Wednesday evening was one of the more plodding in recent memory. Once the gears of the medical system are set in motion, all you can generally do is just sit and wait.
I had called our pediatric practice at lunch on Wednesday because the baby (13 months) had been feverish for a few days. He had the most pathetic sounding cough too. He would cough like he was choking. The nurse said to bring him in that afternoon. He woke up from his nap much more chipper, and was not coughing much, so I assumed they would tell me he had a cold and send me home.
But the verdict there was that he still had a fever, he had ear infections in both ears, his lungs sounded terrible, and his oxygen levels were on the lower side. They gave him a nebulizer treatment (always fun to hold a mask on a wriggly 13-month old!) His lungs still sounded terrible and his oxygen levels were still low. So our pediatrician said we needed to go to the local ER, where they could do more to treat his breathing.
I am not a big fan of the ER. I should also point out here that my kid did not seem too sick. He was toddling around the exam room, pulling things out of drawers, trying to eat the lining of the trash can and so forth. But my pediatrician has 6 children and is generally fairly chill, so after conferring with my husband and my brother-in-law (who moonlights as an ER doc) I decided to head over.
Thus began several more hours of holding on to an increasingly tired and hungry toddler. They gave him Tylenol, and eventually antibiotics. And I guess the reason to go over: they used their hospital-grade suction device on his respiratory system and pulled out a ton of gunk. His breathing immediately sounded better and his oxygen levels shot up. Following an official RSV diagnosis, it was time to declare victory and go home, except things are never that simple in the ER. There was, unfortunately, a horrible situation with another child and all the pediatric people needed to deal with that.
So there we sat, as I tried to keep the toddler from crawling off the bed. One can be simultaneously grateful things are not worse, and sad for the family down the hall, while still frustrated with the way things are. I think I was watching the second hand on the clock for a while. I tried to send out calm thought vibrations so my toddler would be calm. We watched TMZ. We watched American Idol. We watched some cooking show that came on after that. Finally around 9:30 he fell asleep. But he had to be woken up again for other things. We got our walking papers a little after 10 p.m. We walked out into a violent lightning storm and torrential rain and across a busy street to a parking garage, because the ER parking lot had been full when we arrived. I drove through flooded streets, but we made it home safely, and fortunately my husband had made me a salad. Less fortunate: the boys were up. My 6-year-old whined that because I was gone so long he had not gotten to go swimming that night. I explained that some times our days do not go as we wish. All we can do is stay calm and know that eventually time will pass. Good stuff, bad stuff. No situation lasts forever.
Glad to hear he’s feeling better and that at least the ER visit was useful 🙂
@ARC – that suction machine was something! The respiratory person who operated it said she used to wish she could just sneak her kids into the hospital to use it when they were stuffed up.
RSV sucks. My oldest went through a similar ordeal at 8 months. Hope your little guy is feeling better today.
@beth – thanks. He does seem to be doing better. At least he’s been sleeping well, which I am grateful for.
Glad he’s doing ok! I wish they had that machine when I took my then-11mo to the ER for a febrile seizure + pneumonia!
@Katy- that does not sound like a fun trip for you guys. My little guy’s fever was pretty mild, thank goodness.
I am so glad he is doing better. You have a wonderful attitude about life. “One can be simultaneously grateful things are not worse, and sad for the family down the hall, while still frustrated with the way things are.’ A lot of people do not give themselves permission to do this, and then beat themselves up for not fully appreciating what they do have, when that isn’t the case.
Sending healthy vibes to your son for a quick recovery, and prayers for that family down the hall.
@Angela – thanks. Yes, the other kid was at least stable when we got discharged, which was why we managed to get discharged.
Glad he’s okay!
And I want this on a pillow “…some times our days do not go as we wish. All we can do is stay calm and know that eventually time will pass. Good stuff, bad stuff. No situation lasts forever.”
@Kate – it would have to be a big pillow 🙂
Oh, that picture! I am glad he is feeling better, and hope the horrible situation down the hall worked out OK, too.
Oh oof, I’m sorry. Glad to know the LO is doing better.
I bet it was the low O2 sat that made them uncomfortable – even if a kid looks okay, if they are only saturating 90% or something they probably need more. So glad you were able to get help in the ED and that he is doing better!!!
I HATE breathing stuff!
Hope everyone is home relaxing this weekend and that you get a good recovery nap.
It is SO hard to know when to go to the ER sometimes. But I’m glad this turned out to be the right choice for your little guy and I hope he’s feeling like himself soon.
Thank you. I needed this today 🙂
Ugh. Sorry to hear this.
My second kid also started breathing treatments at 13 mo, which was terrible. By age 2 TV makes it interesting, by 3 they want to hold the mask themselves….
You know Laura, we were due-date buddies, and your little one is the age my preemie would have been had he been born full term. So, RSV is the thing we parents of preemies dread because it is a killer of preemies. I’m so sorry your little guy and you had to go through it! We’ve been so fortunate both years – although last year we kept quarantine, this year we were out and about, and my guy did get a nasty virus (all the kids did, they looked like Zombie extras for a week). Glad he’s on the mend!
@Carrie – thank you, and I am glad you guys came through the winter all right too! I guess it never seemed that scary because he was never showing particularly scary symptoms. But I have definitely heard later from people who had it a lot worse.