Friday Night -- I put Ben down at his normal 8:00 pm bedtime. He was fine, no issues at all, just a normal night. Around 10:45 pm he woke up. I was frustrated when I heard him making noise through the monitor because...well...it is Ben and he doesn't sleep well and it was only 10:45 and he was waking up already. So I let him cry for a few minutes, but then he started coughing and it sounded really bad. I could tell something wasn't right and rushed to his room at that point.
When I got him, the poor boy was wheezing really bad and was having some trouble breathing. Then he coughed again and I heard it...the croup. I started to really get worried and we made our way to the bathroom and turned on the hot shower. I called my pediatrician and waited for one of the nurses to call me back so I could explain the situation and get direction on what I should do. This was the first time he had trouble breathing since he was hospitalized for RSV. I was shaking as I rocked him in the bathroom. All those feelings when he was in the ICU that I have pushed away came flooding back.
My parents made there way over as we waited for the nurse to call just in case we needed to bring him in. My mom heard his wheezing over the phone and was just as scared as I was. Finally the nurse called and we talked through everything. He said that if we heard him wheezing with every breath from several feet away, we needed to bring him to Texas Childrens. When he first woke up, this was definitely the case but his condition was started to improve. Once I got off the phone and we observed Ben for a while longer. I feel that we finally got to a point where he was okay and my parents left around midnight. (P.S. Don't know what we would do without them.)
I rocked my sweet Ben back to sleep and woke with him several more times that night since I didn't want to take any chances with his wheezing. I thought all of this was in the past, but realized that I need to be extra careful with him this winter. I also need to talk to his pediatrician about what could happen and when to be really worried. Children who have been hospitalized due to RSV/breathing issues as a newborn have a higher risk of breathing problems later. I was hoping Ben wouldn't be in this category since we have had no issues since last February, but I realized we still have to be careful and keep a close watch.
Monday Evening -- Chat and Luke went to the park so I could cook dinner. Ben was crawling around the kitchen at my feet and I was cutting potatoes while talking to my mom on the phone (clearly not watching Ben with a close eye). All of a sudden, Ben starts making this horrible wretching noise and he seems to be choking. I slam the phone down (my mom still on the line not knowing what is going on...only hearing Ben's scary noises and me screaming "Oh no!"). I immediately put my finger in his mouth to feel for anything he could be choking on. I feel something but it is far down there, so when I say I put my finger down his throat, I mean all the way. My knuckle that is closest to my palm was all scratched up because of his teeth and I have very long fingers. I fish out what is in there pull out what seems to be a ball of fibers from our rug. But blood comes up with it too and he is screaming like crazy. I bounce and walk him around trying to call him down and nothing seems to be working.
After about five minutes of screaming, I finally nurse him and he starts to calm down. I am still thinking about the blood, so I call the on-call doctor. In a nutshell, he thinks that I might have damaged his soft tissue in his throat trying to fish out the fibers. He said it should heal on its own and to not worry...just watch him closely.
We finally get back to normal (well, Ben, I am still shaking) and try to go about our night. I am not really sure if he could have really choked from the ball of fibers, but I have never experienced Ben or Luke making noises like that. I thought his skin around his lips was a little blue but that could have been from my finger being down his throat for so long as I tried to pull it out.
All in all, one of the most scary moments of my life. It was a little bit of a wake-up call that I need to watch him more and sweep our floors more often to pick up the dirt and other things that it collects. I also need to get refreshed with infant CPR. My poor mom heard everything and had no idea what was happening. I think it took her just as long to recover as it did me.
After all that, we ended up going to Baskin Robbins with the boys to take our minds off of the experience. And Ben got his first taste of chocolate ice cream -- much deserved I think...
Don't worry, big brother got some too! He loves him some rainbow sherbert :).
I think I needed wine more than ice cream, but the ice cream was a close second. These little boys are my life and I just don't know what I would do if something happened to them. I am counting my blessings that nothing more serious happened and hoping for some low-key, scare-free days ahead :).
3 comments:
This is such a heart stopper! Hope this has passed and doesn't return! The boys had rsv as infants and then as the seasons change every year you can count on them needing breathing treatments. Their first treatment they were about 8 mo. Old...torture x2!
Thanks for the heads up Leah! I am a bit worried about this fall/winter. If it is anything like last winter, I am in for a lot. I hope he stays healthy! Hope your boys are doing well and that you are loving your new home!
Bethany! I feel like I jinxed you when I emailed you about Grayson's issues. I was so jealous that Ben hadn't had any problems and I hate to hear that the wheezing monster has struck you guys! We deal with wheezing on a constant basis, so let me know if you want to talk or discuss some of the things/medications we use for control of it.
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