Illness

Up to this point, we had a fairly healthy winter. Our only trip to the pediatrician was TJ's well-child visit in late November. I have been very thankful and grateful for the boys' good health. We've had several rounds of colds, but nothing serious.

That all changed on Saturday night. Sam caught a nasty bug that settled in his chest. I was giving him breathing treatments twice that day, but he was still wheezing heavily. I was concerned and was fairly sure I'd be calling the doctor first thing Monday morning. He cemented that decision when he came to me crying at 5:45 a.m. Monday morning, telling me that he had an ear infection. The doctor's office got him in at 9:30, and determined that yes, he had an ear infection. He also had a low pulse ox level, and his lungs sounded terrible. They put him on antibiotics, a steroid, and a different prescription for his nebulizer. Within 24 hours, the old Sam was starting to come back.

On Wednesday, it hit Nolan. He was running a temp and had a horrible sounding cough. I kept him home from church Wednesday night, and got him in to see the doctor Thursday morning. His diagnosis? Croup. He was put on the same steroid as Sam. Thankfully, Nolan's ears and throat checked out fine.

On Friday, it was TJ's turn. He got up in the middle of the night, coughing so hard he vomited. He was also feverish. He got the day off from school and I called the doctor promptly at 9 a.m. I actually asked them to just call in the same steroid for him too, but they insisted on seeing him. However, they didn't charge me a copay (I suddenly had a $15 mystery credit, which I was grateful for), and after they saw him, they called the steroid in.

I think Bill and I both had a mild version of this bug. I'm hoping this is it for the season and that spring is coming soon.