Didn’t Expect This…

I was writing another post and then we had a fairly eventful weekend! So, a post about other areas of our life is coming soon, but—in regards to this weekend:

We had to take Leo to the ER on Saturday. He wasn’t breathing well, wheezing and coughing. I don’t mean to make this sound too dramatic. But yeah. He had a rough night Friday, a lot of mucus and very restless, but we hadn’t heard much coughing or stuff in his throat. However, he does this gasping/gulping thing when his reflux and congestion combine (my words, not a doctors 😉). So he was doing that but I was able to get it under control. Got him sleeping comfortably on me. But when he woke up from his morning nap, he was wheezing. And it was getting worse not better. He sounded like a squeaker toy. Made a couple of calls and drove to the ER. He wasn’t turning colors from lack of oxygen, but it was NOT a good car ride. 

He got a steroid treatment there. We waited for a couple of hours to see if things got worse again. Then we gave him some food to see if that would trigger anything. The tests came back as “rhinovirus” which the doctor said is the common cold. But also that Leo had a croup cough. 

We left after about 4 hours with Leo much calmer. Our biggest job has been suctioning out mucus (ick) and keeping him hydrated and humid to keep everything loose. 

Leo and I had a much better night than we expected Saturday. I slept in the living room with him. A cough didn’t keep him up. He got food and woke up for about an hour and a half. Brad took over in the morning and I got 4 more hours of good sleep. 

Today is Monday and Leo is doing a LOT better! Some sweet praises from this out-of-nowhere sickness:

1) The doctor said something like, “It could be croup. A couple of things don’t seem to line up to me, but this could just be the way it presents in his body with all that he has going on.” Music to my ears and such a sweet gift to hear from the doctor! What I heard in that was that the doctor was assessing the situation while acknowledging the full picture of Leo. It left room for us to say, “Well, when he eats this happens,” or “His sleep usually looks like this.” I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but it was so comforting to hear that he was acknowledging that some of Leos issues could complicate or distort what we’re used to seeing. We just felt very seen.

2) Doc was also a friend of our brother-in-law!

3) Our nurse, D, was here Friday night and helped me extra on Saturday morning. She also is coming tonight. Getting less sleep over the weekend felt more doable because I knew that D was coming on Monday and I’d for sure have down time.

4) We trust D with Leo’s care. We feel comfortable with her. She not only cares for him well, but makes extra effort to express that she’s here to help us. She’s just a real gift!

5) We haven’t had to go back to the ER 🙌🏼

6) Our nurse at the ER was so kind and comforting and explained everything to us.

7) Leo was doing well enough on Sunday night that my parents came to watch him and Brad and I got to go to a concert! So grateful for family and them giving us time. And the concert was soul-refreshing.

Ok, I honestly didn’t expect to write all of that out, but if you were curious about our weekend or what it’s like to take a trip to the ER with Leo, there it is. 

Sending a pic to family right after the steroid treatment to show that Leo is a lot calmer.

Also a pic to the family at 4am to entertain myself with giving them an update on our night and that it did, actually, involve sleep.

Leo relajes differently with Daddy than he does with anyone else ❤️