Easter in the Hospital - Again

Adeline started her Easter off in the ER of the University of North Carolina (much to Daddy's chagrin). Adeline was pretty fussy during our stay in North Carolina but I figured it was just her sensory system being overloaded by the heat, lots of outdoor play, and a new envrinment.  I was wrong.  The night before Easter we put her down to bed and had no inclination that she was sick.  I checked on her at midnight and she was fine.  Alex checked on her an hour or so later and noticed that she was restless.  He was sharing a room with her and observed her begin to cry and work harder and harder to breath.  Eventually, he woke me up.  I was pretty alarmed with what I saw.  Adeline was retracting between her ribs, something I haven't seen in years, and making a terrible noise during inspiration.  We tried to hook her up to the pulse ox but discovered we forgot the probe for her toe.  I knew right then, we were headed to the ER.

Upon arrival, they whisked us back to acute care, bypassing triage.  I told them she needed oxygen and a pulse ox reading ASAP.  A nurse mentioned she had croup.  I thought to myself, "What does she know.  She doesn't know her history and I am sure that changes things."  Well, I was wrong.  Preemie or not, croup is croup.  You bark like a dog and sound  like a train when breathing.  The doctor was somewhat alarmed because her airway was so tight.  He asked again and again if she had something lodged in her throat.  Confidently, I told him there was no chance my little girl swallowed a toy because she is orally adverse to such things.  At that point, he ordered an inhaled vasocontrictor which was magical.  It constricted those blood vessels which took the airway swelling down.   The noise stopped and Adeline could finally get a full breath of air.  They also put her on some hefty 72 hour steroid which saw us through the rest of our trip.  Adeline had to wait around for a few more hours to rule out a relapse and once she proved herself, she was discharged at 6:00 a.m.  Happy Easter to her!

I let Alex and Adeline sleep in while I got the other two girls dressed and ready for the big day.  It wasn't exactly how we had it planned but I soon changed my expectations and was thankful that Adeline wasn't admitted.  This family has been in the hospital EVERY April since the twins were born.  It just isn't our month.