Burcusa Family Musings and Adventures: what a week!

A week ago today (last Monday), Mike was busy after work so Rose and I ate dinner together and then I put her to bed with no problems. She seemed mostly like herself, maybe just with a little runny nose (which, unfortunately, is pretty "normal" for us in MN at this time of year). I ended up going to bed a little later than usual since I was up packing for my first work trip at my new job - I was scheduled to go to a training all day on Tuesday (something I had been signed up for since I started six months ago!), then slated to head directly to the airport after work to fly to St Louis for a special psychotherapy training the rest of the week. So I was up packing on Monday night, and didn't get to back until almost 10pm, which is late for me. Mike came to bed shortly thereafter, but we both woke to hear Rose crying and gasping at about 11pm. At first we thought she might be anxious about having to throw up (?), but her breaths kept getting shallower and shorter, and she was "barking" as she coughed. I asked her to slow down and take a deep breath and it just got worse. As she started to panic, Mike and I did as well. I called the nurse hotline through my insurance, but quickly handed the phone to Mike because I couldn't bear to not be holding Rose (and I couldn't take in the phone over the sound of her gasping and barking). Mike then got a terrified look on his face - when he hung up, he said the nurse made him promise to call 911 immediately after hanging up - no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He did, unlocked the front door, then proceeded to find my socks and my wallet for me. By the time he came back to Rose's bedroom, the sheriff/police/someone in uniform was already at the door. About 30 seconds later, the firemen were there, and another 30 seconds later the paramedics arrived. (I can't believe those six burly men fit in Rose's tiny bedroom and our tinier hallway!) The lead paramedic was young (late 20's? - as an aside, when did that become "young"?!?) but incredibly calm and efficient. He instantly diagnosed her as having croup and said she would need medicine, given how hard she was struggling to breathe. We got into the ambulance outside, and they administered a nebulizer of some sort of epinephrine. (Rose was so brave! She even held the neb up to her face herself!) Unfortunately, her breathing only improved for a few minutes, and then it got bark-y and whistle-y again. So they decided we needed to take the ambulance ride to the ER for further treatment. As scary as it was, I also felt this this sense of calm during the whole thing, as if I knew everything would be okay - which was weird because I was oddly terrified and peaceful at the exact same time. Anyway, we got to the ER and she got a second nebulizer, and then also a dose of steroids. FINALLY, she started to breathe normally again.

After about an hour of waiting around, the pediatrician came to see her. (Prior to that, everything had been done by ER staff.) She asked a bunch of questions, then said she wanted to admit Rose since she hadn't responded to the first nebulizer and it was likely that her symptoms could return. She then commended us for calling 911 when we did, as she said that Rose's presentation was quite serious. At that, we proceeded to wait for a bed to be ready up on the peds ward. And we waited, and we waited. Finally, around 2:30am we got to Rose's room. About 10 minutes after we got there, she totally perked up. She was absolutely herself, laughing and joking and smiling. She ate some cheerios and drank some water, and then we had to get her calmed down to sleep a bit. (In retrospect, her abrupt transformation back to health made me wish we had just done more observation in the ER, rather than be admitted!) Mike went home to get some solid rest, and I stayed in her room (on a horrid little glider chair that didn't fully recline) because I couldn't bear to separate myself from her any sooner than I had to. She eventually fell asleep (maybe a little after 3am?), and I did my best to sleep as well. But I woke every time she coughed or moved, which was quite frequently! At 6am Mike returned, I got a cab home (the hospital is only about 4 miles from our house, but Mike would need the car/carseat to get her home later that day), and then arrived for my local training promptly at 8am. Needless to say, I was EXHAUSTED all day. Every time I got a break I would text Mike to check in - Rose was still doing great, enjoying the hospital food and the opportunity to watch several movies. I think she got discharged around 2pm, shortly after my mom happened to arrive in town for a pre-scheduled visit (she usually visits whenever I leave town - read into that what you will! ;) ). All in all, I knew Rose was in good hands, but it was still hard to leave for the airport right after work, when all I wanted to do was go home to see Little Miss!! To make it even worse, my 7:30pm flight was delayed, we spent forever on the runway awaiting de-icing, and the hotel shuttle took 45 minutes to arrive (after several calls, and each time being assured it was "7-10 minutes away at most"), and it was after 11pm by the time I got to my hotel room. My alarm going off at 6:15am the next morning (the latest I could possibly set it, in order to get to the shuttle to the training location on time), was most unwelcome!!! In the end it ended up being a REALLY good training, but you have no idea how excited I was to get home late on Friday night to see Rose, sleep in my own bed, and have my mom tell me I could sleep in as late as I needed/wanted the next day. And Rose is 100% back to her usual wonderful self again: