Evan's lungs are represented by the third picture. At the end of the very small tubes are little sacs (alveoli) that need to fill up with air, in order for his blood to get oxygen to the rest of his body. His tubes are smaller than a term baby, and therefore when full of the mucous that RSV causes, he cannot get enough oxygen to the little sacs, resulting in his needing hospitalization because he'll need oxygen and certain meds to open his airways.
He will grow new lung tissue until he's 7 years old. The most important time to keep his lungs healthy is until age 2, when his lungs will finally be as functional as a full-term baby's lungs. This is dependent upon his being healthy through this next RSV season, October-March/April. It was quite an accomplishment to keep him healthy when he came home from the NICU through the end of the season last year, and we were successful because we didn't take him anywhere there were crowds of people (church, Wal-Mart, etc.) and we had guests wash their hands when coming in the house and asked them to stay away if they were sick. However, it is still possible that even though most of these precautions will be taken this season, he could still get RSV somehow. Please follow the links below to learn more about RSV and how it affects preemies.
We are not being overprotective. This is standard care for a preemie. And our job.
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