Boy does the rain never stop in the lives of the Cook’s. We can’t seem to live a life that allows for a breath of fresh air. When we do things we “go big” so to speak. Between my husband and son, these past 2 years, or more specifically the last 6 months have been an utter whirlwind of emotions.
This past weekend was my sons birthday and we headed to the beach to enjoy a nice weekend away and a well needed vacation “from our problems.” Little did we know our problems were going to transpire into an exhausting, scary weekend away from our abode. The evacuation routes you often see when you head to the coast was exactly what we needed this trip…except in the form of a hospital. Unfortunately I saw them when we entered town and bookmarked it in the back of my mind hoping it was my fear stepping in; not reality. Although we tend to frequent hospitals on an all too frequent basis, Ocean Beach Hospital was a step in the right direction.
As we left town Thursday we were driving over the bridge in Portland waving goodbye to Randall Children’s Hospital opting to never arrive there again unless for the delivery of a newborn baby. Well our wish came true this weekend except that it was only granted for the children’s hospital. Stepping foot into an ER at the beach was not excluded from our list of high hopes. The day of Cooper’s 2nd birthday, he came down with a nasty “bug.” I use that word lightly as my son never has symptoms of a common cold except simply not being able to breath or talk. No runny nose, no cough, no sore throat, no ear infections no nothing is ever on the agenda. So when Cooper came down with this nasty little “bug” we were a bit disappointed as it was the day of his birth and we had planned to play most the day at the beach. Well….that did not happen. He was still in high spirits and we still had a great day.
Come evening, I lay him to rest and kissed his little lips. While playing cards with the family I checked on him and noticed he was very wheezy in his breathing; both inhaling and exhaling. It worried me but not enough to let me anxiety kick-in in overdrive. We kept playing cards and headed to bed pretty late. Less than an hour later Cooper was up and struggling to breath, sleep and simply lay still. Laying in bed with us for a bit, struggling to breath and simply not feeling good while I worried all night long if my little man would quit breathing, allowed for very little sleep. It was an exhausting night!
The following morning he woke up in good spirits and within the hour quickly took a turn for the worse. From playing to laying on the floor writhing in pain and a fever that shook my spirits was very unnerving. His breathing progressively worsened allowing for four adults to become highly concerned. Early nap was definitely on the schedule while multiple phone calls to the advice nurse took place.
My mom and I escaped for a couple hours during nap to grab coffee and enjoy the shops in Long Beach. We had a good time and also grabbed some medical supplies for the little man; humidifier, probiotics and honey sticks to coat his throat. Upon our arrival back at the house, my son just woke up to be extremely labored in his breathing to the point it was beyond scary. His little body struggling with each breath wheezing and with no vocal cords at this point was so scary. He couldn’t talk at all!
Off to the ER. We quickly arrive and immediately were seen by a doctor. No cold symptoms still causing for confusion yet again. They decided to treat for Coup and quickly give a steroid shot as well as a ventilator full of medicine. Within minutes we noticed his little voice coming back to us in a very quiet, raspy sense, but it was better than nothing.
Three hours later they send us home with strict instructions to follow up with our pediatrician. Talk of further complications such as cystic fibrosis came up which of course plagued me with fear. On the other hand, finding something that could be causing this is more of a relief than simply no answers at all. All I want is to find a reason and start treating. Now of course, I really pray nothing is wrong with my son and that we can avoid further hospitalizations but that doesn’t seem like the easy answer we will receive.
Wednesday we followed up with our pediatrician with great success, I feel we finally are in forward motion in search for answers. We have an appointment set with a pulmonologist and will be treating Cooper for croup on a preventative level. Our doctors believes Cooper unfortunately will continue to get croup and has had it previously. We will be treating on a daily basis to lessen the severity of croup as we cannot actually prevent it at all. But the goal here, is to keep us from frequent hospitalizations and labored breathing.
This is only the beginning of the long road ahead, but in some weird way I feel confident and relieved that we are seeking this further and searching for answers. Hoping his little esophagus is our only issue will require us to continue battling croup until he’s roughly 5 years old. The good news in that this condition does not have long term effects. Praise Jesus!
We will wait, pray and be thankful that as of right now, what we know to be true is bearable! I will keep you all updated with how the appointment with the specialist goes.
Moment of Truth: Life was never promised to be easy, but God did promise He will never give us more than we can handle. At many times in my life, I have felt I was on the edge and God swept in and allowed a calm in my storm. Circumstances may not change, but our hearts do. I pray my heart grows tender and I continue to seek the Lord, rather than build resentment and allow fear to take over my life.
Recent Comments