So...here's the story. Holden woke up with a cough on Wednesday, December 12th. It wasn't that bad - it wasn't as bad as some of the coughs that she's had in the past and it wasn't slowing her down. So, she went to school. Thursday was Colby's birthday and a super busy day. The only thing I noticed was that her voice had started sounding like Donald Duck. By dinner, I thought she was running a low grade fever but nothing else. We had Colby's birthday dinner at Outback and then went out to ride the hay ride through the lights at Santa's Wonderland. By the end of the hayride, Holden's voice was completely gone. We got home around 10pm and put the kids right down to bed. Fortunately, Holden started crying and since it was so late, Mike just put her in our bed. I worked around the house a little longer and finally turned in around 11:30pm. At midnight, Holden woke me up - she couldn't breathe. She was really struggling for breath so I called the nurse on call at our pediatric office. The message indicated that it could be 30 minutes before I hear back but luckily, she returned my call quickly. As she was getting all the info, I asked her if I could just let her listen to Holden breathe. She did and when I got back on the line, she asked me how close the nearest ER was. Needless to say, this completely panicked me. Colby was asleep upstairs in his room. Mike would have to stay with him until he could find someone to come stay with him. I wrapped Holden up in a blanket (no socks, no shoes) and quickly buckled her in her car seat - good thing since I approached 100 mph on Highway 6! I rushed her inside the The Med's ER and they quickly took her back - I didn't even fill out one sheet of paper. Not much longer, Mike joined me (thank you Stephanie for coming to stay with Colby). The doctor wasn't sure what was going on - asthma? no, something stuck in her airway? no, allergic reaction? no. After monitoring her oxygen levels, three sets of x-rays, a couple of breathing treatments, and a visit by our pediatrician the diagnosis was in - a severe case of croup. Granted, before the diagnosis, the ER doctor had told us that we might need to intubate her before transferring her to another hospital, etc. so we were relieved to hear Dr. Parr say it was just croup. He wanted to admit her so that they could monitor Holden as well as give her all the meds through an iv. Now, this was NOT fun at all. It seemed like it took forever for the nurse to get the iv in and Mike almost fainted from all the blood that was coming out of Holden's hand. About 3:15am, we finally got into a room. Holden would have to be under a "tent" that would help her breathe. Dr. Parr said the first two nights were usually the worst.
So, we were at the hospital all day Friday, Friday night, and got home around lunch on Saturday. This was such a scary time for all of us and I truly don't know how parents get the strength when their kiddos are in there for longer stints of time. But, the good news is, Holden is on the mend and seems to be feeling much better. Her cough is much juicier (no barking seal cough) and the big circles under her eyes are almost gone. The only thing we have to be careful about is getting her out in the cold air - we have to keep a scarf around her neck so that her airway won't constrict due to the cold air. Just a couple of things that we are thankful for 1) her sleeping in the bed with us. Had she been upstairs, we might not have realized that she was having trouble breathing. If your kiddos are sick and wanting to sleep with you - let them!, 2) great friends. So many people helped us out, called, came by, etc. Thank you for thinking of us! 3) that our little girl is much better!
