Croup

The past few days in our house have been zero fun.  Two nights ago Max woke up with a barking cough.  Since it was 1:30 in the morning and I wasn't thinking clearly, I thought Max was choking to death on a part of his blanket that he managed to tear off with his teeth.  As I said, I was not rational when I woke up. After frantically checking his mouth for foreign objects, I realized he was not choking but he still couldn't breathe.  I woke Carl up and we decided to go to Children's Hospital.  I walked in and the admitting nurse took one look at Max and announced to the waiting room that he had Croup and I really shouldn't worry too much.   I really didn't believe that I shouldn't be concerned because Max still sounded like a seal and was a funny color.  Fortunately, the ER was nearly empty so we went right back to a room.

A few minutes later a resident came in to examine Max and confirmed the nurse's diagnosis.  Then the resident heard Max bark and got a funny look on his face and left.  A few minutes later he came back with the attending doctor who examined Max and said "Hm."  Not comforting.  The two doctors proceeded to have a conversation that was totally incomprehensible to Carl and me, despite the fact that they were speaking English.  The attending eventuaaly decided to translate for us:  Max did have croup but had an atypical presentation.  They gave him steroids and a breathing treatment and then observed him for about 2 hours.  We got home around 4:30 in the morning, which gave Carl just enough time to get ready and go to work.

Max slept for about 2 hours and then cried the rest of the day.  He is doing much better today and hopefully he will be able to sleep through the night tonight and will be fully recovered in time for Cathy's 50th birthday party on Saturday.