14 days later...They're Home!

It has been a whirlwind around here lately. Go figure. On Sunday the hospital staff told me they were getting ready to discharge our boys. I mentioned that Jada had a little cold but I was sure she would be better by Monday. Monday morning the hospital called me and asked what the pediatrician said about Jada's cold. I told them that I hadn't taken her to the ped - it was just a little cold for crying out loud. The nurse informed me that my boys wouldn't be allowed to leave until Jada was seen by the ped and cleared of RSV. So, I drove her first thing Monday morning to the ped and guess what? Jada tested POSITIVE for RSV!!!! What are the chances? My ped about had a heart attack and told me that Jada should move out of the house for the next week. Well that's realistic. Chris and I went to the hospital later that day to discuss our options with the neonatologist. He said that basically no one in our family (since we all possibly could be carriers of RSV) should be in contact with the twins for the next 21 days! We went home Monday night totally confused, with no babies.

This morning the hospital called me and said I could come pick up my boys. Then they called me back and said I'd have to wait 72 more hours. Then they called me back again and said maybe tonight or tomorrow morning they could come home. Then they called me AGAIN and the dr gets on the phone and is all worried about two things... 1. Sending our preemie twins home to a house that has been infected with RSV and 2. Keeping the twins in the NICU if they have already been exposed unknowingly to RSV via Chris or me and potentially infecting others in their NICU. Basically the hospital staff was having this internal struggle deciding if it was worth the risk to their NICU to keep our boys a few more days when Chris and/or I could already have been carrying the RSV virus unknowingly and given it to our boys or just brought the germs into the NICU. Or was it smarter to keep our boys in the NICU and away from our germy house??

*RSV is an upper respiratory infection that is just a chest cold to kids and adults but is extremely dangerous (we're talking deadly) to newborns and especially preemie babies that have already had respiratory problems (i.e. my boys).

So, what did the hospital finally decide? They decided that there was no clear-cut right or wrong answer. They just couldn't decide which risk outweighed the other, sending our boys home or keeping them in the hospital longer. Basically, Chris and I and the drs decided that we just needed to pick up our boys and finally bring them home after 14 days in the NICU. And that's just what we did tonight! We have turned our bedroom into a NICU with a wash station and special clothes and everything is totally disinfected as much as possible. Plus we are not allowing ANY visitors. Including our own family members! Poor Jada and Kalle have been quarantined to the downstairs for the next few weeks. Literally. RSV can be spread for 21 days after the first signs of infection so we are not taking any chances! (and we are praying extra hard that neither Chris nor I is already infected and could put the babies at risk - yikes!!)Here we are driving our boys home... yeah!!!Two little cutie bugs all wrapped up and ready for their first night in our home AND their first time ever sleeping/being together in the same bed!!! Ty & Dax

These guys are awesome! Wish us luck that we all stay healthy :-)