It turns out Caleb’s sickness was more than just a cold. Friday night, We were trying to put him to bed when he began getting very upset. The crying caused him to cough which caused him to start throwing up. When he threw up, he got even more upset - a vicious cycle. He was coughing so much that he started choking and gagging. After a long time of this, he started having trouble breathing. We had to keep thumping his back and change positions in order to keep him breathing okay. At this point, Andy and I decided to bring him to the ER but I was way to scared to have him in a carseat while he was having such a hard time. We had no choice but to call 911. When the paramedics got there, he was still struggling and vomiting. They decided to bring us in to the ER. They had me get on the gurney while I held Caleb. It’s funny because that was my first ride in an ambulance and it wasn’t even for me.

When we got there, he had calmed down a bit (I’m sure out of exhaustion) and they led us to the waiting room where we sat for a few hours before we got a bed. Andy’s dad met us there and waited with us which, I believe, preserved much of our sanity. Through all of this, Caleb was sleeping peacfully and making us second guess our decision to come in. When we got a room, the ER doctor decided to test for RSV. I would never wish this test on anyone. They basically pushed a small tube up his nose and down into his throat to suck out a sample of mucus. The poor guy was woken out of a deep sleep and started screaming and coughing. After another hour of waiting, the doctor came back in to tell us he tested positive for RSV (Human respiratory syncytial virus). At this point, we were so glad we made the decision to come to the hospital.

By 2 am, we were admitted to the pediatric ward and told that we would probably be there at least until the evening of the next day. Since RSV is a virus, they could only monitor Caleb. If he got worse, they said they could suck out the mucus and put him on oxygen if needed. They hooked him up to a monitor that showed his heartrate and O2 levels and told us that if anything started beeping, to call them. Caleb slept in an animal cage of a crib while we slept (or should I say stared at the monitor) cuddled up with the hospital’s finest camel hair blankets and buckwheat pillows. That night, he had a few more vomiting/coughing fits but nothing to the extent of earlier that evening.

Because Caleb had a contagious virus, we were basically quarantined to our room. He was not allowed to leave and anyone coming in had to wash their hands and put on aprons gloves and a mask. The lack of sleep and sick baby coupled with being grounded to our little room resulted in a very long and stressful day. Fortunately, his bpm was normal and his O2 levels were consistently at or close to 100%. The only real problem we ran into was his vomiting. After eating, he would get extremely agitated and throw up his entire meal. The doctor explained to us that the excess mucus he was producing was aggravating his reflux. He would gag on the mucus and throw up his meal. We treated it by letting him eat just a little but frequently, burping him a lot and keeping him elevated. We stuck to that, and his reflux improved dramatically.

Since he was doing so well, they decided to discharge us around 5pm. We got lots of information on RSV and reflux to take home with orders to follow up with our pediatrician in the next couple of days. As soon as we got home, we all took a nap. It was wonderful. I think Caleb was even more relieved to finally be home because he took a super long nap and slept so peacfully that night. I was relieved too and cuddled with him all night, thanking God that my little boy was going to be fine.