Gosh, this post is difficult to write - thinking about how scary the whole experience was for everyone involved. A week ago, our sweet boy had taken a turn for the worse after having croup-like symptoms for a few days. Last Tuesday my mom reported that he was not himself during the day (he goes to "Grandma Daycare" every Tuesday - Friday while I'm at work).
That night Boyd was fussy, refusing food and water, and altogether upset. We had him in the tub for a bath and decided to call our doctor's 24-hour nurse line. After listening to him breathe over the phone, the nurse advised us to take him to the emergency room. To compromise matters, D was scheduled to leave that evening for a quick trip back to Minnesota. I know it was so hard for him to leave us, but my mom was able to accompany me and Boyd to the hospital so at least that was a relief.
We arrived at the ER around 8 p.m., which is Boyd's normal bedtime. After going through intake and getting settled in a curtained area, Boyd was exhausted and cranky. He ended up crying/screaming for 2 hours straight while the emergency department crew tried out different tests and treatments: supplemental oxygen, steroids (to treat advanced croup), chest x-ray, nose cannula, and finally an IV for fluids after it was determined he needed to be admitted to the Children's Hospital (pediatrics unit). I'll spare you all the dirty details, but needless to say it was excruciating to hear and see him that upset.
Oh, but our boy was SO BRAVE. It makes me cry just thinking about how well he got through everything. He was resilient and able to adjust to this awful situation. Basically he was confined to a little crib in a Peds room for 2 days/2 nights, and all hospital staff had to gown- and mask-up before entering his room due to the respiratory nature of his sickness.
The nursing staff carried out vitals checks every few hours (night and day) so invariably Boyd would wake up and stay up for at least 45 minutes. None of us got much sleep during his stay! I probably averaged 2 hours that first night and about 3 the next. No naps for me but I made it up that weekend.
As you can see from the photos Boyd is all tubed and wired up:
- nasal cannula provided oxygen
- pulse oximeter on toe measured oxygen and heart rate (86% was his lowest pulse ox level - normal is 97-100%)
- three leads on chest measured heart rate
- IV in left arm provided fluids and a conduit for medication.
After a lot of initial discomfort that first night, we were amazed to see Boyd pretty much ignoring all of the tubes. He slept with them and didn't remove any, which was a small miracle. Halfway during the first full day & after the first night, the nurse felt confident enough to pull out the nose cannula since he had maintained a 95-97% level during a long nap (levels usually decrease during sleep). That was a great sign! And then late on the second night, another nurse removed the IV in his arm. Yay!
The nurses encouraged me to climb in the crib with him for comfort, so I spent a lot of time in that space breastfeeding, playing or just holding him. He was a trooper, honestly and truly. Normally you can't confine this kid - he's constantly moving, touching, learning, walking and running - but somehow he made it through this hospital stay.
Our pediatrician came to see us a couple times and says the croup may have turned into a respiratory illness, most likely pneumonia. Boyd's system was compromised because of the croup and allowed an infection to take hold.
So, we arrived at the hospital on Tuesday night and finally checked out on Thursday morning. It was a long, scary journey (and most likely expensive - even with insurance I shudder to get that bill in the mail soon) but thankfully it wasn't a worse situation.
Boyd still has some residual coughing once in a while but he is definitely on the mend and back to his old self! I'll have a 15-month update next week that will focus on all of his happy milestones.
