Carson caught a cold - RSV - and gave us a big scare

Earlier today in the wee hours (4am) of the morning Carson gave us a real scare. He had some episodes of apnea where he would not breathe and/or have trouble breathing. He had not had these since his NICU days. We tried stimulating him by rubbing his back, head and stomach and although this worked temporarily, he continued to have problems. We knew he was a little congested, because of the snot he had in his nose the previous days, but this was different and it was coming from his chest. We called 911 and within minutes we had the SFFD and an ambulance at our door, we took him to the CPMC emergency room and he was put on breathing assistance and monitors. They took throat samples and diagnosed him with RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus). Basically he caught a bad cold, and being a preemie he does not have the immune system to fight it off. This is common in preemies and newborns and unfortunately it is the season for it. Carson is now admitted in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) at CPMC where he will stay until he gets the clear from tests that he no longer has RSV. He is doing very well and is breathing on his own fine, with no new episodes but is under constant monitoring and supervision. Now we are back to visiting him at the hospital which is really hard since we were just getting used to him being with us. He is a strong little guy and we know we will have him home healthy and strong soon.