jammies and fancy-shoes

so if you're facebook friends with josh, you already know what our last 24 hours have been like.  but in case you missed the memo, let me fill you in...

izzy "barked" a couple of times during the night on tuesday night, and as soon as the first seal sound exited her mouth, i knew exactly what we were facing.  we've done the croup thing around here before -- a couple of times, actually -- and while it hasn't been fun (it actually landed jack in the ER as a tiny one), our visits to croupville haven't been what i would consider super scary.

until yesterday, that is.

izzy woke up from her nap struggling for breaths.  i don't know if gasping is the right word or not, but she was fighting hard so i dialed our pediatrician's number, told the nurse what was going on and let her hear izzy for herself over the phone.  her response was, "get here as soon as you can".  i told her i had a call to make to cancel an appointment (there's a big, fat story to tell on that session) and she told me to make the call from the car, to go ahead and get on the road.

we hadn't been at the office for two minutes when they called us back, and the next fifteen minutes looked a little like this:

• two nurses quickly checking all vitals
• one doctor skipping all other patients to see iz
• one steroid shot
• a breathing treatment
• the arrival of half of hoover's fire and rescue squad
• izzy strapped into her car seat, which was then strapped onto a gurney, which was then secured in the back of an ambulance

twenty minutes later we were in the emergency room at children's hospital in downtown birmingham.  by the time we got there, izzy's stats had leveled out nicely, and everybody was feeling good about her progress.  unfortunately, she took another turn shortly after that, and they had to do another rescue treatment.  that got her a ticket to admission into the pulmonary care unit which is where we stayed until around 3:00 this afternoon.  the infection that caused the croup has spread down into her lungs, but one of her doctors ordered a chest xray to check for pneumonia and it was all clear.  the two primary doctors who were working on her case consulted with some other physicians and they all felt good about sending her home today.  she's still having some wheezing but it comes and goes in spurts, and as long as it continues the going part, everybody's ok with treating her at home. 

whew!!

those are the logistics of the past two days, but there are a couple of stories to tell as well.  first of all, i was once again confronted with the pains of poverty in comparison with the tremendous gifts we all enjoy here in the united states.  as a friend mentioned this morning, our healthcare system has some serious flaws, but we have much to be thankful for.  when izzy got sick, i drove her down the road to an amazing and gifted doctor who treated her immediate medical needs and then sent her off on a virtual hospital where she was continually attended to by trained paramedics.  we were then delivered to a state-of-the-art medical facility where, of all places, izzy was treated on a pulmonary care unit.  again, if judah had had even a fraction of that kind of access -- even good basic care -- he would most likely be alive today.  please consider reading this and donating to compassion international's child survival program in addis ababa, ethiopia to help other little ones like izzy and judah.  (while you do that, i'll go write a note of apology to the paramedics for boo-hooing in the ambulance out of sadness for judah's situation and thankfulness for the contrast of izzy's.)

now on a much lighter note, there are a few thank-yous i need to get out.  missile and bibby went to great lengths to drop their already-scheduled plans to take our other two little people for the night so josh could come to the hospital with us.  they're such gems!  and to ironman, thank you so, so much for the gift from food services.  those ladies were precious, and izzy and i enjoyed a fantastic brunch of a veggie omelet and ice cream thanks to your kindness and consideration.  ;-)  to all of our sweet family and friends who have called, come by, texted, or emailed, thank you for loving our little munchkin.  we think she's pretty special, and we're glad you do, too!!  mom, i really appreciate your "making the call" for me last night.  i just needed direction.  ;-)

and last, but certainly not least, thank you josh, for getting all the logistics of everything worked out last night and today.  my sweet husband arranged childcare, figured out how to get the cars from where they were to where they needed to be, and he even packed an overnight bag for izzy and me and brought it up to the hospital last night.  i want to say a particularly huge "thank you" for being so meticulous and remembering to pack my deodorant, toothbrush, and face soap (we all know a night without face soap is like a night without stars).

and all of children's hospital would like to thank you for not packing any clothes for me for today.  they really enjoyed my eclectic combination of jammies and fancy-shoes.

particularly the whole cafeteria full of well-dressed doctors and administrators.

i love you, babe.  (wink, wink)  ;-)