Cold? NO, a Virus~breathing treatments~ER~lessons learned!!! (LONG!)

I just read the post about some virus going around, and it is apparently up in these parts too.

Colin had a little cough Friday night. Saturday after nap he was wheezing and breathing rapidly. We go to the Pedi, he gets a breathing treatment of Albuterol. We go to two pharmacies to pick up prescriptions of Pulmicort and Xopenex. (he is so hyper by this time) We get home, and he is wheezing again, and still breathing rapidly.
I learn I do not handle being helpless for my child. I felt so sad for him and seeing him struggle to breathe. I do a Pulmicort treatment on him and it does not help. So we call the nurse, and she says to do a Xopenex treatment.
I now have such EMPATHY for those of you that have done/do breathing treatments. He sat still, but feeling his breathing so labored beneath my hand, and the concerned look on Ryan's face while this was going on was so difficult!!
About 15 minutes after the Xopenex treatment, the nurse calls back, and Colin is still wheezing and rapidly breathing, so she says to take him to the ER. My husband takes him, and I get Ryan fed and to bed. When he calls with an update, it is to say Colin is being admitted overnight.
Major lesson learned here! Take out the other carseat when one goes to the ER!! We did not, so there was no way for me to get the hospital.
He ends up getting breathing treatments every two hours and oxygen. The treatments WIRED him, and he did not sleep until 3AM. And then it was only a short time. Since there was no way for me to get to the hospital, my husband was pretty exhausted (no treatments to keep him wired!!). They are still there, and Colin is still getting treatments every three hours. He was tested for RSV, and that was negative. It is some evil respiratory virus his little lungs are dealing with.

I just wanted to share how QUICKLY this happened...what seemed like symptoms of a minor cough/cold before he went down for a nap turned into symptoms of a major respiratory virus.

The other sad part was how aware Ryan is that his brother is gone. Last night while he ate he kept pointing at the other (empty) high chair going "bruh? bruh?" (meaning "brother") Then when I was reading to him, he kept pointing to my other leg (where his brother usually sits as I can never read to just one!) saying the same thing. This morning when I went in to get him he was just standing there, pointing at Colin's empty crib.

So, I just wanted to pass on what we experienced, share some lessons learned, and say that I can now relate to those that do breathing treatments on their child/ren. It's not the treatment that is difficult, it is seeing your child struggle to breathe.

Thanks for reading.

 

I just read the post about some virus going around, and it is apparently up in these parts too.

Colin had a little cough Friday night. Saturday after nap he was wheezing and breathing rapidly. We go to the Pedi, he gets a breathing treatment of Albuterol. We go to two pharmacies to pick up prescriptions of Pulmicort and Xopenex. (he is so hyper by this time) We get home, and he is wheezing again, and still breathing rapidly.
I learn I do not handle being helpless for my child. I felt so sad for him and seeing him struggle to breathe. I do a Pulmicort treatment on him and it does not help. So we call the nurse, and she says to do a Xopenex treatment.
I now have such EMPATHY for those of you that have done/do breathing treatments. He sat still, but feeling his breathing so labored beneath my hand, and the concerned look on Ryan's face while this was going on was so difficult!!
About 15 minutes after the Xopenex treatment, the nurse calls back, and Colin is still wheezing and rapidly breathing, so she says to take him to the ER. My husband takes him, and I get Ryan fed and to bed. When he calls with an update, it is to say Colin is being admitted overnight.
Major lesson learned here! Take out the other carseat when one goes to the ER!! We did not, so there was no way for me to get the hospital.
He ends up getting breathing treatments every two hours and oxygen. The treatments WIRED him, and he did not sleep until 3AM. And then it was only a short time. Since there was no way for me to get to the hospital, my husband was pretty exhausted (no treatments to keep him wired!!). They are still there, and Colin is still getting treatments every three hours. He was tested for RSV, and that was negative. It is some evil respiratory virus his little lungs are dealing with.

I just wanted to share how QUICKLY this happened...what seemed like symptoms of a minor cough/cold before he went down for a nap turned into symptoms of a major respiratory virus.

The other sad part was how aware Ryan is that his brother is gone. Last night while he ate he kept pointing at the other (empty) high chair going "bruh? bruh?" (meaning "brother") Then when I was reading to him, he kept pointing to my other leg (where his brother usually sits as I can never read to just one!) saying the same thing. This morning when I went in to get him he was just standing there, pointing at Colin's empty crib.

So, I just wanted to pass on what we experienced, share some lessons learned, and say that I can now relate to those that do breathing treatments on their child/ren. It's not the treatment that is difficult, it is seeing your child struggle to breathe.

Thanks for reading.

 

Yikes. What an ordeal. Kudos to you for acting promptly though. Let's hope this virus is short-lived. Hang in there.

 

Melissa, that is so terrifying. I'm sorry that you all are having to deal with this and I hope that Colin gets better soon and is able to come home.

 

I hope your little one is getting better. My kids and I have the same virus, too. We are on week 3 with it. Justin was the one who had to go on breathing treatments and steroids to clear it up. The girls just have been croupy and snotty but not having any breathing problems, yet. I am so ready for this to be over with.

 

Oh! Hugs to you... My boys had to endure breathing treatments last winter. It was no fun so I can empathize. Also, that's sooo sad your other twin is missing him so! My boys have never been apart overnight, but when I take one twin out with me for the day, (I have mommy time with each one separately one day during the week), the other twin is so happy to see his brother returning. They both do their twin gibberish once they see each other. It's really cute! I hope he's feeling better soon!

 

I hope he feels better soon.

 

UGH! I hope Colin is feeling better soon and can come home.

 

yuck! We have the virus too, but luckily the kids are doing ok.. i'm not, but thats another thing. We had the same thing happen with Em last January, except I was the one going to the ER and staying overnight, it was so traumatic.. for me and DH, Em was ok with it, but it was scary seeing her so sick. Hugs!! It'll be ok!
Kelly

 

Im sorry this is going on! I hope Colin gets better soon!

 

I hope that he gets better and comes home soon!

 

Melissa- I'm in tears for you! How frightening- and how very sad for his brother. Twins are double the joy but can sometimes be double the sadness when you see how affected their twin is by the other's absence or illness.

One of my gals had croup over the holiday and watching her struggle with her breathing was the most upsetting thing I have been through. Thank you so much for the warning of this virus AND the advice about the carseat- Never crossed my mind.



Sending you healthy vibes- keep us posted on Colin's recovery!!

Lisa

 

MY DD has asthma and has been in the hospital twice this year for it. It is rough.

I wanted to let you know, in case no else has mentioned it yet, that the pulmicort is not an emergency use medicine. It does not help to relieve symptoms immediately but instead with use over time it helps to keep the symptoms from getting worse. This is why you saw no improvement in his breathing after giving the pulmicort. For immediate relief always go for the xopenex or the albuterol.

Hope you are all feeling better soon.

 

quote:
Originally posted by newmomma:

I wanted to let you know, in case no else has mentioned it yet, that the pulmicort is not an emergency use medicine. It does not help to relieve symptoms immediately but instead with use over time it helps to keep the symptoms from getting worse. This is why you saw no improvement in his breathing after giving the pulmicort. For immediate relief always go for the xopenex or the albuterol.




Good to know! Thank you!

 

I hope Colin gets better real quick. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

Gosh that is so scary..makes ya not want to leave your house so you can't catch anything. I am so glad to hear he is okay now. We have big time breathing issues with one of mine and I am hoping he misses this virus!!

Hope he is home in your arms soon!

 

I hope Colin feels better and is already back at home. Thank you for posting this. I would never have thought to remove a car seat if one of my boys had to go to the RE but obviously it's a smart move. And I had no idea respiratory viruses like the one you describe even existed.

 

i'm so sorry to hear that you all are going through this. my dh and i both have carseats in our car for that exact reason (plus it just makes life easier).

i wanted to second what the pp said about the pulmicort. it is meant to make their lungs stronger over time. joey was on it for months and it has helped. the albuterol is for immediate relief.

our pedi suggests that if you hear wheezing or are afraid it's going that way get the nebulizer out and begin albuterol (or it's equivalent)... if in doubt head to the ER. breathing problems are not something to wait on.

big hugs coming to you all! it would have driven me nuts to have to stay home if DH was at the ER with one of the boys.