Asthma. It really does stink. Youngest Boy managed to have a five-day fever of 103+ and showed absolutely no signs of respiratory distress. This lulled me into a false sense of "maybe he finally grew out of it." But, alas, no. He started with a few sniffles on Monday and yesterday we were in serious distress. I started breathing treatments yesterday morning based solely on my instincts. He didn't sound good. He wasn't acting like himself and I knew from my pediatricians' advice that if he had a hit of Albuterol and it helped then he needed it. (If I give it to him and there's no change then he didn't need it - but it won't hurt him. Or it's so bad that we need more. Or something).
Four hours later I gave him another treatment (standard operating procedure) right before we left to pick Oldest Boy up from school. When we got back he said, "Mommy, I can hear a squeak when I breathe. Can you hear it?" He was clearly wheezing. I had no frickin' idea what to do. Should I give him another treatment, even though it had only been two hours (instead of 4)? Should I wait it out? I called our doc and, of course, got voicemail. I called everyone I know who may have been of help - my SIL, my other SIL, my good friend (whose twin boys are the same age as Youngest Boy - one of whom just went through a horrible bout of asthma attacks), and finally Mr. MOTH. The only one to answer was my husband who really only knows what I tell him about the asthma situation. (In other words, he was no help other than verifying my feelings). I also counted his breaths per minute (BPM) and got 40 (!). Normal is less than 30. I knew we were getting into a critical situation so I gave him the treatment (along with Pulmicort - the steroid). Damn, I hate this. It isn't so much that I mind dealing with the situation - this is part of being a parent. It's the not-knowing part that I hate. Knowing that I could make a wrong choice and hurt him (or worse), sucks. Damn, I hate this.
Our pediatrician finally called back and told me I had done the right thing and gave me some more specific instructions about what to watch for and how to treat it. We added a liquid steroid (Prelone) twice a day and we have an appointment to see her on Monday.
On top of all of this, and lurking around the perimeter of my mind like an Al Qaeda operative, is the whole swine flu (H1N1) pandemic. I'm remaining fairly calm about it - even though we got notice from Oldest Boy's school that there has been a confirmed case. I know that it's not really much worse than the average, every-year flu..."unless the child has an underlying medical condition such as asthma." Then it can be more critical (read: fatal). Damn, I hate this.
Asthma is a life-threatening condition that is much more prevalent than a lot of other pediatric conditions and yet I can't find very much information on it. I know that Jerome Bettis has it but how it the hell is that relevant to my little boy? I just want to know that he's going to be OK. And I'm trying to be thankful that I live in a time when there is at least life-saving treatment. Because if we lived 100 years ago, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have survived yesterday. Damn, I hate this.
5 comments:
Damn! I hate that for you.
When Mack was a baby he had croupe 6 or 8 times and I HATED not knowing when to throw in the towel and go to the ER. HATED NOT KNOWING. HATED being the one person on the planet to make THE DECISION. One time I treated him with his sister's left-over albuterol (from pneumonia the winter before) and then felt that maybe I shouldn't have, but it was 4:30am and I was desperate for my guy to breathe... and then we ended up in the ER 5 hours later and they treated him with albuterol. My instinct was right, but I didn't know it at the time. It's so hard.
You're doing your best. You're doing great.
I overheard 2 women in the grocery store about 3 weeks ago talking about their kids having H1N1 and it was just very matter of fact... and I kept thinking "should you be in the grocery store spreading germs?" I'm so judgy like that.
Yikes. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. I am terrified that my little C is going to have asthma just like his daddy did - bad! I could wind up in the same situations and that is not something I look forward to. I hope Youngest Boy is doing better soon!
Awww . . . poor babe, and poor Momma! Having a sick kiddo is hard enough, but having one with a chronic condition is even worse. I hope he is on the mend soon!
I'm so sorry your little one has asthma, that must make this whole swine flu business even scarier for you, I am so sorry. It does feel good to know I'm not alone in the worry of it all. It is also inspiring that even though you have fears about it you are still living life and aren't letting it consume you, especially when your son had a confirmed case at school. You are a brave lady and a great mommy and I really relate to what you write. Thank you :)
Hi. I found your blog through The Meanest Mom. I'm now putting you on my blog roll!
I know just how you're feeling. My youngest son is 3 yrs old and was diagnosed with asthma at 5 months. Everytime he gets sick, his asthma hits him with full force.
You did the right thing by giving him the additional treatment. Whenever I have to take my son to the urgent care for it, they always give him 2 treatments back to back, then prescribe the oral steroid. (those are the worst, and I can NEVER get him to calm down!)
Something to think about with the Pulmacort though. I don't know what your ped told you about it, but my understanding is that it doesn't help with sudden attacks, but when used daily it helps to prevent them. My son's ped prescribed him Pulmacort a few years ago, and this was my experience with it. Since he didn't get asthma attacks regularly, I stopped giving it to him.
I hope he's feeling better now. I know it's been like, a week, since you posted this!
Blessings,
Michelle
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