Walker First Big Hospital Trip.

This past weekend has been something I could never expect on coming. It was a weekend that was filled with blessings and answered prayers. We were planning on hanging out with some friends and going to a Halloween Party but plans changed. Before I tell the story of the past couple days I want to say thank you to all of our family members and friends that prayed for Walker and our family. Every prayer and thought was appreciated.

Walker started to come down with the cold, we thought, on Thursday. He woke up acting cranky and just wanted to lay down and not do much. I put him down for a nap at 10 which was very odd for him and he slept until 1:15 when I woke him up to go to the Schroeder's to pick up Robin before we went to the pumpkin patch and than over for dinner. I brought some Tylenol for Walker just incase he was teething or what not. Before we went to pick up Robin, we stopped at Costco so Casey can turn in his resume and Walker and I walked around to get some samples. NOTE: Walker doesn't like eating things he hasn't tasted before. But this time while getting the samples, Walker ate every sample I gave him! I was thinking he just has been hungry because the last time he ate was in the morning about 8:30. So then I ruled out teething since it didn't seem like his gums were hurting. We then got Robin and headed to the pumpkin patch. Everything else seemed normal the rest of the day except that Walker took another nap on the way home from the pumpkin patch, which we thought was normal for a little boy coming down with the cold.

Walker feel asleep when we got home pretty easy. But woke up the next morning with a cough and a rasp in his voice. He was acting very lethargic and just wanted to lay down on the couch or our bed and watch some of his favorites. His symptoms stayed the same throughout the day with an addition to diarrhea and a low grade fever, which is no fun. That night however was a different story. Walker went to bed still having a raspy cough and a low grade fever. I took a steamy shower with him before he went to bed and put the humidifier on in his room. He woke up about 11pm coughing and crying. Casey and I both rushed to him since it sounded like his cough got worse. Casey turned on the shower and closed the window in the bathroom which we all sat in the steamy bathroom. Walker went back to sleep and slept pretty well the rest of the night. Casey and I looked up his symptoms after he went back to bed to see what it could be. WebMD said that it sounded like the common cold, asthma or bronchitis. We decided that I would talk Walker into Urgent Care the next morning to make sure it was nothing else and see if there was anything we can do to help him.

Resting while watching our favorite shows and movies on Friday

Saturday morning. We did just that. Except when I got to urgent care it was closed and didn't open until 1. (RANT: isn't it called urgent care for a reason? you would think they would be open all day on saturday and sunday since most doctor offices are closed for the weekend. nope not the case.) So since it didn't open until 1 and I didn't want to take him in ER since it wasn't anything horrible, i thought, I decided to go to Casey's parents house and hang out there until they opened. I was planning on doing this after going to the urgent care anyways but plans change and life moves on. Walker and I watched some Disney Junior and played with some toys. His cough was worse than it was friday night. It started to sound more like a bark of a dog or a seal. You could hear him breathe when he was playing. You could tell that breathing wasn't effortless. Perry told me that it sounded like he had croup. I was thinking it wasn't the common cold since it has got progressively worse. And croup would have been a good guess since Casey got it many times when he was younger.

1 o'clock finally came around. I took Walker into the Urgent Care. Trying to fill out papers with a sick one year old that is walking everywhere and exploring is hard to do alone, especially when he might have a very contagious sickness. They called me in pretty quickly, luckily. I told they Walker was showing signs of croup and had a bark-like cough. They listened to his lungs and throat and yup it was croup. They first gave him some steroids to help his airways swelling go down. The doctor came in and checked him out. He definably was having a hard time breathing. You could see him gasping and trying to get as much as air he can when you looked at his throat and chest. The doctor told me that the steroids wouldn't kick in for a couple hours but they can give him different medicine that he would breathe in with the nebulizer that we were already using in the office with saline water mist. She said I would have to stay there for two hours so they can monitor him and check him again once it wares off. If it helped and the steroids kicked in and he was breathing better than we would be able to go home but if the medicine worked and he wasn't breathing better and still struggling we would have to admit him into the hospital to stay over night to be monitored and maybe get more breathing treatments. So that is what we did. I stayed their with Walker in Urgent Care while he got his first breathing treatment. We had to hold the tube that was connected to the nebulizer close to his month so help him breathe in the mist and medicine. Robin was able to come and stay with us while we were there.

The breathing treatment seemed to work great. Walker slept most of the time except when he started to feel uncomfortable. Once it wore off you can tell that he was starting to have a hard time breathing again. So the Doctor told us that she is going to call the hospital to get us a room and have us go over there in a ambulance since it was respiratory. We gave another breathing treatment to Walker while they figured out what hospital we were going to and while we wait for the ambulance. I called Casey and told him that the situation and that Perry would pick him up from work when he can get off since I had the car. Casey got off as soon as he can to try and make it to Urgent Care before Walker and I left in the ambulance. NOTE: I did not plan on staying over night anywhere except for our home. So I did not have anything for Walker or Casey and I. But Robin was able have Perry give some things to Casey before he started his way to the hospital.

The ambulance came after about 30 - 40 minutes. Walker and I got into the ambulance and drop off to Rady's Children Hospital in San Diego a couple minutes before Casey got there. Walker did great in the ambulance. He was relaxed and just looked out the back window and around. There are many new things to look at so he was occupied. He also found a zip tie that was on the windows next to him that he liked to play with. The EMTs were great! They were young and didn't have children on their own so we got to talk about what Walker likes and what was going on with him and their job.

First (and hopefully last) adventure in an ambulance.

We got to Rady's Children Hospital a few minutes before Casey. They had a room all ready for Walker so we were able to get settled in pretty quickly. When we got there we met our first nurse. She was very peppy. You could tell she was suppose to work at a Children's Hospital. Walker did great with being checked up on. The only thing he did not like was the cord that was attached to his toe that would track his oxygen flow and heartbeat. He kept pulling on it to get it off. We tried to hide it under his blanket but he always seem to find it. You could tell the steroids started to kick in because Walker wasn't crying every time he coughed or breathed in. The nurse told us that the best way for Walker to recover is to keep him calm. They wouldn't do anything that would bother him or frustrate him because they wanted him to rest so his airways don't swell up again. That was easy since we had the iPad and phones with us that had his favorites on it to watch. Casey watched Mickey Mouse cartoons with Walker while he was awake. Walker loves Mickey Mouse cartoons and thinks they are funny. You could tell he had croup when he laughed. It was and cutest/saddest laugh. When the funny parts were one you could tell Walker wanted to laugh but was holding back, he had a big smile on his face. Thank you to Apple for having great modern technology devices for entertaining Walker.

some pictures in the hospital. [laying down, watching Mickey Mouse with daddy (love how he is smiling!), sleeping (a lot of sleeping), finally was able to go outside and walk without a cord attached to his leg.]

Robin and Perry were able to come and visit for a little. It was after visiting hours when they were able to make it since they had their wards trunk or treat party that night and had some non-member friends coming. But they were still able to come up since Perry was going to help Casey give Walker a blessing. They also brought some more sleeping supplies for Casey and I since we didn't have any. By the time they got there Walker was sound asleep.

(SIDE NOTE: I want to say how grateful I am to be apart of the Church. I am so glad I have a husband and father-in-law and many other family members that were and are able to give blessings to people that are in need of one anytime. Also having the knowledge and faith in Christ helped me not break down and lose myself throughout this whole time. I knew that he will help walker fit this and get better.)

Casey and I both decided to stay to make sure we were both their if something did go wrong. We got to snuggle up on the little pull out chair/bed. Lets just say it is really meant for one person to sleep semi-comfortably. Walker did great during the night. He only woke up a few times to have something to drink or eat since he didn't get to good to go to eat or drink until right before he feel asleep. It hurt eat much so we tried to keep the food soft and the drink warm. Throughout the night the nurses kept on coming in and checking on him since croup is suppose to get worse at night. But like I said Walker was great. His breathing for clearer and he didn't need any more breathing treatments! In the morning it just sounds like it did on friday, high congestion. We were able to be discharged from the hospital by noon. They told us to still keep an eye on him and make sure if the barky cough comes back like it was bring him in.

We than went home. Stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house to get somethings we left and return what they let us borrow and visit of course. When we got home we gave walker a bath and some food. Casey and I both wanted to take a nap but Walker had another plan. We wanted to play with his toys. So Casey let me take a nap while he watched Walker than once I woke up I let Casey go lay down while I put Walker down. As of now he is doing much better. He is getting back to his normal self. Still has a hard time eating and drinking since this airways and throat are sore but he tries his best to do what he can. He seems to be on the mend. We have a follow up appointment with his doctor on wednesday to check on how he is doing. He still has a horsiness to his laugh and cough but it seems to not hurt as much as it has been. The Doctor said that he can have that horsiness up to 10 days because his throat and airways will still be healing. He is acting more and more like himself. He is playing more and more with his toys.

Walker is now the doctor. We still are resting when we can.

I am glad to say that I am a tough little guy. I am so glad he is a healthy boy and he was able to get better enough to only stay one night at the hospital. I am glad it wasn't worse and it could have easily been if we didn't catch it the time we did. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father's hand in all of this. Blessing Walker that he would feel better and also blessing Casey and I for keeping calm and knowing what to do. I am grateful for all of the family and friends that sent their thoughts and prayers our way. It really was a weekend I wasn't expecting but glad I was able to do what we had to do. I am thankful that we have health insurance for Walker. I am so blessed to have my little boy in my life and to be his mom and help him when he needs it.

♥ The Schroeder