Schwalk Family: January 2009

I know it's been a while....not much new to report here. We have been at home everyday (except for one quick trip to Amarillo Brace and Limb for a minor adjustment to Bradyn's braces) and it has been wonderful! We have had several nice days that we have been able to get out for a walk. Bradyn loves his stroller, as long it is not in one of Mommy's favorite stores. Ha! We spend lots of time strolling at the school across the street from our home. He also enjoys the swings and sliding with his Grandpa. I am not brave enough to take him on the slide by myself.

Bradyn had to have his braces adjusted because he manages to get out of them. Little weasel. The guy at the brace place said he has NEVER had a kid be able to get out of their braces, especially when they are on as tight as I have to put them on. Leave it up to our little guy!

This week Bradyn is fighting a little cold. I hope that is all it is. Yesterday we had to take him to have his throat swabbed for strep. That came back negative, thank God! We have been on a strict breathing treatment regimen and I think he is going to be alright.

Daddy gets the job of beating Bradyn's back after his treatments.

He was so tired he did not even fight it.

Bradyn and his cousin Gracen!

More cousins! Bradyn, Hunter, Jordan, Colton, and Rileigh.

Grammy got Bradyn some big boy hair gel for his stocking. I thought he needed a mohawk!

Please keep us in your prayers as we are preparing to go back to Dallas to the nuerologist. We are going to fly this time to save lots of time and a little money too. This will be Bradyn's first time to fly and I am a little nervous about how he will handle it. Thanks

Life is just full of twists and turns. The past two years have sure kept me spinning. Just when I think things are going great, life takes another turn for the worse.
It all started on Monday the 22nd. Bradyn was sick with the tummy bug, but by that evening he ate a little and felt like playing on the bed (his usual night time ritual). The next day he was not feeling great, but I was certain he was getting better. On Wednesday we went to Grammy and Grandpa's to have Christmas with the Haberthur's. He enjoyed the kids and was still not 100%, but again I was not alarmed. On Christmas day he was pretty fussy and I was not able to get him to eat. He acted like it hurt when I gave him fluid in his feeding tube. We tried to give him small amounts throughout the day so he would stay hydrated. Around 2:00 he started throwing up again so I called the Dr. They wanted us to bring him in to Northwest for an IV since he was probably dehydrated. Bradyn's takes seizure medicine 3 times a day and it is very hard on his liver. He must stay hydrated or his liver could be damaged. So we packed up and headed to Amarillo. Grammy and Grandpa went along for support and to keep Bradyn entertained. Thank God they came along.
We were supposed to come home the next day, but you know how hospitals are. They did not get orders written in time so we were to stay another night and make sure Bradyn was not going to be sick again. The nurse brought in Bradyn's night time medications and I immediately noticed that one of them did not look right. I told her that I thought it was wrong and she assured me that the pharmacist had diluted it and that it was right. Within a matter of minutes Bradyn was jerking and screaming. I knew that he had an overdose. I told them that I thought he had gotten too much medicine and again, the Dr. said that if it was an overdose that he would be very sleepy. She thought that Bradyn was screaming because he was having tummy cramps. Bradyn had a horrible night, jerking and screaming throughout the night. He would not lay down without screaming and jerking so we took turns holding him all night long.
His heart rate was dropping VERY low and we were getting scared. The nurses could not figure out what was going on. Bradyn was so drugged he could barely open his eyes. FINALLY at about 3:00, after I again insisted that there was an overdose, the day nurse said she would do some checking. SURE ENOUGH I WAS RIGHT. Bradyn had gotten 10 times too much medicine. The Doctors were very angry with the pharmacist and they were in the hall speaking back and forth pretty loudly. The pharmacist finally apologized to the Dr., not to us or to Bradyn. By that time we were able to get Bradyn to wake up a little. His heart rate came up that night and by the next morning he was fine.
I felt like we were in the NICU all over again. We did not know what was wrong and why his heart rate was so low. We were so scared and felt so helpless. We are still recovering from our Christmas vacation. I told mom at least it felt like we all got an extra long Christmas break!

Bradyn's IV. They really hurt in the foot. He always cries when they have to go there.