If there's one thing I've learned this week it's that you should never say out loud or even think to yourself, "Wow, there sure are a lot of kids using breathing machines these days. My kids have never had to use one."
(Disclaimer: If you want the whole story in all the detail my mommy self is typing here for future rememberance, read on. If not, skip to the pictures!)
Sunday night our Sunday School class met at our friends' the Knotts house for a Super Bowl (i.e. Commercial Watching) party. The kids dissappeared into the toy abyss in their house, not to be seen for a few hours. I noticed Avery was starting to get a clear runny nose, weird, I thought, since he was fine earlier in the day. By the time we left he was running a fever, and was breathing a little hard, with a barking cough. I thought, "Croup. He's had this before."
We started the summer with both Shannon and Avery having croup, which consisted of a little coughing, running the vaporizer, and five days of oral steroids. I actually remember thinking to myself, "Man, they sure made a big deal out of croup in Anne of Green Gables." (You know, where Anne saves the baby because she knows how to take care of croupy babies. You just need some steam and Ipecac syrup. But it saved the baby's life.) So...I figured we'd see the doctor the next morning and that would be that. Besides, I was all out of Ipecac. Shannon meanwhile had also started with a fever, but no cough.
By bedtime I was worried enough about him to sleep upstairs on the couch so I could be close to him, since I knew I'd be trucking it up the steps off and on all night otherwise. By midnight I had moved him to the other sofa upstairs so I could be really close. He slept off and on (so did I), and about 4 AM was breathing hard enough that I took him outside in the "cool night air," as the book I had recommended. It was cool alright, about 35 degrees. It seemed to work though, and about half an hour later we came back in and I laid on the couch bleary eyed, dozing off and on. Poor guy never got back to sleep after that, and by 6:30 he was having a genuine freak out, gasping and between breaths saying, "I (gasp) can't (gasp) talk!" I then ran him downstairs to the bathroom, turned on the hot shower, and made him breathe in the steam. I got James up to take over while I called the emergency line for our pediatrician. She called back about 7:00 as he was calming down some, and said to head on in and they should be able to work us in. I brought Shannon as a tag along since he was still running a fever, and Elizabeth came too since I didn't know if I'd be back before her next feeding.
After calling and calling (they must have been really busy on a Monday morning- not a good sign for us, I thought), I finally got ahold of someone who told me there was nothing until 11 AM, and to take him to the ER if I thought it was bad enough. By this time he had calmed down again, and was talking just fine though still not breathing super easily. I figured even though I now had two hours to kill, at least I'd already be in Gainesville if I needed to take him to the hospital. That hadn't even crossed my mind at this point.
So...off to Wal-Mart I trek with three kids in tow, to get a new filter for the vaporizer and to waste some time. He seemed okay, and even enjoyed the outing. (This is why I wipe the carts down with sanitizing wipes first. Because of people like me.) Around 10:30 we head out, I strap everyone in, and by the time I got back around to the drivers' seat he was wild eyed, chest heaving, unable to get a good breath. This was scary. So we headed to the doctor's office, window down on his side, with me pretty much hitting his leg and yelling, "Wake up!" since he was threatening to pass out. I pulled in, parked in the tow away zone, and carried him and Elizabeth in, Shannon in tow. I think that's why I'm sore, MAN ARE THEY HEAVY!!
Anyway, by now he's still heaving but more alert, and they check us in, and tell us they'll try to get him seen shortly, just have a seat. I think this is because they were receptionists and not nurses or doctors. So I'm obedient, and sat with him in the waiting room about four minutes before he starts eye rolling again, so I pick him up and see a nurse in the hallway, saying, "I don't want to break in line, but..." She grabs him and whisks him away before I can even think about following. I rounded up the other two, and by the time I get to the room there are three nurses and a doctor working on him. They gave him an epinephrine shot and started a breathing treatment. We used Elizabeth's car seat to prop him up in on the table.
Ignorance can truly be bliss. I didn't realize until all of it was over what trouble he really was in. It took nearly an hour to get his airway functioning again normally, and he was down to 80% oxygen, which my physical therapist friend Alison tells me necessitates constant oxygen supplementation in patients.
They sent us to the ER for more observation, and Avery rode in an ambulance with nice paramedics about 1/2 block to the hospital. They didn't want to walk him over and chance not having what they needed in case it happened again, even though it was so close. So off he went, and I packed up the others and headed to the ER. So what was Shannon's mystery fever all about? Who knows? In light of Avery's issue he never even got seen (and thankfully the fever went away on its own the next day).
We spent about three hours in the ER observation area where they did X-rays, bloodwork, and breathing treatments. Avery was so cooperative and happy, everyone kept commenting on how pleasant he was. Incidently, that was not a foreshadowing of behavior to come. Shannon was a trooper too, in spite of not feeling his best. Elizabeth napped in my arms at some point and smiled at everyone the rest of the time. James and Amelia came to pick up Shannon mid-afternoon.
It was finally decided that they would admit him just in case, so they put in an IV to avoid having to repeatedly give him shots. He cried then through tears told the nurse, "Thank you," when she was done. She said that made her want to cry too. We hung out for awhile, and right about the time the sun went down he started with another breathing (or not breathing) episode, so he got another major dose of IV and breathing treatment steroids.
Not expecting to be gone more than a few hours that morning, I threw on jeans and a shirt, and put a hat on my badly in need of washing hair. By that night I was feeling pretty gritty. My folks had spent the weekend in Dahlonega, and stopped by my house to pick up some things for me and the kids on their way home. I forgot to mention that shampoo would be nice, so I bummed a bottle of baby shampoo off the nurses at the desk and was able to shower before they left. It smells nice, by the way, my hair was amazingly soft, and it didn't even burn getting in my eyes! :)
Elizabeth was pretty tired and cranky too, since she didn't get a good nap, so I got her to bed in the Pack N Play in the bathroom. I figured nurses would be in and out all night and didn't want her to wake up every time. It would have been nice to have her at home, but she is a spoiled baby who refuses to take a bottle of any kind and prefers to nurse only. If only the baby in the bathroom theory had been a good one. She ended up accounting for more sleeplessness on my part than Avery did. He actually slept pretty good, in spite of the fact that he was getting IV steroids every 6 hours and breathing treatments every three. He had an IV at 6:00 AM, and was awake for the day after that.
By the time morning rolled around he was in a full-fledged steriod rage. My sweet boy was gone, replaced by a nasty tyrant who spent the day whining and ordering me around. He was so pathetic, it was obvious he felt terrible. Elizabeth, on the other hand, took two great naps and seemed to really enjoy her time at the hospital. Avery wasn't friendly with the nurses or doctors like he had been the day before either. Between the steroids, being a two year old, and figuring out that they were the people who had needles, he was DONE with them. When I was a two year old I had surgery to fix dislocated hips, which I was born with. (I have great scars!) My mom said for months afterward she couldn't even take me into the pharmacy because I would start screaming when I saw folks in white coats. Today I can walk into a pharmacy without even shuddering, so he should be okay in the future too.
The next night James came to spend the night with him and I went home with the other kids. Avery was much better by this time, and they were weaning him off the medication he had been getting every few hours. He slept pretty well, and so did I! I didn't really feel all that tired until I got home, put the kids to bed, and sat down. Then I nearly slept in the chair I was sitting in because I could barely drag myself to the bed. I talked to James the next morning and he asked me if I was taking the kids to gymnastics. I had completely forgotten it was Wednesday! So I hurried them into clothes and off we went.
James and Avery arrived home about 3:30 that afternoon. He was on steriods for a few more days, and breathing treatments twice a day. So...we now own our very own breathing machine.
Here are some pictures from our adventure:
Day two. I am not a happy camper anymore.
Stop trying to take my picture, woman. I hate this monitor they've attached to my toe too.
And I hate this stupid IV.
Boo hooo hoooo....waaaahhhhh.....(insert whine here).
Elizabeth's Pack N Play took up the entire bathroom. I had to prop it on it's end against the sink to get to the toilet. This has probably been the most used piece of baby equipment we own. It's also seen it's fair share of bathrooms, as that always seems to be the best place to put a baby for the night or a nap. Note the makeshift blanket (towel) hanging over the end. Avery got Elizabeth's blanket for the afternoon in the ER and I didn't really feel like giving it back to her. The germs weren't visible but I knew they were there!!
I love this place! Hospitals are awesome! Being this close to the toilet is great!
Later the same day...
I feel rotten.
That evening a volunteer brought Frosty the dog to our room for a visit. Elizabeth liked him as much as Avery did.
Wednesday afternoon after getting home. No good sleep exists in a hospital. The couch at home isn't bad, though.Friday we went back for a recheck at the pediatrician and she said he definetely looked and sounded A LOT better. He still has a cough and runny nose, but he can breathe, praise God! God really does deserve our gratitude, He has been so good to our family. Because He constantly blesses us so amazingly, sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting in quiet anticipation of when it's going to be our turn for something to go wrong. That's nice, huh? (I'm sure that's what He thinks sometimes too. Thanks, Corie, for the trust you put in Me.) I am extremely grateful that everything turned out well and I've been praising Him all week. He is so good.
Nonetheless, it really does seem to be "our turn!" Thursday morning James pulled up to the house and parked the Jeep behind my Expedition, came inside for about 10 minutes, and went outside...to find no Jeep. It had rolled backwards down the hill, skimming a large pine tree and using a small tree to stop itself near the lower cabin below our house. He had just bought a basket rack that attaches to the hitch the week before. It is now scrap metal. The rest of the damage isn't super visible to an untrained eye such as mine, but he's the one who put the thing together and he said there's a good bit of damage. In his words, "Had this been a nice vehicle there would have been at least $1000 worth of repair work." Here's the Praise God in that situation- trying to recreate it, James eased it down the hill tapping the brake to see where it would go, and it headed straight for the lower cabin. God turned it, apparently.
And another thing. The pulling problem we've noticed his truck having...well, that's not a simple alignment problem after all. After taking it in this week, the dealership says it's a $750 ball joint in need of replacing problem. Oh well!!
Here are some pictures of the other goofballs in this house.
This Amelia fashion creation wins the prize.
Some kind of prize, anyway. Not sure what, exactly...
My friend Jenny said a day would come when you couldn't just get candid shots of the kids anymore without them making some kind of face or acting anything but natural. Apparently that day has come for Shannon!
"Take my picture too, Mommy!" This was on Saturday. Look how much better he's feeling!Avery has had another language breakthrough this week. He has spoken very clearly for a two year old for some time, but just overnight it seems like he's more understandable than ever. Just earlier this week he and Shannon were discussing what kind of birthday parties they wanted (in spite of the fact that their birthdays are nearly 8 months away). Avery mentioned several ideas, then said, "I'm gonna have a bad guy gertday!" Just today he was talking about "birthday cakes." I guess gertday is gone. I liked it. Tonight he looked at me and said, "What's your name?" I didn't reply, and he said, "Your name is Corie Himstedt!" It surprised me- how weird to have a two year old say your full name out of the blue, especially since I just thought he knew me as Mommy!
James was gone Saturday and Sunday doing camp fairs in Nashville and at the Mall of Georgia. Rebecca flew down to south Florida and met Daniel to do a couple of recruiting shows there. We're continuing to pray for God to send us campers for the summer. We're still ahead of where we were this time last year, but nothing's easy in this economy.
Since James was gone Sunday I got a babysitter so I could go ride. The weather has been GORGEOUS the past two days, and after the interesting week I've had I needed a barn break. How refreshing it is just to spend a few hours with the horses! I still like to clean stalls, too. I guess that's how you know you really are a horse freak.
This week is shaping up to be pretty uneventful, thank goodness. The highlight of today was a trip to the grocery store, as we were out of everything. Elizabeth got a kick out of riding in the front of the cart. That's the first time I've put her in there minus her car seat. I also took some disinfecting wipes and cleaned pretty much the entire cart, then sat her on and surrounded her with a couple of towels from home. You know, there are mommies who take sick kids to the store. The nerve! She's already going to the doctor tomorrow anyway, a well visit I scheduled weeks ago. I never scheduled a 6 month appointment and needed to get her back on track. We will have officially now been to the doctor's office Tuesday and Thursday before last (because of her mystery illness), Monday and Friday of last week with Avery, and now Tuesday of this week. It's 35 miles one way, so I've about used a tank of gas just on doctor's visits lately! I really don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, I'm grateful to have them, and to have the ability and means to take the kids when needed.
Well, this was one long post. I've been trying to do it since Friday. I leave you with one last picture.
Only a profile shot of Elizabeth gives you true perspective on her cheeks. Squishable, isn't she?
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