Croup

Fever - Abnormally high body temperature.

Feburary 16, 2009

Addie laying around today while she had a fever. Her cheeks and chin are even red.

Croup - A spasmodic laryngitis, especially of children, marked by a loud, harsh cough and difficulty breathing.

February 15, 2009

I've had my first parental bout with croup. I don't know how Taylor and Jack got along never getting croup, nor how Addie has gotten along for this long. Everything was fine when I put her to bed Saturday night. Around 1:00 a.m. Jack came to my room and told me that Addie was crying and her throat hurt. So I went to her room and sure enough, she was crying. Then she coughed. I have never heard my kids cough like that, so I immediately knew it was croup. So I checked her for a fever while my mind is racing trying to remember what you do for croup. Cold night air! So I told her to get some clothes on, we were going outside and she was only wearing a night shirt. So she got up and was putting on her pants and then she said that she couldn't breathe. Okay, that's ALL I needed to hear. Forget the pants! We are going to the ER. Still in pajamas myself, I threw her in the car and we were off to the hospital. For those of you who don't know, Addie's oxygen saturation always runs low because of her heart problems, and although we are used to that fact, the hospital personnel are not. So while I am filling out triage forms, the nurse puts the oxygen monitor on Addie's finger and, although I tried to explain, they are taking us back to the ER immediately and hooking her up to oxygen. Addie was crying and thrashing around because she doesn't want oxygen and she doesn't like it when doctors or nurses wear masks. There was no consoling her or reasoning with her. They finally got her settled down enough (they gave up on the oxygen) and gave her a tube blowing cool mist to open her airways. The doctor checked her out, sure enough, it's croup. It didn't affect her oxygen level though, she stayed at her typical 85% and her heart sounded good and her lungs were clear. They gave her some tylenol and some sort of steriod to open her airways. We were there for about 2 hours and then they sent us home with another dose of the steriod. So we got home around 3:30 and she fell asleep immediately. It took me a while to settle in and go to sleep, and naturally church is at 9, so I skipped church. She got along mostly ok on Sunday. She slept some here and there and her fever stayed down. When she's sick I have her sleep in Lane's recliner, so she can breathe better from being a little more upright, but she doesn't like to be alone so I have to sleep on the couch. Today she said she felt good and so I sent her over to my parents house since there was no school. My mom called me at about 11 and said that Addie didn't feel good and she was feverish again. So I picked her up and brought her home, and she laid around for most of the afternoon. At about 5:00 she perked up and wanted to play. This evening she was her normal cheerful self again, and she's asleep now in Lane's recliner again with the humidifier blowing. And so I guess I'm on the couch again. Thankfully this new couch is much more comfortable than the old one, and if I push the giant ottoman up next to the couch, it's even reasonable wide. I think I'll keep her home from school tomorrow, just for good measure. The doctor told me she could go if she felt up to it, but I think one more day at home will be best. Oh, the fun of a sick child. I thought that by now Addie would be past the croup-age, but he told me that kids still get it up until about age 10, and considering how many times she has been intubated, and that that leaves scaring behind every time, it's amazing she has never had croup before. It is truly a miracle to me that with all the problems she has, how healthy she has been. She has only had one ear infection ever, she hardly ever throws up, and is just generally in good health. If not for the whole heart thing, she would probably be our healthiest kid. It just shows how much we have been blessed.