Oxygen Emergency

As a mother, the scariest thing you'll ever have to do is rush you child to the Emergency Room. Unfortunately for us, this wasn't the first time. We had a super fun day sledding in the snow and to our surprise, Lucas was ready to bed by 8:00p.m! He was so sleepy and I naturally assumed that he was worn out from all of our fun.

When getting him ready to bed, I realized that his breathing was a bit labored. It wasn't too much for an alarm, but something I noted and decided to keep watch on.

At two in the morning we heard a horrible scream. I ran in to check on my baby only to find him sitting in bed wheezing oh so loudly. I lifted up his shirt and saw that his stomach was sucking in so hard with each breath that I could see his rib cage. And not to mention that he was breathing nearly three times as fast and his heart felt like it was ready to pound its way out of his tiny little chest.

I threw him in bed with daddy and went to call the hospital. Did you know that the Native Hospital "isn't able to give advice over the phone." Are you kidding me?? What kind of hospital doesn't offer advice to patients in need? I called the "White-people" hospital as my husband jokes, and they were beyond helpful. She told me to definitely get him in and informed me how I can potentially switch hospitals if I choose.

Once we arrived, Lucas was immediately brought back into the triage area and checked out. He was hesitant on the pulse-ox meter being put onto his toe, but he eventually agreed. We waited a few moments and the machine loudly beeped and displayed the oxygen results...along with a red LOW WARNING! At the same time, the heart rate numbers appear with a HIGH WARNING! I feel guilty, but for a moment there I was actually relieved. I don't want to be seen as one of those mom's who over reacts with anything to do with their child, but as a mother, I know when something is wrong.



We were escorted back to the ER and Lucas was immediately given a breathing treatment. He was not very thrilled in the beginning, but eventually realized that this was a battle that he could not win. He soon thought it was fun and insisted on holding the mask himself. He really is the biggest goober! We waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity for the doc to come examine him. She was still concerned with the wheezing she was hearing post breathing treatment, so she ordered another round. This I did NOT expect. My younger brother needed a nebulizer breathing treatment very often when I was little, but it NEVER took more than one dose to get him breathing properly.

After the second dose was done we were discharged and sent home with an inhaler to treat him with. The first day being home was miserable and I used that darn thing nearly 6 times. But I am happy to report that his breathing is back to normal and he is doing just fine! (With the exception of a running nose and a miserable and sick mommy). My body hasn't quite recovered from that missing night's sleep and I don't understand why my child has so much energy. It just goes to show how truly resilient children are!