Ryan's 1st trip to the E.R.

Last night we took Ryan to the E.R. at around 10:15. He has come down with the croup and was at the doctor yesterday morning. I thought it was in ear infection on Saturday night, but overnight, it had progressed into the croup. Thank goodness for Sunday pediatrician hours. He woke from his nap last night trimbeling and then I heard him gasping for air. We did the steaming shower and then followed with the cold blast, but it didn't work. Then he started his "Rawr" noise (a new favorite of mine) and was gasping for air inbetween, so off we ran to the E.R. From a family of asthmatics, we don't mess around with breathing issues.

We were at the E.R. until about 1 A.M. He's much better now, but it was still insanely scary. The E.R. doc said the croup is treacheal bronchitis, which means his treachea is closing and more restricted. His trechea is only the size of his pinky. So, when that thing starts to close, no wonder he sounds like this. They gave him a breathing treatment and kept him for about another hour for observation. The docs advice was to roll down the windows and take him for a ride for about 10-15 minutes. The nurse said to not waste the gas and open up the freezer door. I like that idea. So for all those parents out there...if your child is gasping for air, change the temperature and humidity of the location you are in. If it's hot, make it cold (use the freezer). If it's cold, find the steamy shower. Hope that helps any of you out there.

And because I can always find the humor of almost any situation... We were the last bed before the ambulance bay doors and they wheeled someone in on a gurnee with a gash in his leg and an ice pack on his crotch. I had nothing else to do in E.R. (Ryan had finally fell to sleep), so I started contemplating what on earth could have happened to him. The journalist in me was listening for all kinds of clues and finally pieced together that he was a DUI and got into a crash in a parking lot in West Whiteland township (towns here are divided into a gazillion townships...it took us 3 years to figure out West Chester had 8 different townships and one borough...more on that later).

Jon took a sick day and we're just taking it easy. Actually, he has a yellow jacket nest to contend with at dusk. When we came home last night, I looked up for some reason and found a yellow jacket nest under our deck, by our back entrance to our house. (that's where we park, so we go through those doors about 5-10 time a day). I was doing research on yellow jacket nests last night at 1:30. Doesn't everyone do that? Let's keep our fingers crossed that we can avoid another trip to the ER tonight after Jon becomes the exterminator.