Pneumonia with a side of croup (make that two!)

Eric's been struggling with the asthma lately, and we've been keeping his wheezing and coughing mostly at bay with the nebulizer, but Monday night things got worse and I realized he'd probably not make it to school the next day.  I hoped, mostly for his sake, that he wouldn't get sick. It was a fun week at school, and he does NOT like missing things like candy cane walks and such.  Yet, when Monday morning came it was clear he should stay home. I was on the fence whether this was something that we should go to the doctor for, or if we should just treat him at home so I decided to wait it out a day.  He didn't have a fever, and this seemed like it could be an asthma flare up.  By 4 PM I was cursing that decision, as he spiked at fever, and was breathing rather rapidly.  I'll admit, I fleetingly thought of pneumonia, but thought it was just me being my paranoid self.  We went on in to urgent care, just to be safe, and after a long wait, found out he did in fact have pneumonia (plus a double ear infection! Bonus!) and left with antibiotic scripts in hand.  At least this was plenty of time to be better by Christmas, I thought.

This morning, Zack woke up with a croupy cough, and before the doctor's office opened Ben started with it too.  No fevers, but we made an appointment with our pediatrician (who, incidentally, I adore!) We experienced a bit of a Christmas miracle as she was right on time, and we were in and out in less than an hour, with plenty of face time with the doctor.  And we left with scripts for all three boys that were with me. Including the one she wasn't seeing, since she thought Eric would need steroids as well after listening to his lungs (even though he didn't have an appointment.) Woooohoooo! A round of steroids for everyone!  I'm particularly looking forward to that side effect that makes them very.very.cranky.  But they'll be breathing, so life is good!

As for me, I definitely am NOT feeling a tickle in my throat.  And my chest isn't feeling a bit heavy. My ears aren't aching either.

*I'm editing here to add a link to a really great post my friend Shanna wrote about taking control of your healthcare (and your children's) and how to follow your instincts and get a second opinion if what the doctor says doesn't jive with what your Mommy Instinct says.  There is seriously a ton of good info in here!