I can explain...

Spring begins on Wednesday, 20 March 2013

15 days, 4 hours remain till 

The Official First Day of Spring

Well, we all most made it through winter without any serious illnesses. Almost. Every year between December and February, someone in my family gets seriously ill. An illness that typically results in at least an overnight hospital stay. The worst illness was my mom's ruptured brain aneurysm in 2010 which nearly took her life and had her in the hospital for a few months. The least concerning was a minor drug interaction for me last year, which could have been much worse, and warranted only a brief overnight stay.
 This time it is Babe. He started with a cold two Saturdays ago, when his sister brought it home from school. It was just a simple cold, although he was known for high fevers. Last Tuesday, he was started on a 3 day course of prednisone for the croup. By Thursday morning, he was bouncing back. Then Thursday night, he was lethargic again, Temp of 105 again, Coughing non-stop again. I called the pediatrician knowing it was after hours(9:30pm) knowing they wouldn't be able to do much other than tell me to put him in a steam shower, turn on the humidifier, Vicks Vapor Rub, Tylenol, Motrin, light clothing, plenty of fluids...like I haven't been a mom for 6 winters, like I haven't committed this to memory at this point!
 I was hoping there was something in the visit notes from Tuesday which stated an Antibiotic may be needed, but no. Same old schpiel, call back tomorrow morning for an appointment. Fine.
I called on Friday, I was told the same exact thing from the night before, as long as he can breath he'll be fine no appointment needed. I gave up. I was battling a cold too, and Daddy agreed that maybe just pump him full of Tylenol/Motrin, Benedryl and all natural cough stuff, maybe it'll get better. That was Friday.
Today, I had an appointment set up for my doctor at 9am. I have a little bronchitis, nothing to worry about. I asked her if she thought I should call the doctor again for Babe, he was still fighting a fever and his cough was almost non stop. I was hoping that she'd say she'd take a look at him because she is a great doctor, but I knew it was better he'd see his own doctor. She did highly recommended calling the doctor though. So, I got out of her office at 9:45am, called for an appointment for him but they didn't have one available until tonight. I look in the rear view mirror and his face is getting pale, his lips are turning blue, this is more than just a bad coughing fit.
I turn into Sally Field in Steel Magnolias and tell the woman on the phone, "I am bringing him in NOW! Either you will see him now, or I will meet one of the doctors at the ER." She schedules him in for 10:45, (she obviously didn't understand when I said NOW!) I got there at 10:00. His eyes were rolling in back of his head, he was limp in my arms. They rushed us back and gave him a quick nebulizer treatment. His fever was back up to 104 and he started shaking in my arms.
I have never felt so helpless in my life. I've had asthma attacks before, I know how much they suck, but never realized how much they suck as a parent of a child having one. I could do nothing but sit there with him on my lap rocking him as I held the nebulizer mask on his face. The doctor and nurses are fluttering here and there, calling radiology for a chest x-ray, calling in the antibiotics I asked for 4 days prior. His color started to return, although he was still out of it. Off we went for the Chest X-ray and sure enough, he has Pneumonia.
Thankfully, we avoided the hospital. A round of strong antibiotics, and at home nebby treatments should kick this out. Meanwhile, I have all the upstairs windows open for the afternoon, washing all the sheets and spraying our house down with Lysol in hopes to keep these germs away. 

2 more weeks, 1 more day, and 4 hours until spring...