Sick Hooks

This week has not been much fun around the Hooks household. On Monday evening and all day Tuesday, Ryan had a stomach bug that left him not feeling very well. On Wednesday night, Lily said "Mommy, my tummy hurts." She tried using the potty but then seemed just fine, so I didn't think much about it. Well, about 1:30 AM on Thursday, she came into our room and said "Daddy, I have to cough in the potty." She says "cough" when she means "throw up" because she knows she coughs things up. Anyway, Ryan jumped out of bed and held her hair back as she threw up several times into the toilet. After that, I cleaned her up and just held for a little bit before helping her back into bed. By the time she got up Thursday morning though, she seemed fine so I think something just didn't sit well on her tummy.

Also on Wednesday night, but before Lily got up, Mia was up for awhile crying so I held her for awhile because she seemed to be a little off. I could tell she was getting sick because she sounded a little wheezy and warm. However, on Thursday, Mia obviously wasn't herself. She seemed hot, she was hoarse and she just wasn't acting herself. Around 2:00 I talked to her doctor's office and made an appointment for Friday morning. Well at 2:30, Liz called to say Mia had thrown up all over the two of them, and could Ryan or I come home so she could clean up and we could check on Mia. I immediately left the office and was scared when I got home and heard Mia; it sounded like she was struggling for every breath. I called the doctor's office and asked them to see us that afternoon; if they couldn't, we were going to urgent care. Luckily, they told me to come on in because Dr White's partner had an opening right then; I love this pediatric practice. We were sitting in the waiting room for a few minutes, when a nurse came out and called for another patient. She looked over at Mia, and said "I'm going to take these people back, but then I want to come back out and check her breathing." It made me feel better that I wasn't crazy for thinking she sounded awful, and they wanted to make sure this wasn't an emergency. She came back out a minute later, and lifted up Mia's shirt. She said it didn't appear she was struggling to breath because her stomach wasn't sucking in around the ribs, but she wanted to get us back soon to test her oxygen level. A few minutes later, a room opened up so they brought us back. She ran an oxygen test on her, and it came back at 99% which is really good. That means she just sounds horrible, but she isn't actually struggling for breath; what a relief. Dr Miller came in later, and after examining her diagnosed her with croup. She recommended a steroid (both in office and by prescription) and a breathing treatment to try to start reducing the inflammation. Mia was not happy with this treatment. She was crying the whole time as I held a mask over her mouth and nose. Luckily though, we started to see improvement in her behavior right away.

She has been steadily improving, but she still isn't well. The steroid stimulates her appetite a little bit which is good; you know she isn't feeling well when she doesn't eat well. She is still hoarse though which is just pathetic sounding. We are having to sleep with the monitor really high in case she starts crying during the night. In fact, Ryan and Liz were at the Braves game last night, so I was home with the girls. About 10:30, Mia started crying, so I went in to hold her. I was in there about an hour because she is just so sad right now. It's heart-breaking. The info from the doctor says croup typically lasts about 5 to 7 days; I really hope this ends soon.


All this to say, it hasn't been the most upbeat week around our home. Here's hoping everyone makes a complete recovery soon!