My whole world stopped...

One week ago today was the worst day of my life. This is the last time I want to re-live every detail but I wanted to share my story.

On Friday afternoon (11/6) Micah woke up from his nap with a fever. Nothing over 100. I gave him some Motrin.

On Saturday afternoon he still had low fever and now a "croup" like cough. I recognized it right away and made an appointment at our Acute Care clinic on base. The appointment was at 8pm. The doctor agreed it was mild croup. It was the first day so he told me days 2 and 3 would likely be worse especially in the evening. He gave him a steroid treatment in the clinic. His fever was now up to 103. More Motrin. I expected a long night with him.

Sunday morning came and Micah seemed better! He had slept thru the night. We did the steamy bathroom treatment and I put a humidifier in the room. We thought the cool air outside would be good for him too. We did not go to church because I didn't want to leave him in the nursery when he had a fever the night before. So, we did devotions at home. My step-sister Shaina and her daughter Sydney were in town visiting us too. Our devotion was about being thankful even during hard times. We don't thank God when someone is sick but thank God for providing the means to help them feel better etc... We talked about everything we are thankful for.

Then we decided to go play some putt-putt golf. Micah seemed so much better and Aiden never had the chance to do anything fun with his Aunt and Cousin. They were going to be flying home that evening. We had fun at putt-putt. There were only 2 other people there. The cool air was nice and Micah only coughed 2 or 3 times. He did start getting very fussy so we knew it was time to go. It was about 12pm. He said he was hungry in the car and he ate some fruit snacks.

As soon as we got home I noticed his breathing was loud. I sat him on the couch with the nebulizer while I got lunch started. (the nebulizer worked great the night before) I walked past the couch to head outside and start the grill but noticed Micah squirming a lot on the couch. I asked him to sit still. He was crying in a different way so I sat next to him. I told him it's ok and not to cry because it will make it hard to breathe. His eyes got very wide as he started gasping for air. I said "Micah...Micah! Breathe Baby...Breathe!" He turned completely blue. I took the nebulizer mask off and picked him up. I screamed for Shaina. She was upstairs. I screamed at Micah to Breathe. His eyes rolled back in his head. He was unconscious. I screamed for Shaina 2 more times and then she ran downstairs. Micah then had a seizure in my arms. He went straight as a board for about 10 seconds. I thought he was dying right before my eyes. The life was sucked out of him and he was suffocating. I gave Shaina the number to on base emergency. They told her to hang up and call 911. OK...So, then she scrambled to find the home phone to dial 911 and once she got connected she ran to Micah to start CPR. At that point his color came back and he opened his eyes slightly. He was breathing very quietly. (I'm guessing he had stopped breathing 30-45 seconds) Aiden ran over and said "Mom, we want to go get help!" I told him to go across the street to get our neighbor who is a medic. I carried Micah outside, Shaina was still on the phone with 911, and my neighbors wife ran over and said she called her husband he'd be there in a few minutes. She has some medical training so she was checking his pulse. It was good.

Then we heard our neighbor, Travis, coming. Big loud truck, wheels squealing...he was there before any rescue vehicles were. He took Micah, checked his pulse and tried to get him to talk. We were in my driveway. (I'm shaking and crying but holding it together so I don't freak out the kids) He stood Micah up but Micah could barely stand. He was completely lethargic and still not making any sounds. He did manage to say his name when Travis asked.

Firefighters and police were the next on the scene. Now Micah was back in my arms and we sat on our front lawn. They were giving him oxygen. Poor Aiden finally broke down and started sobbing. Shaina comforted him. Paramedics were the last on the scene. They didn't waste any time. They loaded us right up in the ambulance. My neighbor yelled to me that she would take care of Aiden and Sydney. I sat on the stretcher and had Micah on my lap. They took us downtown to a hospital that had a special Children's Hospital division. They gave Micah an IV in the ambulance and breathing treatments. I was trying to keep him alert because he kept dozing off.

We arrived at the hospital where everyone was so nice and helpful. I had a migraine so I was trying to pay attention and not throw up. I never got to eat lunch and the stress got to me. Shaina finally arrived after getting the kids settled and finding the right hospital. Not bad for someone who's never been to Colorado Springs! The nurses and doctors were pretty constant in our room. The doctor said she wanted to admit Micah for at least 1 night. Then ICU came down to see if he should go there. They said he'd be fine in regular Pediatrics. They gave him a fun pack with crayons and color pages and things to make a mickey mouse necklace.

After about 4 hrs. of being lethargic he finally sat up and started talking. He whined about the cartoons and it was like music to my ears! Shaina went to the cafeteria to get us some food. Once Micah was happier we called Aiden so they could talk. Micah usually doesn't like to talk on the phone but he happily talked to Aiden. I think Aiden needed to hear he was okay.

We headed up to his room around 5pm. Again, everyone was wonderful! They had a toy truck waiting for Micah in his room. Something for him to keep and help him smile. They had room service so we ordered our dinner. Best hospital food I've ever had! Equal to a Denny's. Some friends came to visit and bring me things like pajamas, tooth brush etc... Shaina left around 10pm. There were no set visitors hours which was nice. No kids under age 12 were allowed to visit though.

Jarod called my cell to check in and "lost it" when I told him what happened. I knew it would be rough for him because he feels helpless so far away. We couldn't talk long because he was boarding a plane. He called a few hours later with a different tone in his voice. A Thankful tone. His devotion that day had been about being thankful too. Funny how God does that! So, we proceeded to give thanks for modern medicine, great neighbors and friends, family, medical staff etc... We counted many blessings that night and focused on the good.

Sleeping was uncomfortable for me. I think I got a total of 2 hrs between the machines beeping and checking on Micah. I tried to sleep on the little couch in the room but sometimes got in the bed with Micah. At one point he was a little tangled in the tubes from his heart monitor and IV. The next morning I felt awful! Like I was very hungover. A yucky feeling! They brought us stuff to take a shower so we did. That was nice! Then the doctor came to check in. He said he would feel more comfortable to keep Micah 1 more night. He started having another fever and his lungs were not sounding clear. I was OK with that because I was nervous about going home that day since his croup was still active.

We had more visitors and there were volunteers in the hospital that would come see if we wanted a toy to play with or a movie to "check out". Everyone who came in the room had to wear a mask and Micah could not leave the room. Bummer because they had a cool play room! He was getting stir crazy. They unhooked his IV as long as I could keep getting him to drink. That way he could be more mobile around his room and play with the trucks.

That night I slept in the bed with him and managed to get around 5 hours of sleep. The nurses were great about being quiet when they came to check on him. The next day he sounded good and no fever so we got to go home!

I was so comforted by all of the support from family, friends, neighbors and hospital staff! Once we got home friends from church started bringing us meals. Shaina was amazing with cleaning my home and getting Aiden off to school. She obviously canceled her flight and didn't reschedule until we were home and Micah was OK. I've also been contacted by several people who have been thru this same type of experience with croup. Micah had croup once before and it didn't cause breathing problems so this time it caught me off guard.

I learned a few things from this experience. First- if your child has croup keep a close eye on them even if they aren't coughing much and have no fever. Stay right by them to check for abnormal breathing. Second- Get retrained on CPR. (my last course was in high school) Third- BE THANKFUL!

We are home and Micah is doing great. Praise God! I still find myself picturing his face all blue and I start to cry. It is so scary to see that...especially when it's your child! I just remind myself that he is well now and God took good care of him.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! Thank you God for saving my little boy!

My next blog will be much more uplifting, I'm sure!

Love,
Linda