Why not make a quick stop at Primary's?

As if my day wasn't exciting enough on Friday, it only got better at Will's doctor appointment. As our Doctor went through all the basics and did his usual poking and prodding, we discussed any new concerns with little Will's health.
Let me back up and explain a little of what has been happening with Will. Last week Will started having some really strange and scary breathing episodes. He will be breathing fine and then all of a sudden he starts sucking in air really hard and fast (kinda like when they have been crying for a long time and are trying to catch their breath). Being kinda used to scary stuff by now I watch and observe Will and see that he really isn't struggling for air (not turning blue etc) but I call anyway and explain everything. They tell me to continue watching and if it gets worse to bring him back in asap. He continued to do this strange breathing once or twice a day but it didn't seem to be getting a lot worse. So I wait it out until our appointment Friday.

So at our appointment I again reiterate my concerns with William's breathing. With thorough discussion Doctor Allred decides it probably wouldn't hurt to do a chest x ray to check the placement of Will's PICC line. At this point I am pretty calm and not too worried about things. So I immediately head downstairs to the lab. The way they do a chest x ray on a awake baby is much harder than when he is sedated and drugged up. It is well worth explaining so you can understand my roller coaster of emotions. Stay with me people!

They have this little cart thing with a wood slab cut with a round hole with a little bicycle seat in the middle for the kids to "sit" on (probably not as difficult with an older child than with a baby). So I place Will on the little seat and try to sit him up as upright as possible. Then there are curved plastic pieces that they try to wrap around his body from each side and clip into place. Meanwhile I am trying to hold his arms above his head, support his head, and keep my arms out of x ray all at the same time. Sounds easy right?! The tech kept pushing his little body around and giving him nice plastic burns and pinches from trying to position the pieces correctly. The clips kept popping out of place and his PICC line arm is so scrunched against the plastic things he is screaming. So she finally gets the x ray and I head back upstairs slightly traumatized.

Doctor Allred pulls up the x ray and we check things out. I am getting pretty knowledgeable and can tell something just isn't right with the placement. Doctor Allred explains it looks a little "off" and says we might need to head up to Primary's and have them pull the PICC out a little. At this point I am starting to get a little worried but realize it probably isn't a big deal. So I wait while Doctor Allred calls up to Primary's. He gets the specialist on the phone and has him pull up the x ray. I am close enough to Doctor Allred's office that I can hear the whole conversation on speaker phone.

The specialist says things definitely don't look right and it appears the PICC has migrated in (which apparently never happens, we are really doing good with statistics lately) into the right atrium of William's heart and is pushing against the wall of his heart. So here is where I start to panic a bit. Then the specialist proceeds to say that it can severely damage the wall if not puncture it altogether. Ok so now I am really freaking out. Surprisingly still able to fight back tears though. The specialist says to repeat the x ray this time with his arms to his sides since this is normally how PICC placement is checked (not with arms above). So we head downstairs again.

This next x ray was by far much worse the second time around in the little contraption thing. Trying to pin his arms down and keep him sitting up means his little face and nose gets smushed into the front of the thing. Again the clips wont hold the plastic things in place and Will gets even more fun plastic burns and pinches. The tech decides to switch out the plastic things for a bigger size and we attempt again. Keep in mind the whole time Will is SCREAMING. We try again and in our struggles one of the plastic things pops off and hits the floor sending a dozen pieces flying everywhere. At this point I grab Will and say that's enough, there has to be another way to get this x ray. The tech decides to lay him down and get a nurse to help hold his arms down (why didn't we try this earlier) and surprise, it works perfectly. So we head back upstairs.

I wait while Doctor Allred tends to other patients and try to keep it together (as I am sure he is getting tired of seeing me have a meltdown every time we come in). We pull up the new x ray and get the specialist on the phone to check it out as well. To my relief, false alarm!! Everything looks good with the placement when the correct position is used for the x ray (thanks for the scare little techy). So all in all things are ok and no need to head to Primary's. We are still unsure what Will's new breathing is being caused by but are watching closely to keep him safe. Man I cant wait for things to be "normal".