About eight days ago I blogged about the successful challenge test that was given to young Master William to see if he was still allergic to dairy. He passed that test with flying colours and I was just so happy for him and all that it meant. Fast forward a few days and our house had fallen ill. Literally all four of the Rudges came down with a cold or flu bug that left us with coughs, sneezing and fever 🙁 We were the proverbial mess. Now as the week progressed we gave William dairy in several forms. Milk, yogurt and hard cheese to name a few. He was not overly thrilled with any of it and the cold did not help his appetite. A few days after the challenge test William became very ill. It was in the evening and he was running a low temperature. He lay down for bed and my husband noticed his breathing was unusual. I decided to lay down with William, to keep an eye on him and check his breathing. Thank the Lord I did. Each breath was coming fast and furious and he was asleep! He was breathing so hard it appeared he was running, totally exerting himself. That is when we decided that William needed to go to the hospital.
Doug, my husband took William to the hospital at 11pm, while I stayed home with Emily. This began a harrowing few days for my poor baby. The hospital admitted him right away and put him on oxygen. His little two year old air way was closing up and he could not breathe. His oxygen levels were extremely low, in the danger zone of the low eighties. Now while all this was going on Doug can attest that William was still in decent spirits, which is a good thing. He played for so long on Doug’s phone that he drained the battery 🙂 He was even patient when they put an IV line in. That is saying a lot not just because he is only two, but because the nurse hurt him the first time she tried to put in the line. They had to start over in a new spot 🙁 My little man was a trooper.
William improved over the next few days, but it took awhile. He was put on medicine to open his airway, along with using a nebulizor every two hours to get the junk in his lungs moving. He had to stay in his hospital room for the most part and was absolutely not allowed in the play room. His condition was considered respiratory, therefore possibly contagious. Believe me it is hard enough keeping yourself entertained in a tiny little room, but a little child? Stir crazy is the only way to describe it! We played with toys and read books from the playroom, but they could not be returned before being sanitized. All part of keeping the germ contained.
The part that really killed me was how the hospital handled William’s food allergies. He had a bracelet on that clearly stated his allergies, yet when they brought both William’s first and second meal the nurse could not say whether the food contained any of his allergens! We were told we should bring his own food in to be safe, but in the meantime we could get him something from Tim Horton’s, ya know the donut shop!! I was floored by the lack of care and the idiocy to suggest we buy him a pastry or donut. Unreal! We were able to bring in food for William and I always have snacks for him, but his appetite was pretty much shot at this point. I just could not get over the fact that a hospital could not accommodate food allergies. This is where you come when you have a reaction for heaven’s sake!
William is now home and improving, thankfully. He was on the medication for several days and will be on puffers for awhile, possibly forever. The general consensus is that my boy has asthma, but we will not know for sure for awhile. Next on the list is to attend the Asthma Clinic and see a specialist. There is even a possibility that this breathing issue is related to that old dairy allergy. We just don’t know and won’t for some time. He still has a nasty cough and looks very pale and unwell. His appetite is up and down, but mostly down 🙁 We just have to pray that he will get through this and be stronger than ever!
If you are reading I ask for a special prayer for William. We have wonderful support from our family and friends, but a few extra prayers never hurt. Thank you.
FT&PD
Suz
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