On Sunday January 30 (2011) Isaac developed a croup like cough. The cough progressively got worse throughout the day. By 7:00 PM, Isaac also had a stuffy nose and was extremely tired. We put him down for the night, only to find that at about 11:00 PM, he was awake, crying hysterically, and struggling to breathe. His cough had worsened and he struggled to get air (they call this stridor). We attempted to calm him and open his airways by standing in the bathroom with hot water running in the shower to create steam. This helped very little. We then took him outside into the cool night air. This helped some, and it finally calmed him down. We decided a visit to the emergency room was necessary, as we weren't sure how the stridor would affect him throughout the night. Upon arriving in the ER, they gave Isaac a breathing treatment as well as a dose of steroid that decreased the swelling in his throat and allowed him to breathe easier. While at the ER, Isaac developed a low grade fever. The doctor was concerned about this, and thus ordered blood work and x-rays. Luckily everything came back normal, and he was officially diagnosed with croup.
It took Isaac most of the week to recover. On Tuesday night we almost took him back to the ER because breathing again became difficult. Luckily the steamy bathroom trick worked to open up his airways on Tuesday. Wednesday Isaac's pediatrician gave him another dose of the steroid. We have all been sleeping much better ever since! We felt so bad for our little guy through his first illness. We cannot believe the first time he got sick, we ended up in the ER!
