CROUP!!

Have you ever heard of croup??? Me either...that is till this week. Sunday after church Mason started complaining of a sore throat. He had a fever and a strange sounding cough. He had also had a runny nose for a couple days prior to that. On Monday he lost his voice...completely. Whispers were all we could get from him. I really thought he had a bad cold/sinus drainage that caused him to have a sensitive throat and so he wasn't wanting to talk. I put Mason and Owen down for a nap a little after noon and left to go work at Oakdale's (Jackson's school) courtyard for a couple of hours (Kasey's office is at home). Kasey called me a bit before 3 to say that Mason was having some sort of breathing problem. I came right home (we live only 1 minute away) and Mason looked AWFUL. The breaths that he was getting into his body were short and very labored. He had to push so hard to even get the air back out of his lungs. He was a grayish color right around his mouth and his cheeks were bright red. We went right to our doctor's office (only 5 minutes away). Dr. Fletcher is wonderful. We're so blessed to have him right here in town so close to our home. He was very concerned with how Mason looked. He gave him a steroid shot and also a breathing treatment. These two things helped very little and so Dr. Fletcher called an ambulance. Very scary stuff for my sweet little 3 yr old. We spent several hours in the emergency room before we were admitted to a pediatric room with a bad case of the croup followed by a croup attack.
Now, I know that some of you read the blogs of friends who attend church with me and my family. So, it may seem to you that my boys are very "sickly" and pass around every illness lately (fifth disease, croup). Both of the illnesses my boys have had just recently have been due to viruses. Which means they also caught them from SOMEONE. I don't know who, nor do I care. I just know that with kids there is no telling what you may come up with. Here is some information on Croup in case you are curious. (by the way, Owen had it too this week...fun, fun)
Croup is an illness that causes swelling of the airway just below the vocal cords. It is common in infants and children from three months to three years old. Children usually outgrow croup by the age of five, but older children may get it. It usually starts with a cold and sore throat. Your child may have a harsh, barking cough and have trouble breathing. He may have problems swallowing or not be able to sleep.
Your child may suddenly have trouble breathing. This is called a croup attack. Croup attacks often happen at night and may last several days. Some children with bad breathing problems may need to go into the hospital.