room ready for him.  Shaun's brother, Shalee, was just coming from training at Camp Williams and met me here.

 It took about 30 minutes for Brendan to get unloaded from the helicopter and make it down to PICU.
 The Life Flight nurses said Brendan was alert the whole ride down and they propped him up so he could see out the window and watch the full moon rising over the mountain.

 Then all the assessments began.

 Shalee and Brendan laughed and joked about what the helicopter ride was like.  Brendan said was like "The Bat" at Lagoon as the closest thing he could compare it to.

 Once the nurse moved the norepinephrine from the helicopter IV pump to the hospital pump, Brendan cried out in pain.  It caused his heart and head to pound and throb.  They quickly adjusted rates and he began to feel better.  Since then he has been very sleepy and hard to wake up.

 Another IV in his hand.  They have him on 3 different IV antibiotics and one oral antibiotic.  They want to cover all the bases.  So far he has tested positive for the Coronovirus (cold virus).

 Brendan's had a rocky time the last hour.  His blood pressure was dropping and his heart rate was dropping too.  Despite upping the norepinephrine, it was getting lower.  It was down into the 40's and everyone was getting a little concerned.  Brendan was clammy and wet.  But he was responding appropriately to questions -- it was just hard to wake him up and then keep him awake to answer questions.  They finally got his blood pressure up but his heart rate has continued to drop.  So they just switched to epinephrine and now both the heart rate and blood pressure are coming up.

Throughout the night they will continue with all the antibiotics and test for c diff when/if we can get a stool sample.  He is finally looking a little more stable and hopefully he can rest well.

Thanks for all the prayers!  I'll update as often as we get results.