Monday, March 15, 2010

A is for Asthma...

i guess from the title of this post you know that my motherly 'fear'o'meter' was put to the test this past week... my middle child Mia was formerly diagnosed with asthma before her 2nd birthday when she was hospitalised with an acute attack brought on by a chemical nit treatment. ever since then we have been keeping her out of the hospital (although we have had some short stays at the emergency room have over the past 4 years) by being vigilant with her action plan which involves daily preventer, Ventolin when needed and steroids as a last resort. we have done quite well because i am an asthmatic myself and i know what to look for and how to manage her signs. there are the odd times when no matter what i do we have to resort to the last step of the action plan and go to the hospital if she isn't lasting more than 2 hours on the Ventolin.
on Tuesday night at 11:30 pm Mia and i headed into the hospital only to be sent home at 4:30am and told to keep giving her Ventolin when needed. i wish i had insisted on staying because by a few hours later my heart was in my mouth as i watched my girl struggling for air even though she was on the nebuliser...crying and scratching at her throat saying she couldn't breathe. we raced to the local doctor who checked her oxygen levels which were below 90% and were told to go straight back to the hospital. a few hours later they were prepping her to go into ICU!
luckily the oxygen, Ventolin and steroids kicked in and she was admitted to the ward rather than ICU. a chest xray ruled out pneumonia and a snot test came back with no traces of anything tested for. at this stage they suspect she has picked up a virus and unfortunately as an asthmatic she has no chance of fighting it.
it is amazing how much Ventolin a small body can take on average she would have received 6puffs every hour for 2 days then 6 puffs every 2 hours for the next day. once she was able to go for more than 3 hours without needing Ventolin we were able to go home.
while we were in the emergency room we were lucky enough to have these special doctors visit...
Dr kerfuffle and
Dr redee came and entertained Mia. they were very funny and an absolute blessing at such a scary time.
this sort of scare makes you count your blessings...we only had 2 nights of stress and no sleep, others around us had been there for a couple of weeks without knowing what was wrong. the nurses and doctors could not have been faulted (except the first two that sent me home) and they made my Mia feel special and safe. i am glad that it is all over for this time and hope that it is another 2 years before the next stay (we had a short stay in 08).
you really don't understand the depth of your love for your child until their life is threatened, it could have been worse but even that moment when she was struggling for breath made me chill down to my bones.
off to catch up on some 'me time' while i can.
xxrosey

20 comments:

Matt and Sarah said...

Hi Rosey

Great blog post, I hope your daughter is feeling better now.

I've been an asthmatic since I was 3 and I'm desperately hoping my little ones don't inherit it.

I had 3 different inhalers as a child and a nebuliser. My asthma did improve as I got older and in 2007, at age 33, my asthma was so good I didn't bother carrying my Ventolin inhaler with me sometimes.

But the next year it came back again and I was at the hospital being given prednisone tablets!

Since I've moved back to Australia last year it's flared up a few times, nothing serious though.

My doctor always told me I'd grow out of it but I guess I haven't! Let's hope your daughter does.

Cheers

Matt
@mattbrisvegas

Linda Lilly C said...

Oh poor little Miss M and poor you. How awful to be sent home when you know that she is not right and needs to be there. I can't imagine how you managed to stay calm when she was fighting for breath. I would have been calling 000, in fact you should have called 000 that would have made them pay Mia more attention!
Glad you are home and she is breathing a little easier. I also had cold and flu season...it is that whole autoimmune thing...asthma is one of them that just hates coughs and colds!
Big hugs and Kiss Noises to you all.
Linda

A Bite of Country Cupcakes said...

Oh Poor sweet baby!
Asthma is so ,so scary!
Glad you are home and able to take a fresh look on everything....Give that curly headed Gal a cuddle from me:)

Doda said...

Poor little thing. I hope she is settled and feeling better now. A Nit lotion? Who knew.

Beki said...

I'm crying for you sweetie, you must of been so scared.
When little man was rushed in with severe dehydration last year, I really thought I was going to lose him and that love you feel for them hurts (if that makes sense).
Love and hugs to you all, i'm sure you need them.

Beki xxx

Unknown said...

Oh no , how scary for you all ! I'm glad everything is ok , take care .

Jenny said...

Kids seem to take years off our lives with the worrying we have to do. I'm so glad she's at home again and hopefully feeling much better. My husband has asthma and so far neither of our kids have shown any indication of it.
Take care of that little one!
~Jenny~

sassypackrat said...

I feel for you! My girl has asthma too and it's the worse feeling watching your child not be able to breathe. Hugs to you!

Myko said...

Oh Rosey, I am so sorry to hear that your precious daughter was so ill. I am glad to hear she is doing better. You are right, as a parent it is the most frighting feeling in the world ever! My youngest child Ian got RSV when he was a baby. Thank goodness I listened to my insticts and took him in or he may have died. You are such a good mother!

Anonymous said...

Poor Mia, I am so glad to hear that she is doing well now. Indeed I do understand what it feels like when my child's life is threatened; I really feel for you Rosey. It is the most frightening experience and I pray that Mia's asthma attacks won't ever be this severe again.. so nice to see that she was well entertained. :)

xoxo

Unknown said...

Oh how scary for Mia and you. So glad she's ok, and she sounded like nothing had happened to her when I spoke with her today. Give Pussicatti a big big kiss for me. Oh and Care Bear and Cherry Liqueur too. Love to you all. x

Julia said...

I cannot imagine how it must feel to see your child struggling for breath!! Prayers are with you1

Unknown said...

Such a terrifying experience for you and Mia. It's nice to hear Mia is better and seems to have forgotten her ordeal...not the case I'm sure for you. I think you both need some extra pampering this week...and a relaxing weekend!

Casey said...

That is the scariest thing ever! I am so, so happy that Mia is okay now. I can't imagine how terrified you must have felt :(

babalisme said...

God, Rosey!

Be strong girl, and I'm so proud of little Mia, still smiling for the camera... :)

As a parent, this is the hardest time we have to go through..when our dear little ones have to fight. Fight alongside them and be brave.

Take care, dear.

lexie said...

Hi Rosey
So glad Mia is ok, what a scare. I and Jacob both have it as well. I remember long nights watching him breath. Not so much now though he seems to be growing out of it.

Hope everything else is going well. Good on you for resigning and spending time at home totally admire you for that.

urban craft said...

Oh rosey, your sweet little girl!
thinking of you,
no more scaryness, you guys take good care.
much love!

lexie said...

Hi Rosey, thanks for your comments I my blog. Jacob sees his school counsellor which has been a great help to him, I think he also pops into the chaplain at school too.

Thanks so much!

Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique said...

As a mum of a severe asthmatic I know only too well what that chill down the spine feels like Rosie.

Glad to hear little Mia is home and okay now and hopefully you are all catching up on that much needed sleep and relaxation.

Hugs ~ Kerryanne

Darren From said...

Rose Rose Rose - I am calling you now it has been so long simce I have caught up with you guys !