A&E Round Two

At the time of writing I was waiting for Mister Husband and Shy Boy to come home from A&E.

Nothing serious.  History repeating itself which kept me calm.   I knew what to expect so I was not the least bit surprised when A&E was his last port of call for the day.

Shy Boy woke with a whistle and a wheeze in his chest.  He went to school as normal but on coming home it was clear he needed to see the GP.

Over the course of an hour he had two rounds of a nebulizer plus a dose of steroids.

His oxygen levels improved and I was glad to see his complexion pinking up but he was still “tugging” with his breathing.

So for the second time in as many months, and it has to be said, years, we visited A&E.

When Shy Boy was 7 months old he had a particularly nasty case of bronchiolitis and he needed to be nebulized.

For as long as I can remember he has had a loud, sharp bark, particularly at night.  Not totally unlike a seal.

On occasion I would notice a wheeze in his chest but it never developed.

Monday we were told he most likely had several small asthma episodes over the years but as they were minor, we didn’t notice.

Straight away I remembered the handful of wheezing, coughing and chesty issues he had.  A year ago on summer holidays, he asked for “a go” of Oldest Boy’s puffer to help his chest.

Something worth noting, if a child is to develop asthma, it will be by the time they are two or three years old.  Not older.  And as a result, there is a strong possibility they will grow out of it. 

Within twenty four hours Shy Boy was all but 100% improved.  I kept him home from school, more for my own peace of mind than anything else.  But I also wanted to make sure he knew how to use his puffer correctly.

Then he told me Oldest Boy had come to him in the school yard to see if he was ok and my heart almost did two things; burst with pride for Oldest Boy keeping a concerned eye on his younger brother and broke with the guilt of sending Shy Boy to school when he was feeling so badly.

But there is a lovely upside to the whole episode.

Shy Boy was in great form altogether.

I can quite honestly say I have not seen him so chipper in quite a while.

I think the small bit of attention he received did wonders for his self-worth.  I think he thoroughly enjoyed the one on one time with his daddy the night before.  The half hour journey to the hospital in the van, the treats afterwards and when he got home, I slept in beside him.

He’s great now.  He needs his puffer a lot during the day to help his chest but this is expected to decrease considerably until he may not need it so regularly.  If at all.

This evening, he is coughing a little bit but hasn’t requested his puffer at all.

I think he’s almost cured.  Now all I have to do is purchase a large staple gun somewhere to keep his clothes on.