Put a hold on those funeral potatoes...

Today's Cereal: Skipped breakfast! How unlike me.
Current Mood: Bored

So, The Boy almost died this weekened. Not really, but Kitt & I were a-scared that he was going to. Especially Kitt-- he had to see most of it while I was home with The Wee One.

Let me start over.

Friday afternoon, just before his nap, I noticed Aiden coughing. That dry cough--you know the one-- that sounds like a seal barking. It got worse and worse through the rest of the day, and by evening he was running a fever. OF COURSE my kid only gets sick on weekends and holidays! We thought he'd be okay, so we didn't take him to the Urgent Care that night. But everytime he coughed, one of us would run in there to make sure he was okay. It was obvious his throat really, really hurt, because everytime he coughed he woke up and started crying. He was miserable. WE were miserable. Saturday morning he started coughing again, and this time I noticed he was a little blue around the lips. And I watched his little chest sink in SO FAR trying to take in air! He looked like a little fish out of water. Let me tell you, it was pretty scary and really heartbreaking to watch your child not being able to breathe. The worst part was, there was nothing I could do! He started throwing a tantrum because he couldn't breathe (such a two-year-old!), and that only made it worse. I freaked out, and Kitt ran him over to the Urgent Care.

Three hours later I still hadn't heard anything. I was starting to think that maybe he had been sent over to the hospital or something. In my mommy-panic, I called the Urgent Care office and asked if my husband and child were still there. The receptionist wouldn't tell me anything other than the doctors had been moving pretty slow that day. So then I was imagining Kitt sitting in a crowded waiting room with tons of other sick people, while Aiden gasped for breath. And I kept thinking about how it was way past his lunchtime and way past his naptime, and he hadn't eaten anyting all day, and how he was probably being horrible (assuming he was still alive) and Kitt was having to deal with this. I made up my mind, packed a little lunch for My Boy, grabbed The Girlie, and headed to the office to see for myself.

I was surprised to find only one other person in the waiting room. The receptionist called to the back, and pretty soon a doctor came to fetch me. He started talking to me about all the things they had done to Aiden that morning, and none of it made any sense to me because it was all medical crap, and I was still in panic mode. He took me to a room and there was Kitt, looking miserable, and The Boy, looking more miserable.

It turns out he had croup. You parents out there who've dealt with this are probably saying, "well duh!" But it was pretty bad. They had to give him oxygen, and then they gave him some pretty kick-A steroids to stop the inflammation in his throat and lungs. And THEN they had to watch him to see how he reacted. He did okay for a while, but he relapsed and his oxygen levels dropped even lower than they were before. It was at this point they were considering sending him to Primary Children's Hospital. So my worries weren't that far off! But they dosed him up again with more steroids, and he did better after that. By the time I got there, they were just watching him again. He ate his little lunch--I was so glad I brought it!--and a little while later he was pronounced okay. And we went home.

At 8:00 that night Kitt took him back because he was having trouble again. They went through the whole routine again, but he responded well and he was able to come home in just a little while.

Monday morning we took The Boy in to our regualr doctor to follow up, like they told us to at the Urgent Care office. The Dr. listened to his lungs and said it sounded like he was getting better; but The Boy was being terrible and ornery and whiny. Dr. P. said, "This isn't like Aiden! There's really something wrong with this kid." So he checked him out all over, trying to see if he had an ear infection that had been missed, or something. But he was fine! I mentioned that he had cut a molar recently, and asked if that could be affecting him. The Dr. just laughed, and said that if he's cut one, another one is on the way. He watched him throw another tantrum, and said, "Yep! That's a molar alright." So I feel really stupid because we hauled our kid into the dr. and dropped a $20 co-pay to find out he was teething! Duh! But I was glad to know that he was not in danger of having another croup episode, and everything else was okay. He's been pretty ornery since, but at least we know why now. (Duh! So stupid!)

Tomorrow is Aiden's birthday, and we are going to take the Trax (Aiden loves trains!) downtown to see the lights at Temple Square (Aiden is fascinated by Christmas lights!). Just the three of us. I hope he will feel special and happy and loved. My sweet little guy! I'm glad he didn't die.