A belated Merry Christmas to you! We hope your holiday was merrier than ours. It had to be…
Our Lil Bit had RSV this weekend & didn't feel well. I entered this photo in the IHeartFaces holiday challenge.
For those of you who don’t follow Foster2Forever on Facebook or Twitter…
Our 2-year-old, Lil Bit, is in day care – a breeding ground for illness. On Friday, I noticed that, although happy to be playing at home with his family, he was coughing quite a bit. It wasn’t until late afternoon that I realized — he had a fever! A low-grade fever of less than 100 degrees F (For my Aussie readers that’s about 37.7 C). But I knew I had to get him to a doctor FAST!
I glanced at the clock. It’s 5:02 p.m.
“Dog gone it!!!“
I called the doctor’s office anyway.
“Our office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If this is an emergency, call 9-1-1.”
We were praying he didn’t get worse. Ibuprofen controlled the fever through most of the night; however, in the morning, he still had the fever and was coughing incessantly.
We were praying we wouldn’t be spending Christmas Eve in the Emergency Room.
I called our family medical clinic that has Saturday hours. Maybe, just maybe, they will be open on Christmas Eve.
“Good morning, how may I help you?”
Hallelujah! Our family physician was the doctor on duty this Christmas Eve morning.
Dr. Meyer diagnosed our Lil Bit with RSV, prescribed a steroid, prayed for him, and sent us HOME. We are blessed!
What is RSV?
RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus. In adults and older children, it’s basically a cold; however, in infants, it is a very serious virus that usually requires hospitalization. The virus causes an overabundance of mucus, which adults and older children can cough up; however, for an infant, it can cause respiratory problems and low oxygen levels. You can read more details about what is RSV and its symptoms at Christian Mama’s Guide.
Our History with RSV
We are not strangers to this virus. This is Lil Bit’s third bout with RSV:
- Our Lil Bit was only 5 months old when he was first hospitalized for RSV. During this hospital stay, we were given the paperwork for Lil Bit’s removal from our home and placement with a distant relative. My heart wept as I was saying my goodbyes for this little angel struggling to breathe. This is when we made that life-changing decision to intervene in the familial placement and fight for custody.
- One year later in February of this year, at 17 months old, our Lil Bit was diagnosed with a common cold on a Friday, and then by Monday, was hospitalized for RSV that had developed into pneumonia. (Lesson: Doctors can misdiagnose RSV with serious consequences)
- At 2-1/2 years old, our Lil Bit still struggled through RSV; however, we are thankful that his breathing wasn’t affected, and that we didn’t have to celebrate our Christmas in the hospital. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings!
And if Lil Bit contracting RSV isn’t bad enough – Now, Stinkpot has a horrible cough, runny nose and fever. And I’m getting a course cough and tightness in my chest…OUCH!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Have any of your little ones had RSV?
IHeartFaces.com
