Her Mothers Daughter

As some of you already know, Lola was hospitalized this last weekend with severe Asthma. Some of you may also know that I was hospitalized for the same illness, at the same age and even at the very same hospital!! The only differences so far in our two very similar stories is that Lola was transported by ambulance and I had hitched a ride with life flight and my instance was a LOT worse than our lucky Lola's. We are hoping to get to go home tomorrow and all should be well in the Benik home once again! A little recap of how Lola got here and some pictures of our ultra fun hospital stay...
Thursday evening, June 10th: Noticed Lola was wheezing a tiny bit. Later that evening, we could hear a cough coming on while she was sleeping. Friday morning, she woke up and the wheezing was a little stronger. By Friday evening, I decided to take her over to the insta-care just to get checked. Results: Bronchitis with no real remedy and we were sent home. Saturday morning, still wheezing and coughing more and I wanted a second opinion because I could tell she was feeling yucky and didnt think it was right to just let her be sick like that. Our pediatrician was out so we saw another great Dr who said pooey to the previous instacare Dr and his quick dismissal of us. This Dr thought it could be Asthma but since they dont usually diagnose it on the first instance, he couldnt say for sure. He did treat her for Asthma with an Albuterol dose and some steroids which helped her greatly in the office so he sent us home armed with more Albuterol and a Nebulizer machine along with the instructions to call back if she didnt seem to be getting better within a day or two. Saturday afternoon, she seemed to be doing better (breathing wise) and only a little uncomfortable. But by Saturday night, she was pretty miserable and didnt sleep at all. By the the next morning (Sunday), she was lethargic, not eating or drinking, wheezing very heavily and near inconsolable and I noticed she was very pale and her lips were looking a little blue, so off to the instacare we went. For the 3rd time. As soon as we checked in, a nurse came out to check her oxygen level at which time they rushed us back and a swarm of doctors came to Lolas side poking and probing and calling for an IV, oxygen mask, and a call to Primary Childrens Hospital to have an ambulance come and pick up little Lola. Once we arrived in the ER they admitted her for a severe Asthma attack and set her up on high flow oxygen through nose tubes and constant Albuterol running from a face mask. Plus a whole list of other tests, medicines, and regimens to help aid in her recovery. By Sunday evening, she was doing a ton better and responding to people and stimuli and things were looking up. Over the last 3 days, weve been weaning her off the oxygen help and decreasing the Albuterol treatments and she's now down to breathing (very) well on her own and only needing the Albuterol every 6 hours. Her lungs have cleared entirely and while she tested positive for the Rhino Virus (which may or may not have been the trigger to which started all of this), she is showing no signs of that being present nor bothersome. And any minute, they are coming in to check on her once more and hopefully announce that we can be discharged!! We are thrilled at the thought of finally getting to go home. We have all been pretty miserable being cooped up in this hospital for 4 days now. But were even more thrilled that our little Lola is (almost) completely recovered from this episode and were hoping and praying that Asthma does not make itself a reoccurring companion of Lola's for the next several years like it had with me! Also, we would like to thank our friends and family for their love and support with visits and calls and meals and treats! It means the world to us to have such great people in our lives and it was awesome to know they were there for us in Lola's time of need. Thank you, thank you! And a huge thank you to our Heavenly Father for watching over Lola and blessing her with a swift recovery and the strength to be such a great trooper while in the hospital. She did so well and we are so amazed at her ability to be as strong as she has. We love you Lola and hope you can fully recover as quickly as possible!

Getting strapped into the ambulance's carseat. Can you imagine how frightening this all would be for a baby?!? Poor Lola was poked in each arm, and both wrists and the paramedics still couldnt find a vein for an IV!! The hospital staff finally got one in on that 5th try of the day :(

In the Pediatric ER just after getting all hooked up

Daddy has been by Lola's side the whole time (minus a few hours at the office here and there). He mostly worked from the hospital room answering emails and making calls. He has been so great to help rock Lola back to sleep at 330 in the morning when they've woken her up to give her more meds that make her jittery and ancy so that I could get some rest too. We love you Daddy!

Lola was NOT a fan of the face mask. She kept pulling it off so we pretty much had to hold it over her face 24/7. Not fun.

Lola's sweet Daddy went home and got her musical glow seahorse that she sleeps with every night at home. She was so excited to have her friend with her.

Finally starting to feel a little better (even though she still looks miserable in this pic). She so desperately wanted OUT of that crib and spent days trying to figure out how to escape!

The staff all loved Lola and thought she was so sweet. They brought her toys to play with to help make her feel better.

Catching some z's. Ive never noticed this before, but during this hospital stay, Lola often slept with her hand(s) behind her head. Pretty cute :)

Lola LOVED when her sister came to visit her. She perked right up! Brooklyn was very thoughtful and brought Lola a balloon, handmade 'get well' card and a new sippy cup. Brooklyn climbed into Lola's crib and played with her and read books to her. It made Lola feel SO much better :) I love this pic of the girls. Ive said it before and this pic just confirms it, but they are starting to look a lot alike! Such cute girls :)

Britt came to visit too and brought Lola a cute stuffed elephant. She was really happy to see her too!

Just after her first sponge bath (which she hated by the way). The nurse brought her this ultra styling outfit to wear so she could feel a little more normal :) She was really glad to finally be clean as you can see!

Feeling much better and playing with her CD Player from home

Finally learning how to get comfortable in these cribs. She has been sleeping so well the last few days and even sleeping through all the noise that comes with the hospital. Its our hope that she is able to sleep this well at home now too. She has always been a REALLY light sleeper and whispering has become very common in our home since she was born :)

Good news! The nurses have come in and said we can start the process of being released so well update later on when we get home and are settled in. Thanks again everyone for all the well wishes and prayers. They have definitely helped our Lola get better quickly!