Croup, my son, and CPAP

This isn't really a CPAP comment, except that I am now truly thanking God for the fact that I chose CPAP and a full-face mask. Yesterday, my then almost 3-year old (today he is a three year old!) was a little hoarse. We left him with his brother and my parents and went to a wedding 2 hours away. We got a call from my parents that he was having trouble breathing and he was taken to the emergency room. They wanted to put an oxygen mask on him, but said he would probably fight it. He took one look at it, said "it's just like mommy wears at night" and put it on without a fight. By the time I got to the er (about 15 minutes after him-God also gave us great rural roads and ALL green lights!), he was calm and breathing slightly better. After a nebulizer treatment, once again with a mask like mommy's, and also some oral steroids, we were able to take him home. Thank God he knew not to be afraid of the mask. He also had that connection with me even though I couldn't be there right away.

Sorry this has little to do with the forum, but I had to share with someone.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Take care,
Sue

Hi ITeach,

What a great story. I am so glad that your son is ok. It sounds like you explained to him what your mask was for which is a credit to you and your parenting! My nephew is 3 1/2 and he thinks that "Auntie Mommy's" mask is cool. He calls me Auntie Mommy because he is my identical twins son. He came up with it on his own.

Best,
Teri

Thanks for sharing your story. Sometimes we only look a what is going on in our lives in only one way. Many people think that being treated and using cpap equipment as kind of a pain, but a story like yours opens the shade to the window of life. Which in this case made things a little brighter for me today.

Sue, what a heartwarming story. So glad that your son is now OK and got through the ordeal because of his obvious stong connection to you! And if you wear a mask, so can he! That is wonderful.

Hope he remains well.

Sue,

I'm so glad your little boy is fine. Scary...I've been through croup with two of my three kids when they were little. If it ever happens again, they used to tell us to turn the hot water on in the shower, let it steam up the bathroom and sit in there with the child and let the steam open them up. That or if it's cold out, the nighttime cold air can help, too. Never could figure out how two so contrasting temperatures would both help, hot steam and cold night dry air. We would use the steam method and it would work every time. Thank goodness they outgrow it.

In any event, your story only further reinforces my belief that things happen for a reason. In this case, your son got used to seeing you with the mask on and it eliminated any fears he could have had if he hadn't seen his mommy using one.

Thanks so much for sharing that story. It was heart-warming, especially with a happy ending like that.

Thanks for all of your kind words.

Teri- My brother used to call my dad's identical twin uncle daddy! How funny! Thanks for the nice parenting words. I have been feeling a little neglectful for leaving him with my parents and going so far from home. I know he got bad really fast, but I was a couple of hours away and felt horrible that I couldn't be there with him. But, he seems to have forgiven me.

Sleepless- Thanks for your advice. The steam helped enough that my mom didn't have to call 911 and it was a very cool, damp night in Chicago. Both of which helped a little, but he still needed the neb treatment and oral steroids for the next few days. He was on humidified oxygen for a while at the hospital and still struggled to breath. Hopefully, this won't be a pattern.

Capt- Thanks for your encouragement. I'm glad my story helped brighten your day.

Take care all.
Sue

ITeach, what a wonderful story...and what a smart little guy your son is! No surprise.