It happened at night. It always does, doesn’t it? The sniffle turns into a full-on cold, the sore throat becomes unbearable, that slightly red eye is suddenly a puffy, oozy mess. It’s always at night that thing go from “wait and see” to “oh, man, this kid is sick.”
Jude has had a cold for two and a half weeks now. The days leading up to Christmas were snugglier than usual, with a low-grade fever and some runny nose yickies. Then, Christmas morning, he blossomed into full-blown fever. Still not enough to really keep him down, though. We alerted family and let them know he was feverish but not miserable, and the group consensus was to celebrate at my in-law’s anyhow. He wasn’t quite himself, but wasn’t close to falling apart. The next two days found him seemingly rebounding and then …
In the small hours of Monday morning, I felt the shift beside me in bed. What had been an occasional, No Big Deal cough suddenly deepened and became more frequent. But what I felt the most, what worried me and kept me awake, was the wheezing and new, crackly sound as he rapidly breathed, in and out, in that feverish, quick pattern we Mommas know so well.
By the time the other children were up and stirring for the day, it was clear that Jude was in distress and needed to be seen by a pediatrician. I’m a fairly natural minded, holistic Momma, and sometimes, I struggle with the line. You know the line: the “this could go either way” line that makes you waffle back and forth over whether this is something you can handle at home or not. But this time? This time, the line was solidly drawn, and we lept over it so quickly, so decisively, that I never had a chance to wonder if this was something my arsenal of teas and salves and other stuff that used to make my husband roll his eyes might be a better option.
The past 72 hours have involved two doctors appointments, very little sleep, a lot of time on a nebulizer, many changes of clothes, and a new-to-us diagnosis: RSV. I’d heard of it, but never had the experience of holding a baby suffering with it. I kind of hope I never do again. There are much worse things out there, no doubt. But here, today, I’m worried enough about my not-quite 8 month old to say, firmly, that I don’t like this virus one little bit.
It’s not how I wanted 2015 to end, but since no one asked my opinion anyhow, I can’t complain too much. I just hope the Lord’s plan for 2016 doesn’t involve quite so many scary nights of rocking littles in the dark, praying away the fear Mommas can’t escape when their children are ill.
We’ve had a nephew with it. It’s a nasty, terrifying virus. Praying for you right now, and for little Jude. God help you both– and heal him quickly!
Jess
In our house, we only get sick on weekends (usually Friday night) or holidays. Two Christmases ago, I was pregnant and had 3 kids with strep and flu. We got them seen by the grace of God and our amazing pediatrician squeezing us in last minute. But then my husband and I came down with it on Christmas morning. Not the most fun I’ve ever had.
This year, the 2 girls and I have been passing around the flu again. No doctor visits this time, but I definitely can relate to the waffling. I’m just praying that the boys don’t get it!
Prayers for your little one!
Poor sweet baby : ( Prayers of supernatural mama strength for you, healing for that sweet boy of your, and protection over the rest of your beautiful children!!