Collin Update Saturday

Collin is going home TODAY!!! IV has been removed, regular clothes have been put on and I am packing up our belongings! Praise God!

Some pics and a movie

This is what Collin looked like before we got him to the hospital.

Here he is on Monday! It was the first day in almost a week that he tried to play with anything.
Later that day he received a Build A Bear from Aunti Jen!
This is an adorable pic from a couple of days ago! You can see he is starting to come to life.
*note there are no pics of me for a reason!
Here he is w/ Grandpa getting ready for a walk. So cute!
Finally some rest! (For only a short while, but he looks so sweet!)

Here is a video I took today so you could see the improvement. Thank you so much for your support and prayer.

Collin Update Thursday

Wednesday night brought us the beautiful gift of sleep! Praise the Lord! Aaron, Collin and I all slept through the night with only a few awakenings. I didn't realize how much I needed it. Today was very calm at the hospital. Not so at my parents house! The morning started early when Noah, our oldest, woke them up with a high fever (102+) and terrible shivering. That is exactly how Collin started his illness last week. Aaron took Noah to the doc and he had crackling in his lungs. He is on a breathing medication to open his airway and an antibiotic. His should clear up quickly because we caught it early and he was properly examined and diagnosed. The doctor didn't mess around because he knows what is going on with Collin.
Alright, on to Collin. Today went fast! He napped twice. I napped once. He ate. I ate. That is not the best part though! The best part is that he has been off of oxygen since mid afternoon! He is holding his own! He is doing well! He still has a lot of stuff in his lungs, but he is getting much better! The discontinued one of his antibiotics because they still have not grown anything on his culture and Noah has the exact same thing now(= it was probably spread by Collin). Therefore, it is looking more viral at this point and the med they discontinued fought bacterial pneumonia. He is responding well to walking and loves playing! It is so great! I don't know when we will be released, but I hope it is SOON! I will let you know!
Thanks again for your prayers!!

Collin Update Wednesday

Today was wonderful. Well, as wonderful as it can be when you have a child in the hospital. The morning started with a happy Collin. He had a great attitude with his doctor's and nurses, for the most part and love the new "games" resp. therapy has him doing to open his airways. What kid wouldn't love being told he has to blow into one of those party favors that unrolls or blow bubbles inside(!) or go on a walk to see a fish tank. Oh I can't forget how he also love his pinwheel!! The doctors and nurses still continue to bless our family with the love and care they pour over our family daily. Collin's room feels warm and homey with cards from his friends, Jacob and Ellie, Noah and even a card made and given to him secretly by a child he has never met. He loves his flowers from Daddy and the Chase family. He loves his balloons. He loves having MANY gifts given to him several times a day. He loves the picture of he and Noah and the one of Daddy and Roxi that Daddy brought from home. It has made a big difference in my mood too! Everywhere I look in his room shows promise, love and support. It has been crucial to our survival.
Today while I was giving him one of his massages, (yeah, there are some perks to having a mom that is a massage therapist), he looked at his flowers and said, "God made those flowers mom." We spent the next several minutes talking about many things that God has made. It was so nice. We talked about:
Mommy: Collin, where are you?
Collin: At the doctor's.
M: Why are you here?
C: The doctors are making my boo-boo's all better.
I found such comfort in this. He does kind of understand what is going on. This brings great peace to both of us.
We consulted with a Pulmonologist today and he suggested a few new things we are trying. He had another chest xray, which we have yet to talk to a doctor about. I spoke with one of Collin's resp therapist's and she said she only read the report and when she compared the new and old reports there was not much change. I am slightly discouraged by this, but only slightly because he is showing great improvement. He got to go on 2 walks today!! He walks from his room to the waiting room to look at the fish tank. A big surprise today was that my BFF was here visiting me when I got the call to come back to help him w/ his walk. It takes Aaron and I to do one of his walks, we have an IV pole and O2 tank to tote along with us. Well, when he saw Aunt Stephy he lit up like a spot light and grinned ear to ear. She got some great big hugs and it made his day. He seems to be doing much better and we have even successfully brought his O2 down from 2 liters to 1.5 liters. Soon they plan on lowering it another 1/2 liter. I pray it holds!
This morning Aaron arrived and we traded "posts"! I got Noah and he got Collin. It was so great to see my big boy!! We went to Bob Evan's for breakfast. We ordered and the server was about to walk away when Noah told her "My brother is in the hospital, yeah he's sick". It was all I could do NOT to cry. I was missing Collin. I was feeling guilty for missing him when I hadn't spent any time with Noah since our 15 min playdate 2 days ago. I knew Collin would be having a blood draw while I was away and I wouldn't be able to be there to hold him. After we ate, I made it as far as the cash stand before the tears started pouring out of my eyes. We got to the van, I was somewhat composed, when Noah told me he wanted to hug me for a long time. I L.O.S.T. it! I sobbed into his tiny shoulder and tried to assure him they were happy tears because I missed him so much and now that we were together I was so happy I couldn't help myself. He just said,"come on Mom, stop crying." I cried until we got to Walmart where I bought him a gift and passed him off to grandpa then headed back to the hospital. I am stacking up the mommy guilt, I will try to refrain from my (mostly tainted) thinking. Let's just say I feel pretty guilty right now. While at Wally world I snagged some cough syrup for me and some chapstick for Collin. I returned to the hospital to find a snuggling Daddy and Collin. It was beautiful. It warmed my heart as does looking up from my lappy to see the same picture in living color right in front of me.
I am so thankful Aaron is here tonight. Last night was almost more than I could take! I hope sleeping in shifts will help, but right now I am not even tired. I know it is impossible that I could be anything less than wiped out, but I am running on adrenaline right now. Crazy, ADD type adrenaline. My mind is rushing!
I should probably call it a night! More to come tomorrow! Thank you again for your love, support and encouragement! It means a lot!

Collin Update Tuesday

Today had high points and low points. I am in awe of the peace that has come over my mind. Collin spent most of the day in his bed resting. The highest point of my day was watching Collin play with playdough, smile, talk and even laugh. The highest high point was hearing him say,"I love you Mom" when I thought he was sleeping. I went over to his bed and kissed his sweet head. He smiled. My heart warmed.
As far as his condition, he remains mostly unchanged. His right lung has no change at all, but his left lung sounded "slightly improved". I will count this as a high and low point, but I will also count this as a blessing. He showws some improvement! He didn't get worse! Those are good things. I find I am strangely calm and optimistic and that is because God is taking care of my baby and I believe he is. He loves Collin more than me. He cares for Aaron and I. He has a plan for Collin. He has a plan for this whole horrible situation.
Collin is still scared of the doc's and nurses for the most part. I am thankful he has been deemed "not contagious" so no one has to wear a mask anymore which is a lot less scary. That is a high point.
I will only dwell briefly on the low points and simply state them as fact w/o commentary.
~He isn't able to maintain enough oxygen on his own.
~They have tried 2 times to lower the amount of O2, but it did not work, so he was put back on a higher dose.
~We aren't going home anytime soon. Maybe Friday. Maybe.
~Collin is still very sick.
~Collin may still end up in the PICU.
~He is still having nightmares.
Okay there are more, but I just can't dwell on it any more tonight.
We have a wonderful support system and friends have even brought food to our hospital room so we don't go broke eating cafeteria food. (Almost $30 in 1 1/2 days! That is like 25% of our grocery bill for 2 weeks of food.)
Another HIGH point was getting to see and spend time with Noah! Praise God the hospital has a beautiful courtyard and we got to play. It was wonderful.
I need to go, hope to write more tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Anything I can do to help??

There are so many wonderful people offering to help our family I don't know where to start the thank you's. Right now, we are living minute by minute and I don't know what we will need. The control freak inside of me has lost hold and I am resting in God's promise that he is sovereign and has already written the book of my Collin's life.
I am writing this post to the drip-drip-bubble-bubble that sounds like a mix between a dog lapping water and a bath tub filling with water. The sound is actually the water that is moistening the oxygen that is piping into Collin's 3 (and almost1/2) year old body. 1.5 liters, whatever that means. I am sitting on the hard couch in his room while Aaron is coaxing Collin into leaving the cannula (oxygen tube thing) in his sore little nose. Every few minutes the DING DING DING of his monitor breaks the rhythm of the O2 gizmo and I get jerked out of the "happy place" I am trying to create in my mind. Those of you who know Collin know he HATES bandaids. He always has. As you can imagine, having his little arm on a flat board from wrist to elbow is a hot button issue for him. Now he has discovered he can bang the back of the board on his bedrail and make a loud noise. Yay! (sarcasm intended). Every 1/2 hour my baby awakes. He has had terrible nightmares since arriving here about 24 hours ago. He is tiny and frail. He has lost 5 lbs since last Thursday and is now only 31lbs. As a massage therapist, his physique helps me guide along the muscles, as a mama it make me cry. Literally. Let me just say, crying while you are already losing your voice and occasionally coughing is a recipe for frustration. I can't help it. I am sad. I want to lay down on my bed and let it out. i can't. My baby needs me. He wants me. He must have me. I went to dinner tonight with Aaron to the hospital cafeteria while my mom watched Collin. I got a call about 7 minutes later from her saying I should go back. So I did. I ran through the hallway's and got to my baby just in time to hold him down for bloodwork. Did I mention he hates bandaids?? Imagine how much he LOVES needles. He fights, kicks, screams, scratches, swings and arches through every procedure. He has finally stopped screaming and shaking when a doctor walks in the room, so that is a blessing.
He is scared. Terrified. Sick. Tired. Longing for his home. I am too.
Today we saw hope. We saw him attempt to play with a balloon. He played with a car. He smiled a weak halfway smile. He said I love you. He laughed, almost. It was beautiful. It was priceless. It was Collin.
I know morning is coming soon for us. I know I am running on 1 hour of sleep and a 1/2 hour nap. I know the last week was Hell for us. I know I need to rest, but I can't right now. Rest will come for me, I know it will.
So, to answer the question, "is there anything I can do to help?" Only Grandparents and parents are allowed to come in to see us so you can't physically sit with us. I think the only thing that helps right now is knowing you are praying for our boy and the encouragement you are sending via e-mail, phone calls and facebook. For that I am eternally grateful. For now, I need to go, it is almost nightmare time. He is tossing and turning.

Edited Update

I will just fill in the blanks and edit my sister's previous post about Collin.
Corrections:
Aaron took Collin to the doctor.
I spoke w/ a doc on Friday night. Explained Collin's breathing and voiced several concerns and questions.
Sat night, Aaron spoke with our pediatrician and ask a nurse regarding our concerns.
These are minor errors, but I thought I would make a few corrections.

Update on Collin

Collin's story(by Aunt Jen)

(Here is the story to the best of my understanding.) Last week Collin got very sick. Becky and Aaron consulted the doctor who said it sounded like H1N1. Since everyone is advising people to quarantine themselves with H1N1 and stay out of the dr office unless things get really bad, they did. By Thursday, Collin was on his 3rd day 0f a 102+ temp and was not himself at all. He wasn't eating, sleeping or doing anything but moaning and trying to breathe. So, Becky took him in to the doc. The doctor assured her that it was H1N1 and that they did not need to do any further testing. Things kept getting worse and by Friday night Becky's "mommy-radar" was blaring loudly that something was off. On Saturday they called the doctor to explain that Collin's color was way off and he was really struggling to breathe and his temp was still very high. They were advised to wait until Monday to do anything. By Sunday night, Becky's mommy radar was too loud to deny and she did what she and Aaron thought was best, despite the doctor's advice. They took Collin to Children's because he was really struggling to breathe. They assessed him and became very concerned (Becky only learned the severity of this concern after the fact). Testing showed that Collin did not have H1N1 or any other flus but had pneumonia. Due to the fact that this was misdiagnosed, his pneumonia festered in his little chest and he was admitted to the hospital. He is currently on very strong IV antibiotics and oxygen. His respiration is starting to get better and his temp is back down under 100 after a slight jump earlier tonight. Please keep Collin and his family in your prayers. He will be in the hospital at least through Wednesday.

Poor Collin

Poor Collin!! He was dancing and fell face first on a really hard floor. His open mouth hit the ground before his feet returned to the ground. OUCH!! The stuff around his lips is dried blood. It was a pretty bloody scene. The dentist seems to think that if the teeth don't fall out, he will be okay. If he does lose a tooth (or 2), because he is only 3, he will probably have to have a spacer put in. I pray that he won't have to deal with that.

Here you can (kinda) see how puffy his little lip is.
Poor Baby!

Collin, so sweet!

So, the kids and I were in the van today and I was dealing with a grumpy Noah. I told him that he needed to make the decision to change his behavior and he asked me to change it for him. I told him that only he could do it. He said that God could do it. I confirmed that he was right and that he should ask God to help him. He said he didn't want to pray, but asked if I would pray for him. I did and then I heard this from my sweet Collin!
"Dear Jesus, thank you for Noah. Help Noah's heart. Thank you for God. Thank you for my dog. Thank you for Mommy. (YAY I made it in there, even if it was after our dog!) Amen."
From the mouths of babes! Thank you God for my beautiful children.

Collin shows his new dance moves!

You're welcome! I say that because I am sure this is going to make your day!!

3 year pics

Here are Collin's 3 year pics. Some of both boys too!
GO:
https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0628105901JCP
User name : Becky Dell

Tomorrow Collin will be 3!! *sigh* How did that happen?

As I sit down to type this post I can hear his sweet voice narrating the scene he is developing using a various smattering of random toys. He picks up his Sesame Street CD player and pushes the button to get to his favorite tune, whatever it is at that moment! :) He has given up and not decides to change the disc. Frustration is mounting! Will he ask for help? No, not this independent little man. Down goes the cd player on comes the phone. Since it was given to him on Saturday at his birthday party, Collin has been carrying around a singing card featuring "Biteyear" aka Buzz Lightyear and Woody on the front with the song "You've got a friend in me". I have always liked that song and for some reason I still do even after hearing it every day now for nearly a week. Collin is the curious kind of kid and he will win your heart with just on look from the corner of his eye while smiling his crooked little grin with dimples present under his nose. He is so cute! (if I don't say so myself.)
Collin was a big surprise to us! He showed up on a pregnancy test when Noah was just shy of 7 months old. It was Oct 5, 2005. We were 2 days shy of our 5th anniversary. It occurred to me one night after dinner out with a few girlfriends and razzing my BFF Steph about how she might be preggers. (Steph has a son 5 days older than Noah.) Well, on the way home from dinner I realized I was the one who was late... so the "test" was purchased. I kept going back and forth about it, but I knew I was pregnant. So, on the 5th, we put Noah down for the night and turned on Law and Order... I snuck upstairs to pee on a stick that I was sure would put my heart to rest. Well, something happened when that test was activated. My bathroom turned into the strip in Las Vegas, as the test lite up the bathroom with a big FAT 'Yep, your pregnant lady'! I composed myself, went downstairs to my poor unsuspecting hubby and said, turn that off we need to talk. He kindly said something to the effect of dude, seriously just let me watch my show. Until I held up the "reason" we needed to talk. His eyes lit up and he was immediately thrilled. I was too, don't get me wrong, I was just in shock. I had just had a baby, before that a miss carriage and I was still recovering from Noah's stay in the NICU! I was overwhelmed with so many emotions I just wanted to sit down and catch my breath. This lasted about 5 minutes and then I was on the phone calling everyone on our "nearest/dearest" list sharing our good news! :) I didn't look back. I was so excited to have this new little life growing inside of me. My water broke at 36 weeks and Collin was born at 7:31 am. He had to stay in the NICU for 5 days, then he came home to meet his brother and Pug.
Nothing about Collin has been predictable. Maybe that will be his Mantra in life? He started rolling, as if on cue when I got out the video camera to film him when he was under 2 weeks old. He sat early, too. When he was 10 months old he broke his arm, while sleeping in his crib one night. This is a crazy story, but I will save it for another time. The broken arm didn't slow down this little determined monkey for long. He never once let it keep him from doing what he wanted to do. He army crawled in his tiny blue cast.
Now he is a busy little builder who loves dinosaurs, Buzz Lightyear, singing and dancing... just to name a few of his fav's. He is a joy! I love him more than I could ever say!! Happy Birthday my sweet Collin!! I love you!

Collin's 3rd Birthday party!

Here are some pics from Collin's birthday party and the rodeo! Enjoy!

Potty Training Update

Well, I have some very good news to report! Collin has had no accidents for 2 days!! This includes naptime and overnight! I am so proud of our little man. The above pics are from yesterday morning when he was trying on Daddy's big boots. He loves to walk around in them and holds the laces up to help him lift his feet. He is bursting with charm and is continually working on learning new words and phrases. He speaks in complete sentences now, this is great since he didn't really even start talking until he was about 2 1/2. Now he sings and talks like it's going out of style. It is so wonderful! One of my favorite things he does happens every time we sit down to a meal or whenever we are praying together. When he prays, he says "Amen, Amen Mommy... and he will go around and say "Amen ???" until he has prayed for everyone. It is so precious. I love my little Collin!

He POOPED in the potty!!!!!!!

If you have been reading "What's new with the Dell's" for a while you know that we are potty training Collin. Well, we started last summer and I thought we were done 9 days after we started this adventure. I was elated at the thought of such a quick trip down potty training lane. He was in big boy undies and 100% day trained for several weeks when I collapsed in the hall in front of the boys, was taken to the hospital and gone for several days with no warning AT ALL! Well this erased all of his success and we were back to pull-ups and until this morning he had not pooped in the potty since Aug 12. Praise the Lord! I do not think we are at the end of this stage for Collin, however, I do know it is a step in the right direction. I am glad he finally had success in this and pray the big boy undies will once again be part of his life. I know he will be happy when that day comes because it also brings about the much desired Chuck E Cheese potty! I can't wait to share more!

Terrible Tears from Collin.. What brought them on????

Okay, Aaron is home sick (again!) and we were all in the living room. The boys and I were coloring and Aaron was teetering between awake and asleep. There was a knock at the door, Noah was the first over to investigate. He said, "there is a man on the porch with a shovel"! Collin dropped his crayon and promptly joined his brother. Aaron went to the door and the man asked if we wanted him to shovel our sidewalk. Aaron turned him down and closed the door. Then the drama broke out!!! Collin came over to me, sobbing, reached up to me and climbed on my lap. I told him to calm down and tell me what was wrong. I will close with his response.
"Mommy, he wanted to take my SSSSSSSSSSSSSNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW away!" (More tears.)

Collin's MRI

Collin had his MRI this morning, I have already heard back from our Pediatrician and everything is fine. No spinal adhesion's were present and all is well! I seriously just walked in, got Collin something to drink and helped get comfy on the couch and got the call. I cannot believe it. The MRI was only 2 hours ago. Must be a slow day at Children's. Praise the Lord!! :)

Collin

So for the last 3 or 4 months Collin has hated taking baths. He didn't even seem to like swimming last summer that much. Well, I am happy to report that as of last night he cannot get enough. It is like a switch has been flipped. The child rolled around in the tub, got his enitire face wet, he even laid on his back with his ears under the water. Aaron and I just looked at each other in shock. He even liked getting his hair rinsed out. It was such a joyful time for him. Praise the Lord, no bath tears for the first time in months!!
In other Collin news... potty training. Well, initially I thought he was super gifted in this area, but in August when I was first admitted to the hospital, the child that was day trained (in 9 days) wanted nothing to do with the potty. While he still has not "poo-pooed" in the potty since August, he can now stand at the potty and "pee-pee" all by himself. He doesn't even want me to hold his shirt up, so we go through a lot of shirts in a day, but he is doing great!! I am so proud of him.
Way to go big boy!

Collin is 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His birthday is today, the picture was taken last week for today's birthday post. Isn't he beautiful!!



When Collin got up this morning he was really cranky, but for some reason *wink* *wink*, his mood changed when saw his birthday present. HMMM??



After he had played with all of his new tools, we made our way downstairs for his special birthday breakfast. I always make the kids something special for breakfast on their birthday. I throw all of the nutrition stuff out the window, and spoil them!! They love it, of course and I love it too. So, I made them french toast on homemade bread with lots of butter, syrup and coolwhip. When Collin saw his yummy breakfast, he grinned and started laughing. It hardly hit his tray before he had most of the whipped cream in his hand, headed for his mouth. They also got to watch tv during breakfast, Collin picked Elmo's World.




I pulled the work bench out of the attic so the tools could be used on something. Collin played forever, until that crazy breakfast caught up with him and I found him like this. :)

After a while, Aunt Megan came over to eat homemade pizza with us for a special birthday lunch. We ate in the backyard and played in the dirt a while. Then it was time for a bath and then straight to bed for a nap.

I am so thankful for such an amazing 2 year old. Collin is now really starting to speak for himself and he is showing a lot more independence. He is a bit of a challenge at times, but he is such a blessing.
I love you Collin!!