When you can't breathe...nothing else matters...
I've been holding back on writing about Kyle's recent asthma attack mainly because it was still just a little too fresh... Not to say that his past attacks have been "expected" but this one really took us by surprise. It happened this past weekend while he was up north visiting his great grandmother. Now, it's definitely not the first time he's been there OR done the type of activities/ playing he did this time out. So, the question of what happened overnight of Saturday night to make him wake up at 5am on Sunday unable to breathe is still somewhat of a mystery.
Suffice it to say that his pumps had very little effect and Chantale had no choice but to leave early and try to make their way back home to Montreal after spending a few hours trying to get his breathing under control. They headed out on the highway and after a few more hours, it became too dangerous to try to keep going. So, she pulled over on the side of the 55 and called 9-1-1. They came quickly enough and packed Kyle away into an ambulance to drive him to the hospital in Shawinigan. It took me something like 2 hours to drive up from home to meet them there and let me tell you that it was one of the hardest drives I ever had to endure.
The hospital did its best to treat Kyle and after a while I sent Chantale and Charlize home - especially as Casey was also with them. I stayed behind with Kyle, chatting and drawing pictures. After a few hours (and about 7 masks by then) it looked possible that we would have been dismissed. There was no option to spend the night in that if required, we wanted to be transferred to the Montreal Children's Hospital. Anyhow, all continued well enough until shortly after supper (and a nap) at about the 3 hour mark from his last mask... he immediately crashed down again sending everyone into a panic. An emergency mask later, he was doing better, but now there was no way we were being released. So, another ambulance was called and the Children's was advised.
They came and took him away and I tried to follow in my car. But, by that time (7pm) I hadn't eaten or even gone pee since 11am so I had to stop. Chantale was due to meet him at the Children's so it was okay. By the time I made it there, it was 930pm. Chantale was there and we waited together for an hour(?) or so and then I sent her back home. Kyle was under another aggressive treatment and he was quite fed up by then. I think I only managed to get him to calm down long enough to fall asleep by midnight... which went to hell when the nurse brought him another mask at 2am, effectively waking him up and upsetting him so much I only got him to settle down again at 430am (after another mask at 4am).
I slept horribly for the next 2 hours in a chair and when the nurse checked him at 630am it was a bit more positive. However, at 7am another mask was given and they had decided we were being admitted. It took a few more hours before we were put in a room, but by then the docs upstairs were wondering why. He still had a bit of a rasp in his lungs but no more wheezing. And by the time we were settled, even the rasp was gone. He was due for another mask in the room but the nurse held back on it and after 6 hours she finally gave him one and we talked about being released. We were excited by it until the Doc mentioned he wanted us to stay another night and when questioned, it was because he believed we lived in Shawinigan! When I went to see him (after waiting for over an hour for him to come see me after the nurse updated him) I explained again that this was not new to us and I would be fine with him at home and should something happen, driving 30 minutes to get back to the hospital would not be a big deal (especially after midnight).
He agreed, gave us some prescriptions, and we finally left. Kyle was so adamant to be leaving that he got himself dressed, packed, and impatiently waited at the nurses station for the doc to see us! It was kind of cute :) By the time we left, Kyle had basically been given -honestly- about 20 masks... unbelievable. And quite frightening. We've seen him in trouble before, but never like this. It was extremely difficult to get through but, as what seems to happen in these situations, I had to concentrate on my family to the exclusion of everything else. When Tuesday night finally came around and the entire family was back under our roof asleep in our beds... it was quite a relief. 2 Days later, after a decent day at home with him recovering well enough, we took him into Daycare for his first day there. Only when I was back home alone could I lower my barriers enough to grieve. And it took another 2 days to be "stable" enough to not break down whenever I thought or talked about what happened.
I think we're all looking forward to an uneventful (and restful) weekend. After a week like this, we all need it.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that prior to leaving Shawinigan, a few tests were ordered on him, including Blood. This was the first time he ever had blood taken from him and it was quite a scary experience. Trying to keep him calm enough to get the needle in him, and then make sure we could flow it out... petrifying for him. One of the things I had done when I went to see them at the hospital was to bring along one of those Brightest Day Lantern Rings (from the recent DC crossover series). Of course, him knowing it was a "power ring" made him excited to have one, so we used our "will power" to fill it with "energy" to keep him safe and brave. Worked wonders and helped keep him brave :)
Suffice it to say that his pumps had very little effect and Chantale had no choice but to leave early and try to make their way back home to Montreal after spending a few hours trying to get his breathing under control. They headed out on the highway and after a few more hours, it became too dangerous to try to keep going. So, she pulled over on the side of the 55 and called 9-1-1. They came quickly enough and packed Kyle away into an ambulance to drive him to the hospital in Shawinigan. It took me something like 2 hours to drive up from home to meet them there and let me tell you that it was one of the hardest drives I ever had to endure.
The hospital did its best to treat Kyle and after a while I sent Chantale and Charlize home - especially as Casey was also with them. I stayed behind with Kyle, chatting and drawing pictures. After a few hours (and about 7 masks by then) it looked possible that we would have been dismissed. There was no option to spend the night in that if required, we wanted to be transferred to the Montreal Children's Hospital. Anyhow, all continued well enough until shortly after supper (and a nap) at about the 3 hour mark from his last mask... he immediately crashed down again sending everyone into a panic. An emergency mask later, he was doing better, but now there was no way we were being released. So, another ambulance was called and the Children's was advised.
They came and took him away and I tried to follow in my car. But, by that time (7pm) I hadn't eaten or even gone pee since 11am so I had to stop. Chantale was due to meet him at the Children's so it was okay. By the time I made it there, it was 930pm. Chantale was there and we waited together for an hour(?) or so and then I sent her back home. Kyle was under another aggressive treatment and he was quite fed up by then. I think I only managed to get him to calm down long enough to fall asleep by midnight... which went to hell when the nurse brought him another mask at 2am, effectively waking him up and upsetting him so much I only got him to settle down again at 430am (after another mask at 4am).
I slept horribly for the next 2 hours in a chair and when the nurse checked him at 630am it was a bit more positive. However, at 7am another mask was given and they had decided we were being admitted. It took a few more hours before we were put in a room, but by then the docs upstairs were wondering why. He still had a bit of a rasp in his lungs but no more wheezing. And by the time we were settled, even the rasp was gone. He was due for another mask in the room but the nurse held back on it and after 6 hours she finally gave him one and we talked about being released. We were excited by it until the Doc mentioned he wanted us to stay another night and when questioned, it was because he believed we lived in Shawinigan! When I went to see him (after waiting for over an hour for him to come see me after the nurse updated him) I explained again that this was not new to us and I would be fine with him at home and should something happen, driving 30 minutes to get back to the hospital would not be a big deal (especially after midnight).
He agreed, gave us some prescriptions, and we finally left. Kyle was so adamant to be leaving that he got himself dressed, packed, and impatiently waited at the nurses station for the doc to see us! It was kind of cute :) By the time we left, Kyle had basically been given -honestly- about 20 masks... unbelievable. And quite frightening. We've seen him in trouble before, but never like this. It was extremely difficult to get through but, as what seems to happen in these situations, I had to concentrate on my family to the exclusion of everything else. When Tuesday night finally came around and the entire family was back under our roof asleep in our beds... it was quite a relief. 2 Days later, after a decent day at home with him recovering well enough, we took him into Daycare for his first day there. Only when I was back home alone could I lower my barriers enough to grieve. And it took another 2 days to be "stable" enough to not break down whenever I thought or talked about what happened.
I think we're all looking forward to an uneventful (and restful) weekend. After a week like this, we all need it.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that prior to leaving Shawinigan, a few tests were ordered on him, including Blood. This was the first time he ever had blood taken from him and it was quite a scary experience. Trying to keep him calm enough to get the needle in him, and then make sure we could flow it out... petrifying for him. One of the things I had done when I went to see them at the hospital was to bring along one of those Brightest Day Lantern Rings (from the recent DC crossover series). Of course, him knowing it was a "power ring" made him excited to have one, so we used our "will power" to fill it with "energy" to keep him safe and brave. Worked wonders and helped keep him brave :)