Logan didn't want to go down for his afternoon nap, so he started crying - but the cry had a weird ring to it. So I picked him up, the noise went away but when I tried to put him down again, the noise - half wheeze/half bird call came back. The pediatrician's office was closed for 10 more minutes and I had to got to my own doctor, so I left Logan in the very capable hands of my husband with instructions to call the pediatrician if he thought the sound was weird (I am a bit of a hypochondriac for myself and Logan.)
At 1:20 I passed a happy smiling Logan to Cory - who had just walked much to Logan's delight and headed to my Dr. At 1:50, Cory told me he had in fact called the pedi and they suggested he come in after hearing Logan over the phone. I had my appointment and met them at the Drs. office at 2:50... One hour and 30 minutes. That's it.
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| A sick Logan at about 12:30 on Monday. |
When I walked into the office to find them. I was shocked. Logan was in a diaper, gasping for breath as he rested on Cory's chest. He was having retractions - so I could see his ribs with every breath and his eyes were so glazed over that he didn't even register my appearance. Cory was dripping with sweat and looked on the verge of tears. I saw a nebulizer with an infant mat attached to it sitting right next to them.
I asked the nurse if we had to go to the ER - her response was a not very comforting "I don't think so, but we'll see." How could this happen in 90 minutes? Logan had a barking coughing fit and I was told that he had croup.
Apparently, I had missed the part where Cory and the nurse held a screaming, thrashing Logan down as they held the mask to him. I didn't miss the claw marks all over his face as his little fingers tried frantically to remove the devise. I came in when he had exhausted himself so much that he could barely do anything and as Cory later said (after we were out of the woods,) each breath had us questioning if he would draw another.
The dr. came in and said they need to administer Tylenol, a liquid steroid and then another round of the nebulizer with a bronchodilator in it to stop his throat from swelling. Apparently the more upset he got, the smaller his airway got.
We turned off the lights and I immediately started nursing him. It worked wonders. I have never been so happy to be a nursing mom in my life. Logan doesn't take a pacifier and he was too distraught to find his thumb, but he latched on to me and stayed there for the remaining 40 minutes we were there. He dozed. He let me give him tylenol. He only cried for a moment when the nurse gave him the liquid steroid and by the time the doctor came back his retractions had stopped, his airway had returned to normal and we didn't need the second nebulizer.
He slept smoothly on the way home and within two hours was back to his normal, cheerful self. We were warned that croup comes in waves though and often gets worse at night. I have been waking every 2 hours all week to make sure he is ok. I am just now able to relax myself enough to rest.
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| 2 hours after the steroid, Logan was happy to get a new present for Chanukah |
We had it lucky. Our hell only lasted about 2 hrs. Worry stayed, but the horror was brief. My husband witnessed the worse. I am torn between the relief of not having those images in my head and the despair of not being their for my child when he needed me most.
I am aware that many children get croup each year and this post may seem like an over reaction, but until it happens to you, don't judge. It was scary for us as parents and worse, it was scary for Logan who is not old enough to understand what was going happening. I hope this was the first and last time I have to deal with the virus and I never wish it on any of you.
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| Feeling much better on Tuesday morning |
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