ER ---> RSV

Erin didn't have a high fever today, but she was just not herself. It was in the 30s this morning, so we drove Ian to school. Erin fell asleep in the car. She ate about 3 bites of eggs for breakfast, but kept laying her head on my shoulder and dropping off to sleep. Her cough was getting worse. After her 3rd nap, her difficulty breathing was getting worse, even after the nebulizer. She was at around 60 breaths per minute. The ER doc later said that normal is in the 20s. Yikes. We loaded everything up, picked Ian up from school (it was nap time, he wasn't that upset to leave early) and went to Siloam Springs to the ER.
We had thought about going to Stilwell Hospital, where Erin was born and where Ian's croupy ER visit had taken place, but the ER there had failed to catch a case of appendicitis in an acquaintance the day before, resulting in a very scary ride to Siloam Springs for an appendectomy today. Poor woman. So we decided that we would go to Siloam Springs and drive around until we found the hospital.
Chris's uniform and Erin's age got us to the top of the list and moved to a better lobby. The nice volunteer gave the kids little sewn teddy bears, made by a local church. Ian's didn't stay nice looking long; he played pretty hard with it. Erin stopped fussing long enough to say hello to hers.
We got to triage pretty fast, but had to wait for a bed. I got to sit and get Erin admitted (are there any emergency numbers we can call? (they all live in FL) Do you mind if your case is monitored by student doctors? (How else are they going to learn?) Is Erin a male or a female? (incredulous smile).
Finally we got into our room, plopped Ian down with his busy bag (I knew that our things-to-do bag was still unpacked from the camping trip for a reason) and waited. An ER nurse with cool hair gave Ian some coloring papers and a quilty type blanket for Erin, created and donated by a generous and crafty soul from Bella Vista. This was great and very comforting for Erin, who snoozed off and on. Eventually, over the course of a few hours, Erin got a breathing treatment, an RSV test and a chest x-ray. They all agreed that she was one sick little doll. She cried and fussed a lot, especially when they had to hold her down for the x-ray and when the respiratory nurse sucked out her nose with the Blue Beast (though the hospital's bulb syringe was more of a teal color).
Then we waited for the lab to send back the test results. After quite a bit longer, after we had all checked out the main ER bathroom, where ER waiters are sent and those who are retrieving specimens go, I decided to hold it if I had to go again. It was just used a lot and no one felt like sitting on the seat. It reminds me of the kind of bathroom that usually gets assigned to people doing community service. The kind that teaches you very effectively to go and sin no more. Eek. You get the picture.
The results came back. It was RSV pneumonia.

*For those interested in the intricacies of this, read on. If not, skip to the next paragraph. From www.cdc.gov: "Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States.
Symptoms of RSV infection are similar to other respiratory infections. A person with an RSV infection might cough, sneeze, and have a runny nose, fever, and decrease in appetite. Wheezing may also occur.
Infants and children infected with RSV usually show symptoms within 4 to 6 days of infection. Most will recover in 1 to 2 weeks. However, even after recovery, infants and children can continue to spread the virus for 1 to 3 weeks."


She had another breathing treatment and her lungs were listened to again. The good news is that we were right to take her to the ER. The bad news is that it's a virus and we're just going to have to get through it. The breathing treatments help a bit, but we were told to keep sucking out her nose, pound her on the back to loosen the mucus in her lungs, keep the fevers down if they come back and keep the fluids going. Her oxygen levels were good and we were free to go. We got a scrip for Prednisolone to help with inflamed airways. So that was that.
We went to Walmart, got our scip, then to McDonald's for Happy Meals (Ian: "Oh, you so proud of me, I get a Happy Meal!") and then we went home so my wonderful HC could work the rest of his shift. It's really neat to see who your friends really are when emergencies happen. We had several calls of "what can I do?" from friends and co-workers. We had offers to watch Ian and pick him up from school and lots of "How are thing?" calls. It was just very reassuring and fuzzy-feeling.
And there's nothing like talking to your Mom when you start to doubt yourself. Just another instance of "you were SO right." Thanks Mom.