Monday, September 23, 2013

First trip to the ER!


As quickly as Avery was reaching milestones, this little epic event came a little too soon in my opinion.  Last Wednesday morning I noticed that Avery started a barking cough.  (Croup exposed momma's know exactly what I'm talking about.)  I called and got her into her pediatrician later that morning, and, just as I had suspected, we were diagnosed with croup.  No more school for little miss the rest of the week.  Her doctor started her on a steroid to help with the inflammation in her throat.  I figured we caught it early enough that we dodged the worse of it.  I was wrong.  The rest of Wednesday was spent keeping a cranky baby happy.  We took 48943523485486 walks around the neighborhood.  Yes, exactly that many.

Wednesday night I went on to choir practice at church.  Avery seemingly felt better and even accompanied me to praise team rehearsal before Jacob came by the church and got her on his was home from work.  She was all smiles when she left me around 6:30.  Jacob said that she cried the  whole way home and stayed upset until she went to sleep.

Thursday morning rolls around and Jacob gets up and out of the house early for a meeting (early like 5:45) at the church that starts at 6:15.  I woke up right as he was leaving and checked on Avery via the video monitor and all seemed fine.  Avery is a morning person if there ever was one.  I'm not sure who she gets it from because I'm definitely not.  When she wasn't awake and talking to herself like usual by 6:30, I made a quick bottle and then went upstairs to wake her up.  Cue the scariest 15 minutes of my life thus far....

She was roasting when I picked her up.  She wouldn't hold her head up.  I brought her downstairs and took her pajamas off of her hoping that would cool her off.  She still hasn't opened her eyes for more than a few seconds.  I noticed her legs were turning purple.  I counted her respirations per minute and got about 75.  She was panting.  She still hasn't opened her eyes.  I held her out in front of me and began shouting her name at her.  Nothing.  Limp in my arms.  I texted Jacob something along the lines of her feet were purple and I couldn't get her to wake up.  I had already decided in my mind that I was taking into the ER but it was confirmed for me when Jacob called me back and said he was meeting us there.  My fight/flight response kicked in in a major way.  I had Avery in her carseat and walking out of the door within seconds.  The only reason I remembered to grab shoes was only because Ellie followed us to the front door and sat down next to them.  Smart dog.

We can see the hospital from our backyard so it's already a short distance, but going 85mph through our neighborhood and on University made the normally 3 minute drive closer to 30 seconds.  I had my flashers on and "momma on a mission" was not stopping...for anyone....even police.  They could just follow me to the ER and give me a ticket there.  No problem.

I made it inside with her still in the carseat and the nurse in the triage (whom I know) asked what was wrong.  The only thing that would come out of my mouth was "I can't keep her awake".  She took her from me still in the carseat and walked calmly...but briskly...back to a room.  Before I knew it, 3 more nurses and the doctor were in the room with us.  They were hooking Avery up to monitors, checking her temperate, and putting oxygen on her.  She was so out of it the oxygen mask didn't even phase her.  She could have cared less about that thing on her face.  Her temperature was 103.7, heart rate 235, oxygen level 85%.  Not stellar stats.  

Jacob made it there at some point, I lost all track of time honestly.  The doctor's main concern was her high heart rate.  They did a lot of things to try and get her heart rate down....even dunking her face in a bucket of ice water.  Yes, you read that correctly.  They dunked her in ice water.  The doctor explained that the shock of the ice water should....SHOULD....pause her heart long enough for it to re-start at a normal rhythm.  Well, I would love to report that it worked, but it didn't.  Then, we figured her fever may be influencing her heart rate.  They had given her Tylenol right after we had gotten there but it wasn't working.  Next was the Motrin.  The Motrin did work.  Her fever started coming down and so did the heart rate.  



6 hours after the ordeal started, we were heading home.  Severe croup was the diagnosis we walked out with.  I'll be ok if she never gets croup again.  Ever.  One time was enough for this family.

.....and to top it all off,  Avery decides Thursday night is a fantastic night to start sitting up by herself.  Crazy kiddo.  




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