elsie visits the er, again.

Oh Elsie girl.  I always marveled at how we never had to take Ryann to the doctor for sick visits.  Patted myself on the back for obviously having healthy genes that make healthy babies.  Ha.  HAHA.  Before I get too far I should say that in general my kids are very healthy and I don't take that for granted.  I've watched other families go through things I just can't even begin to imagine and I thank my lucky stars that we've only dealt with mostly non emergent issues.

But anyway.  Elsie?  Thanks for helping us meet our insurance deductible each year (bonus, I'm pretty sure we get to start our deductible over when Chris starts his new job in July, and then we're having a baby, right?  #winning #notsomuch).  Sunday night we racked up our second ER visit in six months, and our fourth trip over to Children's Mercy in a year.  We were driving home from my parents house, and Elsie was asleep in her carseat.  I noticed that her breathing seemed a little heavy, but she also was completely passed out with her chin tucked pretty far down, so I just thought she was uncomfortable.  When we got home she woke up completely pissed and freaking out and you could just tell something was off, but I brushed it off as she was super tired and didn't get a long enough nap.

We played outside (which the girls had done a majority of the day) and then came in for bath.  And her breathing just kept getting worse.  She started wheezing and having retractions.  We toyed with the idea of giving her a breathing treatment, but Christopher wanted her seen and her oxygen levels checked.  So after a quick shower for myself (very much needed, especially if there was a chance I'd have to stay overnight with her!) Elsie and I packed up and headed for the hospital.  I wasn't sure what to think, I could tell her breathing was bad, but she had just been so dang happy and cheerful all day, playing without any issue, that I just couldn't fathom that something really was wrong.  The ER was busy, but we were seen very quickly.  Her oxygen levels looked decent in the 95-96% range, but there was no denying the wheezing and difficulty breathing, so we waited to see a doctor.

He speculated that she had developed asthma, often seen in kids who had bronchiolitis.  She got four puffs of albuterol and a dose of steroids and we waited.  Her breathing very quickly began to sound better.  Her oxygen levels started to bounce around between 91-95%, but she seemed very stable and I was confident that Christopher and I could handle it at home.  So after less than two hours in the ER that is where we went.  Elsie was a little hyped thanks to all the meds, and told me on the way home she was NOT going to sleep.  Nope nope nope.  Eventually we talked her in to it though.  Monday her breathing was still a little rough, and in the morning we didn't quite make it the recommended four hours between inhaler uses.  But after that second dose of steroids kicked in her breathing continued to improve.  She was just extra tired in general.

Monday night we heard Elsie coughing a lot over the monitor.  She never called out to us, or needed us, but I know she didn't sleep well.  Which explains why I had to wake her up at 9:15am to make it to our follow-up with the pediatrician.  I expected everything to be looking much better, but instead Elsie's oxygen level was between 88-92%.  Her doctor was a bit baffled, as her lungs sounded pretty good.  She noted she did have an ear infection, and thought maybe something bacterial was bothering her.  We gave her some more albuterol in the office, and rechecked her levels.  Still the same, but her lungs sounded even better.  So I opted to take her home with instructions to call back in the afternoon to check in, and bring her back in immediately if she began wheezing again.

Thankfully Elsie continued to just sound better and better, and by Thursday when we went back for yet another follow up, her oxygen levels were 98-99%.  Woohoo!  Anytime she has ever had her oxygen checked, I haven't seen a number over 96%, so I was impressed.  And while her ear still didn't look pretty, the doctor said it was improving.  For the record, she has not once complained about her ear bothering her.  Neither of my girls had ever had an ear infection prior to this as far as I know!  The pedi isn't ready to specifically call it asthma just yet, but if Elsie has more trouble in the future she'd consider a daily medication to manage it.

But sweet sweet Elsie girl, please oh please.  Let's just keep our doctor's visits to well checks.  Those are much easier! ;o)