If you're on facebook, you already know my poor baby had to have his first breathing treatment yesterday. It was a rough one for ALL the Zbeebs (including our dogs, which were discussed in the doctor's office - uh oh!).
Monday night, Asa had a pretty bad cough and I was so upset for him because it was a coughing fit that just wouldn't go away. So, I uncharacteristically kept the boy up with me until 9pm and we had a fun time with my toddler iPhone apps. When he finally went to sleep, I assumed I'd be back up in a couple hours with another coughing fit, but luckily he slept through the night. Unfortunately, he woke up in the morning screaming, which is unlike him. When we finally settled him down, he was grunting and almost panting like a dog trying to get a breath. It was very weird and we knew we needed to get to the doctor. So, we were the first ones to arrive at the office and they heard him in our arms and immediately took the poor thing to the back for an oxygen reading. Normal is 96 and Asa was at 90 - this number means nothing to me, but they were concerned, so I was concerned. The nurse brought in the nebulizer within seconds and began treatment. At first, Asa fought it, but I think he realized it was helping him, so he calmed right down. After the treatment, we read his oxygen level again and he was a 96 - joy! I thought, okay, that was fun - and now over, let's go to school (and work). No such luck. The doc was pretty sure he'd need another treatment every 4-6 hours, so they GAVE us (thanks Blue Cross Blue Shield) a nebulizer for our house and she also prescribed a steriod to assist his airway to open up. That's when I knew this was a real problem. I mean, it isn't everyday you are GIVEN a piece of medical equipment for the house!
Well, back at home, TWO hours later, Asa starts grunting AGAIN. It was only 2 hours later, not the 4-6 the doctor recommended for the treatment. So, we went back to the doctor and she immediately came with the nebulizer again and said - you can use it for emergencies. Typically, it should be every 4-6, but if you have an emergency, it doesn't matter if 4 hours haven't passed. However, if he needs it again in another 2 hours, he should go to the hospital. WHAT? That was enough to put me over the edge. Okay, so I get it - I had a child, I am responsible for his wellbeing and I'm totally prepared for the fact that he may need emergent medical treatment at SOME point in his life... but NOT NOW!!! My little boy is only 21 months old people! Hospital visits are SCARY (probably more for Mommy than Asa, but SCARY nonetheless).
After all that drama, we were determined to go home and get the child something to eat. And in true Asa form, he enjoyed a grilled cheese with Mommy. I was happy about that. And the remainder of our afternoon was fairly uneventful - 2 more nebulizer treatments with Dad, but no more grunting at all. Hooray! Aunt Alex and Addie even stopped by for a quick visit to check on the patient.
We put Asa down at 7pm and the golden child slept til 7am!!! Woohoo! And he woke up without grunting or panting. Woohoo! We are hopeful that he is well on his way to normalcy, but we went ahead and did another breathing treatment this morning and more steroids. The doc says one more episode like this and she'll diagnose him as ashmatic. And he'll be on a daily medication for that indefinitely (or until further assessment). She also told us she would recommend him getting tested for allergies - including pet dander. Ugh - but that's a problem for another day!
Thanks for all your calls and emails. Remember, Asa is a Spartan warrior! We have every faith that he'll be just fine. :-)
