Juliet gave us quite a scare this weekend. I was gone all morning on Saturday for Scout training. When I got her up from her nap that afternoon she was breathing 80 times per minute and her whole body was almost convulsing in an effort to breathe. Luckily I knew the criteria for medical intervention, having been through this before with Joseph (although he had a much more mild case). The doctor in the ER was very surprised to get an RSV (respiratory syncitial virus) patient so late in the season. I was surprised as well since she wasn’t that sick the night before, just a cough.
It’s funny. As a mother, I wanted the doctor to show outward signs that her case was urgent as I knew it was. I almost felt like talking him into how bad she was and how quickly it had come on. But then Dave overheard the ER doc on the phone with our family doctor and he sounded as worried as we were, which was very educational for me. It occurred to me that doctors are probably trained to not react as any normal human being would to medical situations like this. It would cause more distress for the family and possibly unnecessary panic. So what was supposed to be a calming factor for me was actually fairly stressful. Next time (knock on wood that there won’t be one) I’ll remember–He/She is supposed to be calm and cool in the face of crisis. If it is serious, they will take the necessary steps to take care of the situation. Breathe.
She’s actually doing much better today. She finally got some fluids through her and isn’t on oxygen for the time being. The steroids have helped her breathing tremendously. She even sat up for a few minutes, but I think that tired her out so she passed out again. The doctor told Dave that the contracting they do while trying harder to breathe is akin to running a marathon, but without ever training.
Subject Change!
Today is our 7th anniversary! I’m sure we will remember this one:) The seventh is supposed to be the “Wool/Copper” anniversary. Not that we have ever followed those funny guidelines, but I thought you might like to know. I guess we could get some new copper pipes for the bathroom plumbing or a nice warm pair of wool socks.
Happy Anniversary, babe. I can’t believe it has been seven years! We must have a talent for cramming a whole heck of a lot into a very small time period. Four kids, two college degrees, four businesses, three homes, three wards, seventeen church callings, two cars, three acutely jaundiced babies, one fractured skull, two RSV scares, one fish, two cats, one dog, rich times, poor times, and a lot of board games and fabric. That’s not even including the number of miles we have traveled cross-country in the car. Here’s to seventy more years of excitement. I love you. Even more than I love Edward. And Muse. Put together:)
