Luke's New Favorite Place

The day after we got home from our trip, Luke was sick.  He was a little lethargic, he didn't have much of an appetite in the morning, he threw up in the afternoon, and he had some faint wheezing that wasn't bothering him. That evening I noticed that his chest was caving in when he breathed in. I called the pediatrician's office, and they told me to bring him in right away.

When we got to the office at 8:30, we were seen immediately, and the nurse taking Luke's vitals didn't even tell me what was going on but just walked out to get the on-call PA. They immediately brought in an oxygen tank and strapped a mask over Luke's nose and mouth to help him breathe. They also began an albuterol breathing treatment. They explained that Luke's oxygen level should be above 90, but it was only 82 to 85. His heart rate was at 140, much higher than it should be.

I made a comment about how nice it was to be able to take care of this in the office instead of having to go to the emergency room like I did several times when I had asthma attacks as a kid. Sue Ann, the PA, said we might still have to go to the emergency room. That got my attention.

Luke did great through everything, until they gave him a shot with a steroid in it. It really hurt his arm, and he started crying and took a little break from the oxygen and albuterol. He was pretty tired, but he needed to be sitting up for the oxygen and breathing treatment to work. But they told us we could move from the exam table to the chairs on the floor. He appreciated being able to recline a little, and it was more comfortable for me also as I was holding the breathing treatment tube so that it would push medicine into his oxygen mask.

Once the second treatment was completed, he was allowed to lay down on the exam table for about 20 minutes so that they could determine if the treatments were working, and if he could keep his oxygen levels up on his own. Unfortunately, he didn't keep it up quite high enough, and Sue Ann felt it best that we go to the hospital, at least for observation. She said it was possible we might have to stay for a day. She sent us with the oxygen tank and Luke had it strapped on the whole time we drove to Utah Valley Hospital. Oh, he still managed to suck on two of the four Dum-Dums they gave him at the pediatrician's office though.

We drove to the hospital and it took a while to get to the right unit, but we finally arrived at Peds and the nurse took us to Luke's room.  He got comfortable on the bed and the nurse checked him out.  He was happy and chatty, telling the nurses about American history and other things. He was pretty hyped up from the steroid shot.

Once the doctor arrived, we talked and I told him I didn't want to spend the night if we didn't need to.  He ordered an x-ray on the off-chance that Luke had pneumonia.  Luke was wheeled down to radiology and did great while they x-rayed his chest.

Ben came with our pillows and some things to help us get through the night comfortably, but when the doctor returned and looked at Luke's x-ray and saw that his oxygen and everything else looked good, he gave us the choice to go home or stay the night.  I thought we'd probably both sleep better if we were home, so we left. We were only in the hospital for about 2 hours.

Luke didn't want to leave. He thought all the stuff in the hospital was really cool.  He liked his room, and having his own TV, and the fact that they had tons of movies and video games available for patients.  The Spiderman pillowcase, fuzzy star blanket, and unlimited snacks didn't hurt either.  He was really disappointed when I told him we'd be going home.

Nevertheless, he slept in the car and went right to sleep when we got home again.

So, what was going in Luke's little body? It seemed like an asthma attack, but we aren't sure what triggered it.  The PA's guest was that there were allergens he encountered on the trip, but I find it odd that an allergy-induced asthma attack would occur hours after he was exposed. Luke doesn't have an official diasnosis as an asthmatic since he's only had the one significant attack (he's had very minor wheezing once or twice in the past), but he does have an inhaler now.  He had to keep using it at intervals throughout the day for several days after the incident and became independent with it pretty quickly.

Since that night, he's asked several times when he can go back to the hospital, which he thinks is the best place ever.  At least he was able to take some of the hospital home with him: the Spiderman pillowcase, the star blanket, and some Goldfish crackers.