So, it seems that Mama M’s house has also been stricken by the crud. She’s dealing with a sick little one, so no 5QF today. That got me to thinking how lucky we were when Billy was growing up; he was unusually healthy. Though I still remember the scary night when he was two, or maybe three, and got croup. We tried all the normal stuff—humidifier, calming back rubs, steamy bathroom—nothing worked. I finally called the nurse line and they said it had been going on too long with no change, so to take him to the ER.
At the hospital, they tried a breathing mask, but it wasn’t really helping. Of course, Billy didn’t like it much, so he kept trying to pull it off and wriggling around messing it up and all, which I’m sure didn’t do much for its efficacy. Anyway, the cough didn’t let up and they couldn’t get his oxygen level up to a reasonable level, so he had to be admitted. Just the idea of my baby being sick enough to be in the
hospital was terrifying. He looked so tiny in that big bed, and that was before the bed got covered up with the oxygen tent.
Man, Billy really did not like that. He was so scared, even though I was right there, holding his hand under the tent. It didn’t take long until I just crawled under the tent with him and snuggled him up so that he could finally go to sleep. Even I managed to get a little bit of sleep that night, though not a lot. One of the things I remember most clearly is how cold it was under that tent; I hadn’t been prepared for that. **
Thankfully, by mid-morning, Billy got to come out of the tent, and by mid-afternoon, we got to go home. Billy was a little tuckered out, but not really any worse for the wear. For me, it was one of the longest not-quite twenty-four hours I’ve ever spent.
Still, like I said, we were pretty lucky. I can recount every single time Billy ever had to visit an ER; the trip last December made an even handful. Even discounting serious health conditions, I’ve known lots of folks who were practically on a first name basis with the hospital staff, thanks to their kids. And, I know people who actually do deal with those aforementioned serious health conditions. As a parent, it’s hard enough worrying about every scrape and bruise; I can’t really imagine what it would be like to have a chronic condition threatening your child’s well-being.
So, I’m sending virtual good thoughts over to Mama M and her Baby Girl, and every other household that’s dealing with under the weather kids. (Or even grown-ups who act like kids when they’re sick; trust me, I know at least as much about that as I do with actual sick kids.) With the cold and flu season slowly winding down, hopefully that won’t be a very long list.
You guys all take care of yourselves while you’re taking care of your kids, so we can all move into a healthy and happy spring.
**Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
