A trip to the ER

Saoirse and Sophie have both had colds since Monday, the third for both since mid- March. Saoirse started getting a bit wheezy yesterday evening and by 12.30 this morning was crying in bed constantly, looking for Daddy (who was right next to her), coughing and hacking, wheezing and sweating. This meant, of course, that William and I were up also. She tossed and turned all night, and we were lucky if any of us got an hour's sleep in total.

This morning she lay on the couch with me, and when she had a glass of milk she immediately threw it up, all over herself and the couch. Poor baby. I tried to give her some medicine and she cried "No way! I don't like it, Mummy!" On and off she slept and wheezes, hacked and coughed. It was something else watching her breathe, I'd never seen a chest move up and down so quickly.

I needed to take her to the doctor, but there was absolutely no one to watch Sophie, so I had to wait until Taylor came home at 12.30. Off we went, and she was so wheezy the whole way over. She went to play while we waited and didn't even have the energy, less than a minute after standing on her own for the first time all day she was in tears.

Into the doctor's we go. Her first question is "Does she have asthma?" I say that the pediatrician's office had said she probably did and then said no, she probably doesn't. She had me take off her shirt and said "That is asthma."

Saoirse was given a little fish mask and received a ventilin treatment. I was told NEVER to let it go so long again and was told to go to the Stoll.ery, which is the children's hospital at the U of A, because she did not respond to the treatment.

I ended up taking her to the Mis, because it is my hospital, where I work and my mum works, and because it is closer to home than the U. My mum tells me that if she is really bad, the Mis will transfer her anyway. By the time we get there she is sounding a lot better, definitely a bit laboured but nowhere near what she has been. The ER is operating at full capacity, so I'm a bit worried that I will have a long wait. She is assessed by the nurse, RT is called and she is put into a resus room before she is even admitted. He triaged her as a 2, so I think that helped. If she had been a 3 we probably wouldn't have been seen for ages.

Her oxygen is at 94% so they put her on ventilin treatments with the oxygen at 5. She had 3 ventilin treatments over an hour and a half, and one dose of predisolone. We were given an inhaler for her and a couple of prescriptions. We were seen and out in 2 hours. Yay, Mis! Very impressive!

She's better tonight, still laboured, but so tired from the lack of sleep last night, that she was down for the count just after 8. Here's hoping she sleeps through the night and that it rains early enough tomorrow that William gets the day off. If he gets the day off, I have lunch plans with 2 friends. One can always hope.