Croup strikes again

The 12 hour day I was dreading today? Well, it didn't really happen. What did happen is that I had a 24 hour Wednesday. I didn't go to sleep last night until 6:30 am because we had to go to the ER.

Kellan woke up with croup on Tuesday morning, we went to the doctor, and I declined the one-dose steroid treatment. Steroids are not especially good for anyone, especially little kids, so I decided to take my chances. The doctor said it was a perfectly reasonable decision considering that Kellan was not in dire need of steroids, had a previously uneventful night, and no fever. 

As for that night -- Kellan did okay. Last night, he did not.

Due to his labored breathing, I called for some advice from the St. Luke's triage nurse at about 2 am and she almost had us get in the car and head to the hospital then. But while we were on the phone, Kellan's breathing got better (perhaps due to the combo of a humidifier and his open bedroom window) and he seemed to fall into a deeper sleep. So the nurse and I said goodbye and I bedded down next to him to try to get some sleep. Once I drifted off, Kellan got restless. I held his hand, which seemed to help calm him, but by 4 am, I knew the situation was not good. He was struggling too much. I looked at his chest and saw the skin pulling in at his sternum, and knew an ER visit was mandatory.

So he did end up getting the steroid treatment, and he did pretty well with a couple of steamy breathing treatments (containing epinephrine). The ER doc decided he was well enough to avoid going to the observation unit and go home to rest.

He's breathing better now -- that's the important thing. Now I hope we can all get some much needed sleep since Michael and I are starting to feel crappy...