Emme's Hospital Stay

The IV was the worst part- still not sure if it was as bad for her as it was me watching and helping the 7 other people in our room putting the IV in Emme.

Emme likes this- her own big girl bed with a tv and snacks!

Emme woke up Saturday morning screaming which is quite unusual. She was breathing kind of heavy and had a runny nose but nothing that said run to the hospital. So we called the doctor and headed over, skipping Emme's favorite time of the week- music class. While on the phone with the doctor Emme was screaming still and the doctor was sure she must have an ear infection the way she was hollering. When we got there Emme was so upset still but was able to calm down for a few minutes when she saw the horses and her friend Arnold the pig. Emme's pediatrician is located on a horse farm. She listened to her, checked her ears, throat, and finally the dreaded strep test. Everything was perfect- no ear infection, throat was clear, no strep only a little bit of wheezing. So after a treatment we left with instructions to call in an hour with an update. We took a walk for some fresh air and all was good for awhile until it was time to eat when Emme started screaming again and refused to eat anything. I called the doctor again and I was instructed to check her from head to toe for anything out of the ordinary. Since I found nothing I took her back to the doctor where she heard a little crackle in her lungs and saw her drawing her skin in between her ribs a little as she was taking a breath. So we headed to the hospital for a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia.

We were taken immediately and spent three hours in the emergency room receiving breathing treatments and oral steroids when finally they agreed she had to be admitted since she was "desatting" terrible after every treatment. Normal oxygen sat levels are supposed to be around 100, Emme's ranged mid 80's. Emme was treated for asthma last winter with a nebulizer but was weaned off in April because she was doing so well and was not having any episodes while taking her maintenance med- pulmicort. Her asthma trigger is any kind of infection or cold. Doctors at the hospital could not find anything wrong with Emme other than a runny nose! This huge asthma episode was the result of something so minor which was so upsetting to me. Not that I wanted her to have something major like RSV or pneumonia but learning that a simple little viral infection could have such an awful effect on such a little kid. So after a three day stay at Northern Westchester Hospital where Emme was treated like a princess, and not just because she was the only kid on the peds floor, we were able to come home. We do have to follow a new course of action with the nebulizer similar to that of last year with pulmicort and then adding albuterol only when an episode occurs but now we are including the chewable singulair pill also which has shown to really help some kids tackle their asthma better. We will see how it goes. Emme is such a trooper. I have been told by many doctors that she is such a happy asthma kid that even when she is feeling awful she finds a way to smile through it.