CROUP
The one thing that no one warns you about being a parent, is how heartbroken you get when your child gets sick. For me, anytime my children gets sick, I become heartbroken because there is nothing I can do to take the misery and pain away from them. My daughter is 3 and my son is 2 and they’re both in school. They bring every germ and bacteria home with them and they suffer with the after effects. I know it is perfectly normal for children to get sick, and I am FULLY aware that there are children and families dealing with much more life-threatening and devastating diseases than a cold or a flu. I am not oblivious to that, however, for me it is still very hard to see my children very lethargic and in pain.
A few weeks ago, my oldest (Arianna) woke up in the middle of the night with a low-grade fever. She proceeded to vomit after a few minutes of crying but when she gets sick, her vomiting is usually the first indicator that she is coming down with something so we just figured she has the flu. The following day, we kept her home just so she can relax since she did not sleep well the night before and we did not want to send our sick child to school and spread it to other kids. We’re not one of those parents. She spent the day home feeling not herself; she did not have an appetite, she was a bit lethargic and overall she seemed tired. The following day while I was at work, my wife took her to her pediatrician due to her having a cough which sounded like a dry bark, which can be indicative of pneumonia, which can be very dangerous if not treated fast. After listening to her heart and lungs and everything sounded top notch. You can imagine our relief. The doctor told my wife to keep giving her Motrin and Tylenol to keep her comfortable, she should be sleeping with a cool mister running all night.
Little did we know what we had in store for us that same night.
Arianna woke up SOBBING and hyperventilating; she was not able to breathe, all we can hear was her crying and her wheezing as if she was choking. We did our best to keep her calm as she was visibly panicking because she could not breathe. Poor thing was so scared she did not know what to do. I was in a horrible panic. I thought my child isn’t breathing, she needs air, she is choking, I need to call 911. My wife talked me out of it so I told her to take her to the ER and i’d meet her there. I called my mother in law to come over and stay with my son who was asleep so I can go meet them at the emergency. I did not handle this moment well at all.
I met them at the hospital about an hour later; they had already checked her vitals and she was cleared. Her oxygen level was 95% which means it was not pneumonia THANK GOD. As we waited in a very crowded waiting room, we noticed about 5 kids around Ariannas age waiting with their parents. These kids all had the same exact cough and what sounded like the same type of wheezing she had, which made me wonder; is there something going around the kids are catching? Could it be the same virus? I decided to google her symptoms, according to google, she was exhibiting signs of CROUP.
MAYOCLINIC.ORG defines Croup as “an infection of the upper airway, which obstructs breathing and causes a characteristic barking cough. The cough and other signs and symptoms of croup are the result of swelling around the voice box (larynx), windpipe (trachea) and bronchial tubes (bronchi). When a cough forces air through this narrowed passageway, the swollen vocal cords produce a noise similar to a seal barking. Likewise, taking a breath often produces a high-pitched whistling sound (stridor). Croup typically occurs in younger children. Croup usually isn't serious and most children can be treated at home.”
We waited about three hours and had a very long way before the ER doctor can take a look at her. Around 1:30am we decided to take her home for her to get some sleep and take her to pediatric urgent care in the morning.
Just as we thought, after an exam that morning by the urgent care doctor, it was croup. Prescribed her anti-biotic, inhaler as needed and a 7 day steroid treatment. The point is, my girl will be fine. However, I started to question myself after this situation: why did I handle this so poorly? I am the father, im suppose to be calm in these situations so my child can be calm. What if this was an ACTUAL emergency, or a life and death situation (god forbid), how was I going to handle it and get it taken care of? Would I even be able to handle it? Would I be able to rise up to the occasion and be the level-headed one?
After all of this, I am doubting my strength. It was so scary to see your baby having so much difficulty breathing and you, as the father, not being able to do anything about it. I don’t know. All I know is that I am so grateful she is healthy.