RSV

[PrincessFiona]

It's official. Yesterday afternoon, Aidan started grunting while he was breathing 8O . By 5pm he was totally lethargic and didn't even care if he was held anymore....I called the pediatrician on call and we were referred to the ER. In any case, he had a temp (101.5....not too bad), ear infections in both ears and RSV. I was given the choice to admit him or come home and I chose to come home. We were given a nebulizer (did you know those little air blowing machines cost over $300??? At least that is what they bill the insurance companies 8O .

We didn't leave the ER until midnight and then I had to go to the Pharmacy in St. Cloud to pick up the albuterol for the neb as well as amox. for his ears....and would you believe that after submitting his insurance information twice to Blue Cross Blue Shield they STILL don't have him in the system? I had to pay out of pocket for all of the meds after showing my ID to prove that I wasn't someone trying to use someone else's insurance

I was supposed to go in for a follow-up with the ped. this am but I overslept because I was up so late last night....Thomas was getting up to go for work and I realized that school for my older children had already started....Thomas left and then I realized that the VAN WONT START!!! So I had to call the schools and tell them that the kids would be staying home and cancel my appt. with the pediatrician I have a 2 month checkup on Friday and I talked to her today and she said that as long as he doesn't have any more trouble breathing we'll be fine....

~sigh~ poor little Aidan

kris

[peggyfromwastate]

That's terrible kris! I hope you are all doing better! Did Aiden cooperate and hold still during the neb treatment? Poor guy!

By the way, I think you may have gotten an el primo neb because the one we bought about 1 year ago cost about $150 (copay for us was $30). I think they really really inflate those charges-- they are basically little tiny air compressors... For $300 you can get a monster sized air compressor!

[houseelf]

Kris!

I'm sorry that I missed your call last night (I was sleeping...so tired nowadays). Anyway....GET WELL SOON LITTLE AIDAN!!! How scary is this? Keep us posted.
Yikes!

Kelly

[migirl]

Sorry to hear that the little guy isn't doing so hot, I hope he starts feeling better soon.

BTW, for us non-parents ... what is RSV?

[PrincessFiona]

Thanx guys...he does seem to be feeling a little better today..it sort of waxes and wanes.....

RSV is short for Respiratory Syncytial Virus... It causes flu-like symptoms but can progress into a life threatening illness in children at high risk. Aidan doesn't fall into any of the high risk categories but he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis after being observed and getting an x-ray, That's basically just a way of saying that he was having trouble breathing, I think??

In any case, he was a real trooper last night....he tolerated the neb fine..they just did it as a blow over (is that how you say it?). He even did well with the x-ray..they strap them into this barbaric looking device that squeezes them into position..only their heads are sticking out 8O He didn't even cry...I just stood by and talked with him....I'd love to give my mothering skills credit for that but I think it had more to do with his lethargy than anything else!

kris

[SueC]

I'm so sorry to hear that he has RSV! We did percussion on Syd's back and chest during the breathing treatments as well, which seemed to help her breathe. We ended up in the hospital when Syd had it, but it was mainly because she really needed more aggressive treatment by the respiratory therapists than we could do at home and she needed frequent nasal suction (with an actual machine that sucks it out--gross but very effective) to keep her breathing well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you don't get to that point! Sounds like your instincts were right Kris--I hope little Aiden gets better very soon!!!

[SueC]

The good thing about the nebulizer is once you get one, it's yours to keep. We've been using ours for over 2 years now and it has saved us many trips to the ER or urgent care!

Ah, yes, RSV. I remember my DH cursing under his breath about this during his rotations in PICU and NICU. Apparently, when this hits in January, the Peds unit is overflowing with patients so that they've got kids in the halls for lack of beds.

Poor little Aiden though. Sounds like the last 24-48 hours have been hectic. Hope things get better soon for the little baby.

[Meenah]

I hope he is better soon and you get some sleep. Tis the season for RSV in the ER. Your instincts are great, always follow you gut feeling.
Luanne

Poor Aidan!
I hope he is feeling better soon!

[BonBon]

Poor Aidan, how's he doing now?

I don't know much about RSV, I know I've seen a scary looking "ad" in parenting magazines that shows a lil' baby hooked up to a lot of tubes.

I hope he feels better soon!!!

[SueC]

Any updates Kris? I've been thinking about you guys!

[PrincessFiona]

I'm just online for a quick sec. Generally speaking, it is an upward trend. He'll be doing great though one hour and then the next hour he is a coughing, crying fiend. The worst part is that he wants to be held now 24/7 I'm not sure if this is a comfort thing now or a habit that he wants to hold onto...I'm giving in and am basically carrying him everywhere right now...but I hope he is well soon. Thomas is off today and after a couple of hours he has been begging for mercy "My arm is tired, can you hold him" after 10 minutes

Thanks for asking...Sue...how are your girls????

kris

[SueC]

Kris, do you have a sling or snugli that you can carry him around in? That might free your arms up a bit.
Maya is doing fantastic--the rocephin did the trick and she is a different kid. Sydney has been getting worse, though she hasn't been as wore as Maya ever was. She is coughing and wheezing and up until today, was running a mid to low fever. I don't think she has pneumonia but the wheezing thing has me worried. We've now been to the doctor 4 days in a row and I'm worried I'm going to be labeled as an over-anxious parent. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone is well by Tuesday so we can resume mother's day out.