I am going to try something new and tell you what we are doing when I take the picture, whether it is at 1am or 1pm on Sunday. Just a quick snapshot into a day in our lives.
Currently….
Before treatment
It is 3:30am
S woke me up at 3am and I had no idea what he was saying. I thought he was throwing up, but he was gagging on phlegm because he could not swallow it. Why??? All of a sudden it clicks, CROUP! He had a runny nose during the day and said his voice was a little scratchy. Now all of a sudden he is barking like a seal and gasping for air. I started a steam shower and gave him steroids. The hardest part is getting him to calm down and stop crying. He cries because he is scared and in return it only exacerbates the situation. He couldn’t stop gasping and asked to go to the hospital.
B and I tried to figure out what to do. He had to get up for work at 4:15am and P was sleeping. I hightailed it into the car with S and let B figure it out. He was going to call his mom and if she couldn’t come over start calling the neighbors. Thankfully his mom was able to come over and stay with P.
B went to work.
P slept through all of it.
S and I were in the ER until about 5:40am. Once he gets a breathing treatment you have to stay for two hours to make sure it doesn’t come back. Because his croup was so severe he also had to take oral steroids. Within 5 minutes of the breathing treatment he was able to breathe, relax, and watch America’s Funniest Videos. His voice was a little hoarse (adults get laryngitis, while some kids get croup).
After treatment while we wait.
I have to say I love the Toledo Hospital. When we walked in the door they heard S trying to breathe and we were immediately escorted back to a room. No sitting and waiting for us. He had the breathing treatment started within 2-3 minutes of being there. The doctor was great. She didn’t question me when I said it was croup. She asked me what the normal treatment was for him when he went to the ER. I told her and she said that is what she would recommend. He would get oral steroids because the croup was so severe. This dose of steroids was a higher strength and lasts for three days. When we went to leave it was signing a form and taking S’s discharge papers. He is exhausted but better. His cough is still a little to scratchy/barky for me, but manageable. S had a hard time taking it easy today and not running around. I got him to be calm most of the day, but it was a struggle.