Wednesday it took a turn much worse. She was not herself her temp stayed around 101 to 104 depending on time of day and even meds only took in down a couple of degrees. She could say one minute she was really cold and the next pull at her clothes and tell me she was "so Hot". Wednesday night her breathing was so raspy and shallow. Between the barking coughs and raspy breathing it sounded horrible. She would wake up every little while trying to cry but couldn't since she had no voice. It was so bad around 1am we almost took her to the ER. Russell was afraid she was dying from lack of oxygen. I didn't understand why her cold was so bad and I frantically searched the Internet looking for answers. And I found exactly what I was looking for.
Little Miss Ava had Croup Cough. Every symptom plus the stridor breathing which is the risky part. We found some home remedies to help and we able to rock her back to sleep. The next morning I called her dr. They were very worried based on what I had told them. So I took her in to see them and they recommended Steroid injections to take the swelling and inflammation down in her throat. There are different ways to administer the steroids and I heard lots of horror stories about the pros and cons of each. Her pediatrician recommend the oral method. Which is medicine I give her in a dropper 2x a day for 4 days. They said she would be feeling much better after the first dose and even better after the 2nd.
So last night we gave her the first dose and hoped for the best. At this point she still had a fever which she had had for 5 days straight, she had eaten nothing and only drank apple juice during that time. I was told the 3rd night of croup was the most dangerous. And last night was the 3rd night. She went to sleep very sick and coughing but I noticed around midnight that her fever finally broke and her breathing steadied, she didn't cough or cry and slept very peacefully. This morning when she woke up her voice had mostly returned, she no longer has a fever and even ate a little breakfast, not much but more than she had. She was playing with her toys and being herself again. She is still sick but she is a thousand time better than she was. That medicine is a miracle in a bottle.
It was so hard to see my sweet little girl so sick all week. She was so so sweet, soo sick but still so calm and would say please and try to smile at me as I would pull her blanket over her. I would look at her and just cry.. cry because I couldn't fix her.. I couldn't help her, it broke my heart. The worst pain a parent feels it the pain they feel for their children. Ava would give me a weak smile not understanding why I was upset. I love her so much more than I can explain or describe. She has become the world to Russell and I and there is nothing we wouldn't do for her. Russell has been amazing this week. He would rock her to sleep every night, just like he did when she was a baby. Ava loves to be comforted by her daddy and that was very calming for her while she was at her worst this week. She is such a sweet little angel and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. She shows us everyday what this life is truely all about and that family and love is above all what really matters. During this Christmas season I have so much to be grateful for and the greatest gift that we were given is our sweet baby girl. I can't wait to have more little babies and for our little family to grow in size and love :)
