Our Three Sons: We just love Hospitals! A week from h....

This post is just to document the worst week yet of our parenting experience...

It all started Saturday morning...

Alex starts runnning a 104°F fever out of the blue
I suspect it's the flu because he's had it 3 times already (how sad is that...he's only 4 and been vaccinated each time)
In order for Tamiflu to work (the antiviral medication for the flu) you have to take it within the first 48 hours of having symptoms
So, I decide to take him to the ER (yes, our pediatrician does not work weekends, and the ER is usually pretty quick)
They diagnose him with a sinus infection and send us home with antibiotics

Sunday morning...

Jeff leaves for the airport @ 10am to go to Arizona for a week long trip
fortunately, Jeff's mom stays with us while Jeff is gone (CRITICAL as you will see)
everyone feels well as the boys go down for their afternoon nap

Sunday afternoon...

@noon, Matt starts coughing
within 15 minutes he is vomiting while coughing (and I unfortunately recognize the cough - barking seal sound - CROUP)
I give him an albuterol nebulizer breathing treatment, change the sheets, clean him up and try to put him back to bed
15 minutes later, the coughing and vomiting starts again...Repeat step above
30 minutes later, again more coughing and vomiting
I call the pediatrician's off hours number hoping to get some steroids Rx over the phone
they tell me to go to the ER, because they don't like the sound of his cough (hearing him in the background)
so here we go, ER visit #2

@ the ER with Matt

on the way to the ER, Matt's breathing starts to become a lot more labored and he struggles to breathe
the ER doctor orders some more breathing treatments (what a genius, like I didn't think of this already?)
He proceeds to give me a bunch of bull about it not being Croup, but a parainfluenza virus...what??? Croup is often caused by a parainfluenza virus and I'm not some average Joe Shmoe parent off the street
After a couple of breathing treatments and Matthew in severe respiratory distress (and obviously worse than when we first came in), the ER doctor is ready to release us
I demand to see a pediatrician or get another doctor... The other doctor examines Matt and admits him to the hospital
Within 5 minutes, Matthew is not only admitted to the hospital, but he is admitted to the ICU in severe respiratory distress and with CROUP!!!
As we arrive at the ICU, all the nurses are in shock that the ER wanted to release us...THANK YOU...I'm not some crazy mom that is imagining things or enjoys spending her time at the hospital

Poor Matthew in the ICU...trying to rest after all the drama

Next 3 days

Matthew remains in the ICU for the next three days
Thank God for Jeff's mom, as she takes care of a still sick Alex and Zach...She takes Zach to to daycare as someone watches Alex in the van as she drops Zach off in his class
Matthew finally gets transitioned out of the ICU

Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday night

Thinking I can finally get some sleep in my own bed, I get woken up by a too familiar sound at around 2AM...A SEIZURE
I run over to the pack-n-play that's in my room and see little Zachy having a SEIZURE (not Matt, but now Zach is having a seizure)
Since Matt has had 5 seizures in the last 3 months, I go through the all familiar procedure for taking care of Zach...unfortunately I can't get him to swallow anything after the seizure stops, so I call 911
The paramedics decided to take him to the ER (ER visit #3 for the week), where he is admitted to the hospital with CROUP and Pneumonia and they suspect the seizure is related to the fever
Zach gets admitted to the hospital within 12 hours of Matthew getting released out of the hospital
DID I MENTION THAT JEFF IS OUT OF TOWN THIS ENTIRE WEEK
Again, thank GOD for Jeff's mom being here and able to stay with Alex and Matt as I go to the hospital with Zach

So now we have 2 kids that have seizures...lucky us!!!

Next 2 days

Jeff cuts his trip short and flies home on the first flight out on Thursday morning and is home by Thursday afternoon and is able to help out with the other 2 kiddos
Zach remains in the hospital, mainly for observation and gets released on Friday night

Saturday

Alex and I take Jeff's mom to the airport in Houston as Jeff stays home with the twins.

THE END (I mean it...I hope this is the end of our horrible luck)

Our Three Sons