Early morning ER visit

Sutton has been more stridulous over the past week or so, but nothing that warranted a doctor visit. The coarse breathing noises he makes are not normal, but they are his baseline. It was his only symptom. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, though, he woke up a mess. Ready for his morning feed, when he tried to latch he would pull off after one or two sucks because he couldn't breathe through his nose. He was very congested and had slight retractions. We got some food in his tummy and paged the on call physician. He sent us to the ER. We were hoping he would just call in a prescription for some steroids, but that was wishful thinking.

Women's & Children's Hospital ER was phenomenal. We spent about two and a half hours there and it was all spent receiving care. After a flu swab (negative - and he can't have his flu shot until tomorrow so we will be getting that after Christmas), a chest x-ray (clear), two breathing treatments, a dose of steroids and one heck of a nasal suctioning he sounded like his version of normal again. We were sent home with an antibiotic and a steroid just like last time. The biggest difference from the last cold is that we got to come home! 

For those of you that may wonder why he is getting an antibiotic to treat something viral - it is because of the hygroma. It seems to support the effects of the steroid in reducing the inflammation and diminishing the amount that the airway is compromised. 

We couldn't ask for a better holiday than to have our entire family together. This holiday season has been a time for us to reflect on how truly blessed we have been this year. There aren't enough thanks in the world for the gratitude we feel for the blessings bestowed upon us. May the new year be just as wonderful.