Friday, March 7, 2008

Lonely days are here again...

Okay, they're not really THAT lonely, but we've had a rough week! Even if we wanted to go out and have fun, which we did, we didn't leave the house because we really wanted to contain Lucy's nasty bug. Lucy came down with croup last Friday night and it was INSANE! It reminded me a bit of having a newborn, being that we woke up every 20 to 30 mins at night, sometimes up to 2 hours, but this time we had coughing to go with the crying. It sounded so painful. After she woke up Sunday morning with a freakishly scary sound coming from her body when she breathed, we called her doctor's office on-call nurse and found that it was croup with stridor (the stridor is the scary breathing sound, and the croupy cough is something I've never heard before in my life... very different). She explained what to expect and how best to control those stridor fits. I put a mattress on Lucy's floor and slept in her room for the next few nights. The nights were horrible, and the days weren't much better. She couldn't sleep no matter what time of day or night, and her eyes were SOOOOO droopy. She could barely keep them open. So, I know some of you have had this in the past with your kids. Did it freak you out as much as me? I finally took her in to the doctor on Tues (I say finally because it felt like we hadn't slept in weeks) and she was then diagnosed with bronchitis. We started her antibiotics right away and, after one more restless night, we're finally on the right track! She's a thousand times better now. I love modern medicine!


6 comments:

lAuRa said...

Oh Traci, that's horrible! that sounds like a very scary thing to have. I agree and am very grateful for modern medicine! I hope she gets back to normal very soon!! =)

Lisita said...

I think those moments are just as hard on mom & dad as they are on the kid. That sounds miserable and her pictures (while she is still cute Lucy) are so sad b/c you can tell she looks miserable. Glad the worst is over!! Looking forward to playing next week. :)

Lisa R.D. said...

Poor Lucy (and poor Traci and Wade!). I am glad to hear that she is feeling a bit better, hopefully it only gets better from here. You will really, really appreciate the fresh air and outside world once you are out in it. We hope you get all better soon Miss Lucy!!!

The Vause's said...

Wow, I knew Lucy was sick, but I didn't know that it was that bad. I know what not getting any sleep can do to you, so I'm glad that she is sleeping again (for both of your sakes). Being a parent is a very tough job!!!

Kedra Simpson said...

Oh, Lucy's poor little face. She did not look well but I am glad she is doing better. It's so hard to see your precious little child sick like that.

the harpers said...

Those are such sad pictures of Lucy! I can totally understand how you are feeling. For some strange reason, Sam gets croup all of the time! It varies from mild croup, to croup with stridor to severe croup. Last summer (August) Sam spent a night in the hospital because he stopped breathing with croup. He had croup in January (the night Jen went to the Temple) and has it again right now! Woke up with it yesterday. Our Doc suggests that we over treat it rather than under treat it. As soon as we see the symptoms coming on, we take him in, and he gets an injection of Decadron. Then we usally follow up wtih 2-4 days of an oral steroid. Also, humidity is wonderful! Hot steamy shower room, warm air humidifier and then if it is really bad, you can take her out in the cold air for just a minute. Seems strange that warm air helps and then a blast of cold (only for a minute). If it's not super cold outside, you can always use your freezer. I know...this sounds crazy! But, it DOES work!! Several things we have learned (from our Docs) that have made croup more managable with Sam. Good Luck!! We are thinking of you!!!