A Night to Remember

Once you have a child you quickly realize that parenting is really just one giant roller coaster ride.  There are countless ups and downs that take your breath away and leave you reeling with vertigo.  But you buckle yourself in for the ride and hang on tight because that thrill is better than anything you've ever experienced in your life and you'd walk through fire to get it.  But it's not all a walk in the park.  You also have to brace yourself for those sudden drops to the bottom because they come out of nowhere and hit like a Mack truck.  This weekend was one of those times when Nicholas pulled one out of left field that scared the bejejus out of us.  He had started getting a little sick with a runny nose and sneezing on Thursday.  No big deal, he gets that from time to time.  But by Friday evening the congestion was moving into his chest and I could tell he was getting quite a bit worse.  So, I gave him a dose of medicine and sent him off to bed for a good night's rest......or so I thought!  At about 1:30 I could hear him calling for me so I headed off to his room to check on him.  His congestion was considerably worse and his breathing was a little labored.  I decided it was best for both of us that I just crawl into bed and stay with him the rest of the night.  He tried his hardest to go back to sleep but was so restless and uncomfortable that it took about 2 hours before he was able to fall asleep, and that was merely from exhaustion.  I thought we were set for the rest of the night.  He was nestled in our bed with the vaporizer steaming in the corner, but the quiet slumber didn't last long.  Just before 5:00, he woke up again, but this time was different. He was really struggling to breath now and he was wheezing horribly and kept crying that it hurt.  But the moment that broke our hearts and sealed the deal was when he looked at us and said "Mommy, fix it.  Daddy, fix it."  That was all it took.  We hurriedly got dressed and headed out for the emergency room.  They got him in without any wait and hooked him up to a monitor.  His pulse was soaring at 180 and his oxygen level was very low so they instantly started him on a breathing treatment.  He was really upset and crying his eyes out so Greg and I feared that this would completely send him over the edge.  But he accepted the mask on his face with no problems and within seconds of his first breath I felt his entire body relax and the crying stopped.  You want to talk about two very relieved parents, WHEW!  After a few tests and a lot of waiting they diagnosed him with bronchitis and sent us home with antibiotics and an inhaler.  He's on the mend now and getting better with every passing minute.  The inhaler was a huge help but now we're only giving it to him right before bed to help him sleep comfortably.  I'm so glad the excitement is behind us for now and things are getting back to normal.  We're buckled in tight  and climbing back up the track to the top, ready to take on the next plunge Nicholas decides to throw at us.  And we'll love him through every minute of it.



Lots of TLC!