From ED to PICU

When we arrived at Monash emergency, around 3am on 24 June, I still thought you'd just spontaneously get better in a few days.

But over the course of the next 5 hours you seemed to withdraw more and more and get more lethargic. Your eyes were red, and your oxygen saturation was poor.

Poppy on high flow oxygen and feeding tube, 24 June 2017

The doctors put you on high flow oxygen. Your stats improved immediately, indicating that there was no underlying heart issue behind all of this. You stayed on the oxygen while we waited for a bed to open up on a ward for you.

Around 2pm you had a nasogastric feeding tube inserted because you were feeding very poorly. This was a relief to your dad and me because we'd been struggling to feed you properly for about a month. Your weight had almost plateaued. Anything that would get food into you without a fight could only be a good thing at this point, as far as we were concerned.

At 8pm the medical staff were just preparing to transfer you to a ward when you took a massive dive and had to be intubated. It was lucky you were still in the ED and not in a hallway en route.

That's how we ended up in PICU. That's how we ended up here, where you've been now for 30 days.

You've had so many tests, but no one knows what is wrong with you yet. Everything comes up negative or normal and yet you continue to suck at breathing on your own.

Initially, the doctors identified a chest infection caused by a couple of different bugs including a nasty one called VRE. It explained your immediate breathing difficulties, but not some of your other odd symptoms.

Before coming into hospital, I'd already been trying to have you checked out for come worrying behaviours.