RSV..Really?

My in laws were nice enough to watch Baby E for us last night so S and I could have date night.  I knew he had a cold and I warned them about it.  He had sort of a rough night and when S picked him up he was weezing in a way that would make any mother cringe.  


We called the Nurse Line and she asked if I could hold the phone up to him so she could hear it.  After just a few seconds she told us to take him to the emergency room.  Thank God we have one of the best children’s hospital in our back yard.  


We got there and I was so nervous that we’d be waiting forever to get in to see a doctor but they don’t play around there.  From the time we got there to the time we saw a doctor maybe 30 minutes had elapsed.  Baby E smiled and giggled for everyone we saw.  If you couldn’t hear him, you wouldn’t know there was a problem.  He’s such a good natured baby.  


They gave him a test to determine if he had RSV and then they have him a breathing treatment which he did NOT appreciate.  He hated it.  You would’ve thought they were performing surgery.  He gets so hot and sweaty.  He really did wear himself up.  


The results came back that he did.  I knew about RSV because I work for a pharmacy that dispenses a medication for that protects high risk babies from getting RSV.  But I never thought I’d potentially need it.  RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) is a lot like a bad cold. It causes the same symptoms. And like a cold, it is very common and very contagious. Most children have had it at least once by age 2.


With that diagnosis they made us stay for a while to watch his oxygen in take.  He was right on the cusp of getting admitted.  Never the less, they let us take him home with an albuterol inhaler (just like mama’s) to treat it every 4 hours.  I’m praying he doesn’t get any worse or else we’ll end up back in the ER. 


As a mother I have never been so scared.  I never want to see him go through anything like that.      There was nothing I could do but comfort him.  Talk about feeling helpless.  I’ll keep you all posted on his condition but at the moment we’re doing ok.  Happy to be home.