Croup

Charlie can have anything he wants today, as far as I'm concerned. Croup is a terrible, quick sickness, and when he was struggling to breathe Friday night (it's now Monday), we didn't know what was wrong, and we called the ambulance. He is okay now, though it will be a long few days, I'm sure. Friday started off so well, and our friends L and J came to visit, but about thirty minutes after they were gone, I heard a weird noise on the monitor. Then we heard it again...and again. I started to panic because I knew it wasn't normal, and it sounded like he was struggling to breathe. Justin went in to get him while I grabbed my phone. As J held him, Charlie was out of it from the sudden activity, but he was also not getting one normal breath. It was terrifying. After he continued to struggle, I asked J if I should call 911. At that point, we knew we would rather call than risk waiting to see what happened. The 911 operator walked me through everything. The part that really scared me was when she said to tell her if he "loses consciousness" or "loses color" so she could walk me through the steps for CPR. Holy cow.

The ambulance arrived, and I decided it was best that Justin ride with him. I knew I would be emotional, and sitting in an ambulance definitely wouldn't help. I drove in our Camry behind them while talking to D. At that point, I realized I didn't get to say goodbye, and I watched him leave my site struggling to breathe. I started almost hyperventilating (the closest thing to it in my life) and crying. It was absolutely terrifying.

At the hospital, I walked into the ER and told them I was there for my son. What's crazy is I had to wait about ten minutes while they go him in a room. I had to just stop thinking at that point and stay calm. I feel pretty proud of myself for just sitting there in such a scary situation. I finally got to see him, and they had already helped by giving him medication. They gave him steroids and a nebulizer to help him breathe. Thankfully, after just two hours or so, we were heading home. He handled the hospital really well, from what I gathered. He only got upset a few times, which was heartbreaking, but overall, he was giggling and playing with whatever creative toy we could find or make. At one point, I put something in my sunglasses case, and something inside of that, so he had to open two different things to find stuff. That lasted a good thirty minutes, thankfully. We got home after midnight, and thanks to God, he went right to sleep...and slept until 7:30 a.m., to our amazement. We were so thankful.

This is what was eye-opening for me: the first person who walked in our home after arriving in the ambulance was a teacher I worked with in Madison. I knew she was an EMT, but I never thought about it much. Here she was, in my home, on a Friday night, after teaching high school all week. Here she was, devoting her time as a volunteer to help anyone who needed help, no matter what the circumstance.

Here I was, panicking, watching my kid struggle to breathe, and I was immediately calmed seeing her walk in.

There are a few things I take away from this:

1. EMTs are incredible, selfless people. The two others who came were kind, helpful, soothing people. They made sure I was okay to drive, and they talked us through everything.

2. Teachers who are EMTs must be special gifts sent from God, because I know I can't do a second job on a Friday night--especially one involving saving people's lives.

3. We are all in this together. We may not know our coworkers very well, but when there is someone in need, I have seen people at my job stop everything to help--in both counties. It's all about this deep, natural, inner lining called love. In this case, it was her job, but she was there to be a support. Thank you AH for being my friend in a moment of fear and panic.

4. This was a situation of croup, but there are parents bringing their young children to the hospital for much more serious reasons. When we see an ambulance, we should all stop to send some good or pray for whomever it is. We never know who is in there and why. We don't know if it's an elderly person or a newborn baby.
5. Kids are resilient. Even though it was hours past his normal bedtime (6 pm), and he was in a strange place with strange people, Charlie handled it really well. I don't say this because I'm trying to suggest he's some outstanding toddler. But I noticed that he was fine with seeing the best in what was around him. He wasn't crying and panicking. He went to bed when he could. He rode in an ambulance and didn't scream the entire way. Basically, this event isn't going to scar him for life, which is how I felt in the moment. It's amazing how much kids can get through without being dragged down