Sean was hospitalized for Laryngitis

Sean started having a mild fever on Tuesday night after swimming. It was mild so we weren't worried. On Wednesday night, his fever became very high. We gave him his medication and wiped him down. We immediately brought him to see his pediatrician on Thursday morning.

Mummy and Daddy took care of Sean on Thursday and sponged him throughout the day because his fever was still high despite the medication.

This video was taken on Thursday afternoon when he started losing his voice.



He started to wheeze heavily in the evening. I called the pediatrician who suggested that we bring him to the hospital to get the nebulizer. But before we brought him there, we went to nearby GP first hoping that he could get the nebulizer there because he didn't seem to be that sick. (Ok, I didn't know what a nebulizer was) The GP also told us to bring him to the hospital. So then we registered and saw another GP who was on duty who confirmed that he needed to stay the night.

Sean was actually still quite active, and I wouldn't know that his heavy breathing was something considered serious if we didn't see these doctors. His wheezing is called Stridor and he had Laryngitis - Croup, which is a respiratory disease.

So Sean had 2 nebulizer treatment at the Emergency Room, one for Adrenaline and another for Steroids before they took his blood for blood test and checked him in. We told him that he shouldn't talk because he needed to save his voice. He was very obedient and behaved beautifully.

This is picture of Sean in the emergency room. He had to cover his eyes because the steroid nebulizer can irritate the eyes.







They gave him 2 suppositories during the night and 2 more nebulizer treatment. By morning his fever was down, but they gave him 2 more nebulizer treatment, one each, adrenaline and steroids.

Sean was sad and a bit depressed. He wanted to go home. Poor boy, he had no voice, so his cry was silent.



Sam and I went home for a quick shower when Mum and Dad came over. We brought him a few toys. He was so happy to at least have a few toys.

We had the laptop so we could watch movies while he was there. But there was no internet so he couldn't play any games.


We asked the doctor to let us check out that day but he told us to wait until evening when he comes and check Sean's condition. He was stable so he said we could leave.

While waiting for the documentations, which took several hours, Sean fell asleep. When he woke up, he complained that his throat hurt. So we asked for another nebulizer treatment before we leave.

By this time, Sean is already so scared of being in the hospital. He didn't want the nebulizer anymore, but we told him this was so that his throat would not hurt anymore. He was crying the whole time he had the mask on. He whispered in his hoarsed voice, " Enough, no more." Poor boy. I was glad that he no longer had fever and we could leave that day.

He was so happy to come home. He wanted to do everything that he missed. He was so impatient to be able to play his games online, and then played a bit of Lego, and needed to touch everything in the room just to feel reassured that he's finally home.

This experience really taught me that we cannot treat symptoms such as coughing or wheezing too lightly. I would have probably wait until Friday to bring him to the doctor again if Mum did not say that the wheezing is not normal. I never thought that Laryngitis was dangerous. I thought it was something that would go away after a few days. I guess this teach me a lesson to be more alert next time.


Today, Sam and I had to rest from the whole episode. I had a mild fever and both of us were just exhausted. On the other hand, Sean is already bouncing around and pushing his boundaries and trying our patience!

From Wikipedia:

Croup
It is characterized by a barking cough; a whistling, obstructive sound (stridor) as the child breathes in; and hoarseness due to obstruction in the region of the larynx. It may be mild, moderate or severe, and severe cases, with breathing difficulty, can be fatal if not treated in a hospital