John Gets Pneumonia

During our visit to Utah, John started wheezing, but we thought it was no big deal. We just decided the last week to take it a bit easier and get him some more sleep. I was planning on taking him into the pediatrician Monday morning to get it checked out.

Sunday night, John started screaming his head off around 9 PM. Not usual for our baby. Not at all. So, we gave him some tylenol cough & cold. That didn't help. We tried a bottle -- no interest. About 11:45 PM we tried giving him some ibuprofin as well. He was still one upset little man.

So, about 12:30 AM, I geared up for the long night of watching the Muppets and trying to sleep while holding him in a chair. Jared and I started getting set-up for the night in the basement and started the movie. About 2 minutes into it, John started coughing and then had this funny bark. Jared and I looked at each other and said, "That's it."

We woke up Maddie and loaded the family into the van. Jared drove as fast as he dared to the hospital while I kept track of John's breathing in the back seat. We got to the hospital around 1:30 AM.

L & M was great. They took us straight to a bed, requested a respiratory therapist and had treated him with albuterol within a half hour of our arrival. It was amazing to see the difference the nebulizer made. They took x-rays and did bloodwork. He had nebulizer treatments at 2 AM, 4 AM, 6 AM and 9:30 AM. In between, they had us hold a blue tube to his face -- it blew cold air. It is supposed to help reduce inflammation in the lungs.

About 5 AM, we were told that John had a case of pneumonia in his left lung for sure, not sure about the right lung. He didn't have an ear infection. His white blood count was over 20,000. High enough to warrant antibiotics. Sorry kid. They put an IV in around 5:30 AM. John was seriously unhappy with it. They had to try two times before it was successful. After they wrapped it, he forgot about it. Around 6:30 AM they gave him antibiotics and fluids through the IV.

The ER doc told us that she'd be checking John into the hospital for further monitoring and treatment. Since we weren't sure when we'd be going home, we decided that Jared and Maddie should go get some sleep and collect some supplies for an extended stay. They left about 6:30 AM.

John finally fell asleep around 7:00 AM. I tried as well. We had a very squeaky door and we were two feet from the bathroom everyone was using, so sleeping was a bit difficult.

We had been told that John was going to be checked into the hospital for treatment until he was breathing better. But, our pediatrician showed up, and changed the plan -- YEAH PEDIATRICIAN! He sent us home with a nebulizer to continue breathing treatments on our own and oral steroids, and antibiotics.

The respiratory therapist gave John a final breathing treatment at 9:30 AM and then the nurse took out his IV around 9:40 AM.

I called Jared to tell him we were going to be coming home. I'm not sure it really sunk in through his sleep deprived state. I had to call a second time to rouse him again and ask him to come and get us because we were all checked out and at the door. They only got 2 hours sleep before we found out that we were going to be coming home, so both of them were exhausted too. They finally picked us up around 10:30 AM.

Here we are at about 2:30 AM. Maddie was lucky enough to get a blue Popsicle --

it made her look like the one with breathing trouble though!
Here's a picture of John's mummified IV foot.
Here's John about an hour after we got home from picking up

the nebulizer, prescriptions and some lunch.

We gave John a breathing treatment at 1:30 and all crashed for a nap. We were just exhausted.

It's amazing to see how much the medication helps him to breathe. He'll be breathing rapidly, his tummy will extend and contract drastically and he's just cranky. We give him the albuterol, and he just relaxes from head to toe. Of course, this is after the nebulizer is finished -- he hates the nebulizer. It's a wrestle off to get him to breathe the "smoke" as we call it.

Side note: As a mother, this was a terrible experience. I know now that John's life was not in danger, but it sure didn't feel like it at the time. I don't like that feeling. It makes me sick inside with worry, fears and doubts. My children are so precious to me. It's so terrible to think that one of them could be in a life and death struggle. Not a surprise, but I hate the loss of control and not knowing what is coming next. It's also really hard because it's difficult to know how serious it is. When it's in your own body, it's easy to know that it hurts, or is difficult, but you're still surviving. With a baby, there's no real way to judge how terrible it is.

Now that I'm on the other side of the fear, all I can feel is gratitude. I'm so glad it wasn't as scary as it could have been. I'm so thankful for medical care and the wonderful people who make it a more pleasant experience. We had great doctors, nurses and therapists that helped calm our fears and helped us to understand what was happening.

I'm most grateful for a terrific husband. He's just fantastic in a crisis. You couldn't ask for a better thinker, a kinder heart and a great man. He makes things happen and provides a positive spirit all through the night, even when he's exhausted. Thanks dear -- I love you!