Kaylen doesn't just have a cold - she also has croup. It's a first in our house as we've been fortunate enough to never have had to go through this before. But that's Kaylen for you - full of firsts. :)
The past two nights she had rough nights; waking up coughing a cough that, as Kelton so delicately put it, sounded like a cat throwing up over and over. Well - I wouldn't say that but it was a horrible sound. The first time she would cough and then go back to sleep with some cuddles. Last night was awful. We set up the cool air humidifier and we both slept in her room to comfort her with the coughs would jar her awake and she would cry from the pain in her throat.
This morning she was doing "ok". Ok enough for us to go ahead with our plans to take the kids to see WALL-E at the local "cheap seat" theater. About mid-way through I could tell her Motrin had worn off and she started to act "off". We came home after the movie and the kids poked their "Mr, Potato face pumpkin pieces" into their pumpkins (photos later) and then Dakota set about carving the main pumpkin. Through all this I was watching, and listening, to Kaylen.
I finally said "Honey - do you feel ok?" and she said no. Something tucked at my heart and I decided to take her to the Urgent Care clinic. And I'm glad I did. The pediatrician took a good look at her, did all the important checking, asked her to talk (she has a tight, almost non-existent voice) and cough. She double checked her immunizations (which are current) and asked if she might have been exposed to Whooping Cough. I had no idea. She said "Well - even if she had been, her immunity to it 'should' be intact so I am going to say she has a bad case of croup." They gave her an oral steroid to help with the constricting of her airway and had us wait around for 30 minutes to be sure she didn't react to it.
Then we were sent home with a sheet of instructions.
And to think two days ago I thought it was just a cold. I mean, I get that croup goes with colds but since we've never experienced it, it wasn't really on my radar. (Thank you Jeri! The information and phone message where helpful.)
So tonight I put a very pale and subdued Kaylen to bed and hopefully tonight she will breathe easier and tomorrow she will be much, much better.
3 comments:
awww! I hope she starts feeling better soon!
First time croup is scary. The unmistakable barking seal cough is a sure sign. UGH. Good thing is that it's a very short lived illness. You should see remarkable improvement today.
Just caught up on Sanity and here. So sorry to hear how much Kaylen is struggling with this. I'm sure the winds yesterday didn't help much (it didn't here either). Let me know if you need anything. I'm just a phone call and short drive away.
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