too eventful for words

The thought of putting it all into words is exhausting, plus I am still recovering from it myself. It's one of those things you want to just forget about asap and pretend like it never happened. A quick summary - happy miles goes to bed Tuesday night. One hour later wakes up with horrendous sounding cough, and hardly able to breath. You gasp for air while I hook you up to the nebulizer we got a month earlier during a wheezing episode. I quickly realize that this is more than wheezing. You looked at me scared and confused and crying. I was scared, confused and crying. I knew this wasn't good. We thought you might be having a bad allergic reaction, maybe to sesame seeds which were in a chicken dish we had for dinner, or eggs which you had that day as well. We drove to the ER where they immediately took care of you. They hooked you up to a nebulizer (we had to hold you down as you were screaming) and gave you a steroid shot to relax the airways. Diagnosis - Croup (virus causing the upper airways to swell). They sent us home 6 hours later at 3:00am. You slept without a problem through the night. The next day you seem almost normal, playful and interactive. After another normal night, we decided to take you to daycare. I picked you up early that day and immediately noticed on the way home that you were breathing loud and fast. I timed your breathing - about 50 times a minute. The doctor said to bring you back if you breath 40 times a minute. Also, your ribs were contracting when breathing. Another bad sign. So we go back to the ER as it was after five already. The virus seemed to have moved down into your lungs causing the wheezing. They hooked you up to an IV and you had to use the nebulizer again (with albuterol) now every two hours throughout the night. Then every three, then every four until we got to go home nearly 24 hours later... It was heartbreaking seeing you in your little hospital gown on the IV and with the nebulizer mask. At some point you got so restless we took you for a walk down the hall rolling the IV stand behind you. The whole thing was horrible and seemed like a nightmare. It scared me to death.

We are all at home now, recovering from the hardest parenting experience yet. You seem to be yourself already again. I overheard the nurses in the hospital saying that these things are often worst for the parents than the kids. I know what she meant.

Now, we have had some fun over here too. Last weekend we got out the finger paints!

Plus, you walk ALL the time now.