Our Hospital Adventure

Monday, April 18th, Daniel ate dinner and about 10 minutes later he started coughing. Brian gave him a bath and Daniel started sounding like he was having a hard time breathing. I called the doctor's office and they told us to take him to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Immediate Care. We left right away and Brian sat in the back seat with Daniel while I drove. It seemed like everyone was going extra slow on the roads! We got there and he was sent to triage within about 5 minutes. They checked his pulse ox and listened to his breathing and decided he would be seen next. The doctor saw him and said his lungs sounded clear, she was not exactly sure what was going on. They did a few x-rays to make sure he had not swallowed anything. They did not see anything on the films but told us that if there was food lodged in his throat it would not show up. She decided he probably had the beginnings of Croup and gave him a dose of Decadron (an oral steroid). She said if he started sounding worse or spiked a high fever to take him to the ER. Well, the next morning he still seemed to feel bad and was still coughing but it had stayed the same. We just had a lazy day and I held him a lot. He took 4 naps which it is usually hard to get him to take one good one. That night he started sounding a little worse and kind of like the Pertussis commercial with the baby coughing. Wednesday morning I took him to our Pediatrician and they listened to his lungs, checked his ears and throat, gave  him a breathing treatment and nothing changed. His doctor decided it was best that we went to Scottish Rite to be evaluated. I don't think I have ever been so scared! Since no one was with me the doctor decided that having an ambulance transport us to the hospital was best. Since he sounded like he had Pertussis, we had to wear masks. I called Mimi, Poppy and of course Daddy. The ambulance came in about 15 minutes and Mimi came up there too. She followed behind us, Daddy met us there and Mia met us there too. Daniel fell asleep on the ride there.

Riding in the Ambulance

When we got to the hospital, we had a nurse in the room within 2 minutes! They hooked him up to a pulse ox and some cardio leads to monitor him. The doctor came in within 15 minutes and we discussed what was going on. We asked for a Pertussis test and he agreed. He also listened to Daniel's lungs and checked his ears and throat. All of it looked good...still. The doctor said he wanted to admit Daniel for observation for at least 24 hours, take some more x-rays and to consult with the ENT. They possibly would take a scope and look down his throat and lungs to make sure there wasn't anything lodged in there. That meant he would have to be put under :-( Oh and taking x-rays of a 19 Month old is horrible! He had to be held down and it just makes a momma so sad to see this happen.

So next we were moved into the "pre-admission" room where we met with the Hospitalist. She agreed with what the other Doctors had said and scheduled us to meet with ENT ASAP. A few minutes later (30) we were officially admitted and introduced to our little room. Daniel was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. I had to carry him up to the new room. I put him in the hospital crib when we got up there and he slept for a while.

Oh and Daniel had not had anything to eat or drink since 6:30 in the morning.We got into our room around 3. A little while later the ENT NP came in and talked to us about what the scope procedure entailed. She said she would check the OR schedule and hopefully we could have it done around 5. Well a couple of minutes later she came in and said they were ready. An OR had opened up and it was about 4. We carried Daniel down to Surgery and met with the Doctor who was doing the procedure as well as the Anesthesiologist. It was so nerve racking to know he was going back there and even the minimal risk that was involved. Thankfully they didn't start his IV until they had gassed  him and he was out. About 30 minutes later the Doctor that preformed the surgery came into the waiting room and let us know it went great and they did not find anything. He was in recovery and they would bring  him back up to his room in a little while.

After all that, we still did not know what was wrong. His doctor came in and told us they would just give him fluids and monitor him through the night. She also let us know he could eat!! I ordered his dinner and he was so happy to eat. His pulse ox never went below 92 but that alarm went off constantly. Pops and Poppy came up to the hospital and spent some time with Daniel. Everyone left around 8:30 or 9 and it was just me and the little man. I finally got him to sleep around 10 and then he got all wrapped up in the IV around 11. The alarms went off ALL NIGHT and the nurse came in every few hours but thankfully he stayed asleep. The next morning he woke up around 5 and I ordered his breakfast but they did not serve it until 7:30. Thankfully the nurse's station had applesauce and I had saved a blueberry muffin from his dinner the night before.

 Mimi came up to relieve me for a few minutes so I could get out of the room and get some coffee. She stayed for a while waiting for the Respiratory Therapist and his doctor so we could find out what was next. Mia came up around 12 and brought me lunch. The doctor finally came in close to 1 and said we could go home. He was diagnosed with a strange case of Croup and put on Steroids and Amoxil. We were so glad to go home!

On Friday, the day after we were discharged the Pertussis test came back negative! Thank you God!