I guess I just need to banish this thought to text and as hopefully a warning so that anyone else jerked around by their MD knows to advocate for themselves and family members when things are not normal.

The H1N1 experience began in my family back on Labor Day weekend. That weekend in Seattle they hold Penny Arcade Expo and Bumbershoot and a lot of fun is to be had. This year even though my intentions were to go I had to skip PAX due to a funding issue. My brother in law however decided to go for the Magic card competition as a judge and the final day spend at Bumbershoot with my sister. I agreed to watch their two kids for all three days. By Sunday morning my brother in law was ill with the telltale mega headache that goes with swine flu followed by normal flu symptoms. Monday morning he was diagnosed with H1N1 just as Penny Arcade Expo confirmed that there was a outbreak of H1N1 at the convention of 70,000 people and by Tuesday morning my sister was sick. Happily the kids and I got to skip this via staying at my house. I couldn’t just send them home to swine flu so we agreed to just keep them here until Mom and Dad were no longer disease vectors.

So we waited, my sister missed her daughter’s first day of kindergarten (we took pictures), my nephew went to 7th grade. He ran his first cross country meet and a good solid week and a half went by and they got better. We got to that one day window until they are no longer considered contagious and suddenly my brother in law spiked a fever to 103 and had trouble breathing. They called 911 but the hospital refused to take him because it wasn't bad enough and most likely just swine flu symptoms. The next day they went to his regular MD who commented on the lung scarring but everything else looked normal.

The next day he started coughing up blood. He’s been in the hospital ever since with flu related staph pneumonia. Things weren’t great today and they put him on oxygen and some pretty heavy duty antibiotics that I simply cannot remember how to spell and now the waiting game begins to see if he gets better. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

For most people H1N1 is just the flu in a form that spreads quickly as it is spread through spray (sneezing and coughing) with minimal resistance in the population. You get sick, you cough, you get better just like any other flu. For the unlucky it turns into a mess. My thoughts are filled with doubts about which way things will go right now, although I do my best to keep this to myself. I still have my niece and nephew staying here and it amazes me how well they handle this for being 5 and 12 and very minimally seeing their parents these last two weeks. They understand that Dad is sick and in the hospital but I don’t think they quite get how sick he is which is probably a good thing for any sort of normality in their lives.

I'll let you know how this all shakes out in the end.

Melissa

Wow, Melissa,

I am so sorry for your family and especially, your BIL. You all are in my thoughts and prayers...

leih

Thoughts and prayers coming from this house, too.

Melissa, I will keep you and your family in my prayers as well.

Our thoughts and prayers are with your family.

Sorry to hear about your BIL. Sending only good thoughts your way.

Melissa, you and your family are in my thoughts. Hope your BIL starts to do better.

I am sooo sorry Melissa. Thinking of the kids and your family.

Well, apparently these doctors have figured out that 1+1 does in fact equal two most of the time. Things have not gotten better, last night his O2 stats dropped to the point where everyone was pretty concerned and today they finally brought in a couple specialists who have decided that indeed things have gotten alot worse than when this hospital stay started on Thursday.

So last night they put in a PICC line (which is like a central IV line) and this morning they tapped his lungs to relieve some of the pressure. We're a little more hopeful now that there seems to be movement beyond pumping him of antibiotics and waiting.

Thank you all for the kind words. We wait for more news and my Mom has decided to stay with me for at least a week to give me a hand with the kids which is a huge relief. We're thinking now they may be living here until November based upon best hopeful timelines from the hospital.

Melissa,

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers - please continue to keep us posted. Try to think positive; the human spirit is an amazing one and your BL has much to fight for with young ones at home. There are also some new amazing antiobiotics out there and it sounds as if the docs are taking things seriously at this point...

The childresn are doing well because you must be doing as best as you can; they are playing off of your emotions, so pat yourself on the back.