millwright63 Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 Just wanted to pass on a tid bit of information for any of you who may be interested or wondering. As some of you are aware CheekyEMT and 2 of our children...7yr old Christopher and 5 month old Adam were struck at an intersection on Wed morning after being hit by a driver running a red light. The kids are both ok, thank god...however less then 24hrs after the accident occuring Cheeky had become quite sore as was to be expected...her primary complaint the day after the accident was chest pain and shoulder pain and a persistant cough that became tinted with blood. By late Thurs afternoon she was feeling very short of breath and generally unwell. Please bear with me as I am not a medical professional and do not know all the lingo you guys use,,i'm just her hubby. She called me to come home from work and by the time I got here it was quite obvious that she was not well at all.....I took her to the hospital, probably should have called an ambulance but we don't live that far from the hospital. After being admitted they started an IV with Solumedrol (I think that's what it was called) and antibiotics...the doc said he wanted to use a brod spectrum antibiotic because he wasn't to sure what was going on yet. She had a chest xray Thurs and Fri morning a CT Scan and doc has now diagnosed it as chemical pneumonitis. He said this can happen after air bags deploy and release the chemicals into the vehicle. The chemicals get inhaled, usually by the driver and can become quite serious. Cheeky is also an asthmatic on daily med's , so throwing something like pneumonia into the mix can make her quite sick. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know and ask you to keep her in your thoughts. I took the laptop to her, so she may be able to get online occassionally. Have any of you every had any experience with this kind of pneumonia? Is it as serious as doc is making it out to be?
mailmantech82 Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 I am not personally familiar with this kind of pneumonia, but my thoughts and prayers are with you and your wife! Keep us updated on how she is doing!
Just Plain Ruff Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 I would suspect that this pneumonia is not much different that any other chemical pneumonia
Kaisu Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I am glad the kids are OK. Chemical pneumonitis ranges from mild to extremely serious. It all depends on many things, including how much of the irritant was inhaled, as well as the substance inhaled. One study showed that approximately 40% of asthmatics will experience significant bronchio constriction after airbag deployment. It is highly likely that your wife will recover completely. She is getting the care she needs. My prayers are with all of you.
millwright63 Posted August 9, 2008 Author Posted August 9, 2008 I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I am glad the kids are OK. Chemical pneumonitis ranges from mild to extremely serious. It all depends on many things, including how much of the irritant was inhaled, as well as the substance inhaled. One study showed that approximately 40% of asthmatics will experience significant bronchio constriction after airbag deployment. It is highly likely that your wife will recover completely. She is getting the care she needs. My prayers are with all of you. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm just waiting on the babysitter and will be heading up to the hospital. As far as how much or what substance was inhaled, I would have no idea. That is something I'm assuming the doc will be able to answer for me. I will make it a point to ask. I do know that she and the kids remained in the vehicle for approx 25 min's after the crash. The vehicle was struck on the drivers side. The drivers door and drivers side sliding door were not able to be opened without fire crews. Laura and baby were both on drivers side , Laura was restrained with seat belt and babe in a rear facing Graco Safe Seat. Both seats were equipped with seat mounted side impact airbags and all side impact airbags deployed. Babe has been crankier than usual...he's generally a very happy baby, but is always wanting to be held and is crying frequently. He seems to have mild chest congestion when he cries and for a short period of time after settling. Am wondering if he should be rechecked. I spoke with the doc on the phone early this morning and he said that she had a relatively good night but her 02 sats have remained below 90% and are hovering around 86%. She is on O2, IV steroids, and nebulizer treatments every 2hrs. We will have to wait and see how her day is today and the doc will decide what else should be done if anything. If there is no improvement in her SATS he said she may need to be moved to the ICU and intubated for a couple days to give her a little help....They did blood gases yesterday and again this morning, I have no idea how those came back...hoping to see a little improvement today.
Kaisu Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 86% is a low sat and is definitely a cause for concern. I don't think the doc will have any way of knowing how much of the substance she inhaled. If you have any concerns for the baby, get him checked out. They have teeny tiny little airways and it doesn't take a lot for them to narrow. Thank you for letting us know what is going on and please keep checking in. The fact that she is getting nebulizer treatments and not CPAP indicates that her main problem is bronchio constriction and not pulmonary edema. That is a good thing. Have cheeky post if she feels up to it. PS.. take care of yourself through this very difficult time too. Don't be afraid to ask for help from family and friends.
spenac Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 My thoughts are with you and your family. Please take care of yourself as well so you will remain strong enough to take care of cheeky and the kids. Keep a close eye on the little one. Could be just fussy because mom is not there but might be getting sick as well.
itku2er Posted August 9, 2008 Posted August 9, 2008 Send her my best if you need anything let me know she has my cell number. Tell her to hurry up and get well
millwright63 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Posted August 10, 2008 Thanks Terri. Anyway, just to update those that have asked. Since my last post , Laura has been taken to the ICU and is on a vent....doc is thinking 72 hrs. She was not responding to treatment and had become very fatigued. She's holding her own now and hoping to see some improvement by tomorrow. Thanks to all of you that have sent your well wishes. Will update again tomorrow .
medic_texas Posted August 10, 2008 Posted August 10, 2008 Holy crap! I hope she gets well soon! Tell her we all have her in our thoughts and prayers. Keep us updated!
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