Well over the last 3 or 4 months it has been our families mission to keep this little boy healthy. We haven't taken him outside of the house almost at all. No church, stores, ballgames nothing. We were constantly washing our hands and being careful who we were around to make sure that no sickness came our way. But it didn't work. Toby was on a business trip when some of us got sick. And unfortunately that included our little Kemp. And this cold he got just got worse and worse. My mom went with me to take him into the dr.'s and since Dr. Johnson wasn't in we saw Chris Cook. He listened to his breathing and right away felt like he had brochiolitis and wrote us a prescription to have him suctioned at the Riverton Primary Children's hospital. The next two days we took him in to be suctioned a handful of times and luckily on Monday morning Toby got home and went in with me that time to have him looked at. He just wasn't sounding good at all and was becoming more and more lethargic. This time we took him in the nurse that listened to him thought the same thing and decided it was time to admit him. The whole process of waiting and getting a room and treating him was so daunting. We finally got up to a room in the evening and the nurses were so great in caring for him. Another awesome thing was that our old neighbor Glenn Huff who is super high up in the hospital staff heard we were there (I think Toby called him on the way home to take care of our other kids) and he drove right over in his jeans and flip flops to check on me, Kemp and his condition. He seemed to think that the nurses were during everything right and that he was so far stable. The nurses needed to put an IV in him but it was extremely difficult because his veins were so tiny. So I just been through the experience of having some veins blown because of my hospital stay and iv's so I knew what it felt like. They blew 3 or 4 of my baby's veins trying to get an IV in and at that point I was sobbing. Toby wasn't there and I was a mess. That was when Glenn walked in. Kind of embarrassing but I was glad I had someone there telling me everything was going to be okay. I was getting worried though because he didn't seem to be getting better and in fact all the signs that he wasn't getting a lot of air were there. He was retracting everywhere and the last place they retract before it gets really bad is in their throat and he was starting to do that as well as his head was bobbing which isn't a great sign. At this point Kemp wasn't allowed to nurse (thus the iv) with all the tests and medication they were giving him which is so difficult for me and him both physically and mentally. It literally broke my heart. I was struggling. Glenn left and I that point I called Toby and told him I needed him back. He was so angry about the blown veins. Toby hadn't been back for long when the head charge nurse came in to assess him along with the on call Dr. and it wasn't long before they gave us the news. He was on the maximum amount of air flow he could be on and was still struggling to breath. His lips were turning blue and he was struggling and it was time for him to be life-flighted to Primary Childrens. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not even an ambulance ride would be fast enough so that scared me to death. The next part was a whirlwind. The dr's and nurses were getting my tiny baby ready, we packed up the room, and the next thing I knew Kemp and I were on a helicopter ride across the city to Primary Childrens. I was so scared. And I can't imagine how Toby felt as he watched us fly away. It wasn't too long before he was there with us as I'm sure he drove pretty fast across town. Honestly it was long after he arrive that the dr 's and nurses there explained that he was doing so much better and that the baby they were described was on the way was much worse than what they saw in Kemp. He started doing so much better once he arrived there. The problem was it was totally RSV season and the PICU at Primary's was beyong capacity. It was UNBELIEVABLE. Toby and I and Kemp were sharing the tiniest of rooms with another sick baby all day and it was so uncomfortable. Toby had to go to work and again check on our other kids that Grandma was doing such an amazing job taking care of so it was just Kemp and I. I could hold that little boy on my chest for ever. I was starting to get hungry though and there wasn't a chance I was leaving him. It wasn't long after I was really starving and wondering what to do when our sweet bishop showed up in our room with a Subway sandwich in drink. That man is so inspired. My love and respect for him has grown immensely through his and his wife's service to our family during this last difficult months. Toby came back that evening and we were both appalled to find out they were triple bunking us in a room that was already too tiny to be shared. It was crazy. We were both so frustrated because at this point Kemp was doing a lot better and they kept promising they'd get us upstairs to our room. It was a dream come true when a few hours later we were able to head upstairs. They still needed to watch Kemp for a few days so I believe all in all we were there for 5 days but he just got better and better and I was able to nurse him a little bit more every day and eventually they were able to take him off oxygen and the high flow that I believe saved him. And the most amazing part? How happy this little baby was the whole time. Nurses poking and prodding him and do oxygen treatments and he would just look up at them and smile. He's amazing. How grateful we are for modern medicine and for hospitals and dr's like this to take care of our children. Being in one ( a hospital) isn't easy. Toby was driving back and forth again, I was only able to shower once, I only left the room that one time to shower and other than that Kemp was pretty much in my arms the whole time. This little boy has been through so much. The least I could do is let him know is mother is right there by him the whole time. - It's hard though...leaving my other kids behind and them wondering when I'm coming back home to take care of them. Especially little Tate. His world really changed when Kemp came into it. But again we all feel so blessed. We were able to take him home without any oxygen. It was another crazy even in the lives of the Christensen but had so many tender mercies along the way and we are learning so much about service. We are so very blessed and love this little Boy with everything we've got!
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