Emergency

Kadon had a croupy cough yesterday, one that I didn't think a whole lot about during the day. Cough medicine never seems to affect him, and he didn't seem to be running a fever, so I didn't treat him at all other than to make sure that he got lots of fluids. I was a little bit apprehensive last night when I put him to bed, knowing that his asthma issues often act up during the night. I had planned to put his nebulizer and steroids next to my bed last night when I went to bed, but when he woke up wheezing at midnight I hadn't yet gone to sleep. I was downstairs goofing off on the computer, and when I heard his ragged breathing I raced upstairs, flew into his room, and jerked him out of bed. I ran to my bedroom and got the breathing treatment together as quickly as possible, holding the mask to his face for him. He was wheezing so heavily that he couldn't form words, and the sensation of the mask on the face was making his already labored breathing even worse. I held my breath, praying that the steroid would once again do the trick. It only took a few minutes for me to be certain that this asthma attack was more severe than his others. Knowing there was no time to waste, I quickly flipped through the Rolodex of my mind to figure out who I could call that would be both willing to climb out of bed to come to my house and stay with the other two while they slept, and was close enough that I wouldn't have to wait long. I quickly settled on the Bishop, who is the leader of the ward that I belong to at church. He lives within a few minutes, and I knew he would be willing to disrupt his night for my family. When the phone rings at midnight, it puts most people on edge, and Bishop Bradley was no different. I explained in a rush that Kadon was having an asthma attack and I needed to get him to the emergency room immediately, and his only reply was 'I'll be right there'. How grateful I am for people who are willing to step in and help me at a moment's notice.

While we were waiting for the bishop to show up, I quickly threw some clothes on myself, and some sweatpants, socks, and a jacket on Kadon. He continued his breathing treatment while I made one more phone call to Russ and Mary to let them know what was going on and to ask for them to pray for us. I was watching at the window when Bishop Bradley pulled up, and was halfway to the van before he got out of his car. I pulled out onto the dark and deserted street, and drove 80 mph all the way to the hospital, all the while with Kadon wheezing dangerously in the backseat. The way he was having to work to get air into his lungs must have been painful, because periodically he would stop breathing for a moment. I found myself uttering a eerily familiar and infinitely painful phrase-the same one I said over and over to Ammon as he lay dying on the pavement outside our home-'You've got to breathe, baby. Baby, you've got to breathe.' My heart in my throat, I pulled up outside the Emergency Exit, took Kadon into my arms, and ran into the hospital.

They got me into a room almost immediately, due in no small part to the sound of his ragged breathing. A oxygen monitor was placed on his finger, and once I was assured that his oxygen was well within normal range, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He received another breathing treatment while we were at the ER, along with a dose of oral steroid. After hearing his cough, the doctor agreed with me on the diagnosis of croup, which exacerbated his already reactive airways and caused the severe attack.

After two hours in the ER in the middle of the night, we were ready to go home. I put in a call to Russ to update them on the situation, and he told me that Mary was on her way down to my house. Not knowing what else to do, or if his attack was severe enough to admit him to the hospital, Mary couldn't sit idly at home. She was here when we arrived home just after 2 this morning, and left to go to a seminary meeting just after 8 this morning. I am grateful that she was here, and grateful that we have such wonderful medicine to help Kadon breathe more easily. I can't imagine what would have happened last night without a ready supply of powerful steroids.

This morning, he seems fine. Still croupy, and tired from his sleep disruption last night, but there is no more wheezing. I am praying that this croup clears up, and we don't have a repeat performance tonight.