Two for Two

We just got home from CHOP ER for Michael. His breathing was getting worse as the day progressed and by the time it was time to do something the ped's office had closed. Frankly, it was for the best. They heard something in his lungs so we had to do a chest X-ray to r/o pneumonia (thankfully negative). They've given him a tentative diagnosis of asthma which really isn't a surprise to me. Every time he's gotten sick over the past several months it's gone straight to his chest and I've found myself doing respiration counts on him as a matter of course when his breathing has gotten bad. I even went so far as to bring up asthma with John on the phone this afternoon, describing the kind I thought Michael might have.

Rather than go the nebulizer route for treatment, they gave us an inhaler and a spacer. I cannot even begin to describe how well this worked. All I have to do is give him two puffs which he takes happily - as opposed to the crying and screaming that would accompany the 15-20 minute breathing treatment (I think - but given past experiences it is almost a definite). Even if I had called earlier in the day and gotten him into the office, there was a good chance we'd have still ended up at the hospital for the X-ray and I'm almost positive they would have just given me the scrip for albuterol for his nebulizer rather than the inhaler, so I'm tired but pleased.

He was absolutely wonderful in the ER. We were in the exam room for almost four hours and he pretty happily stayed on the bed and put up with his vitals being taken and the repeated requests for him to breath so they could hear his lung sounds. I am sure some of this is because it's a pediatric hospital. It's a definite pain for us to get there, but in the end it is completely worth it to be at a place where the staff only works with kids.

Now that he's settled and this is written, I'm off to bed as well. Let's just pray that I can avoid the whole "comes in threes" thing because I have no desire to sit in the ER tomorrow for John, something I've had to do twice during this season in the past and once before while this pregnant so no accidents tomorrow!