Asthma Attack
The week started with Luke’s live yogurt test in the doctor’s office. The next morning, he threw up. I thought it was a fluke. He felt fine the rest of the morning, until he threw up again at lunch. By Thursday morning, Lydia and I were both down for the count, too. I will spare you the intimate details, but I’ll just say there was lots of sleep lost and bedsheets changed.
By the time Luke was better, he had a runny nose. This head cold seemed to activate his asthma. I had given him a break from the Pulmicort for two days while his tummy was upset. He threw up after a dose of albuterol, and I guess I was gunshy after that. I’m not sure if the missed dosed of Pulmicort made a difference, but by Saturday morning, the cold had set off an asthma attack. We gave him albuterol three times that day, which seemed to keep the wheezing and coughing tamed.
This morning (Sunday) he woke up with a pretty loud wheeze, which did not improve with albuterol. We called the nurse-on-call, who said we needed to have the on-call doctor paged at 8:30, which was still a few hours away. Luke’s breathing continued to get more labored, so I called the nurse back. She had me time his breaths per minute (which were at 68) and she listened to his wheezing over the phone. She said to try one more dose of albuterol, and if that didn’t help, to go to the Emergency Room. So, after another does that didn’t touch it, we went.
Of course nothing goes quickly in the ER, so by the time it was said and done, Luke had gotten a dose of oral Prelone, had a breathing treatment of Xeponex, had a nap, and had puked down my back.
We’re going back to his pediatrician tomorrow to follow up.
God has taken care of us this week. Keith was able to take off work for three days. The timing of when each of went down with the flu worked out so that someone was always available to take care of the others. Friends and family brought us Gatorade, chicken soup, and other food. I even got a three-hour nap today, followed by an early Thanksgiving dinner with Keith’s parents.
I have a couple of books about asthma checked out from the library right now. Any other asthma and allergy moms out there have some recommendations for good resources? I feel like I need to start reading to understand what we’re dealing with.
Oh, and that house is still being built. It is totally not on my radar at the moment, although we still need to make a few final decisions. I think I’ll save the rest of the house pictures for a final unveiling next month, but we did notice some interesting wild plants growing there recently.
Mystery Berry
Hedgeapples
Janet Saxon says:
Wow. I can hardly believe what you all have been through this last week. I can only continue pray healing into your home. Lydia was missed in Sunday school this morning. I will send her a card tomorrow so she will know. Many children were missing; we had a small class of 3 children.
Shayla Hale says:
Amy - I’m an adult with allergies/asthma. I’ve lived with it my entire life. My encouragement - find his triggers and stay on top of them. I had a rough weekend too - rode my bike home from church on Saturday afternoon and by the evening was wheezy and coughing. I had even used my inhaler. Sometimes the wind bring this out that trigger us - so watch him outdoors with the windy fall, leaves, mold, etc. By the time he turns 1 mabye you can have him tested and start allergy treatments. Xeponex is so much easier on the body than plain albuterol (though a lot more expensive) and maybe a nebulizer for at home would be a good investment - I use mine several times a year. I will be praying for you - this is so hard. And, until he can really tell you what he is feeling, you have to guess at what is going on. See if your insurance has an asthma education program - some of them do. There is so much more available now than when I was little. Blessings and prayers - Shayla