Abby's Asthma

The baby of the family is the only one who has ever struggled with allergies or asthma. We keep it under control most of the time by watching for the triggers of a stuffy or slightly runny nose and immediately begin breathing treatments with an albuterol filled nebulizer. I have said no to her taking a daily steroid as a preventative measure and have decided to face each attack with the nebulizer option and prayer.... she has always recovered quickly this way. Her attacks have been fewer as she has gotten older, but Wed night we woke up to a crying, "barking" Abby desperately trying to breathe. We recognized the cough as a sudden attack of croup, which had triggered an asthma attack as well.....she was gasping for every breath. I fumbled to assemble the breathing machine(we had not had to use it for a long time) and find the tubes of albuterol. Finally we started the treatment but the breathing only barely improved....she was shaking and her breathing was still very labored. We began to prepare for a trip to the ER.....praying as we hurried to get dressed.....then Kevin suggested a call to the pediatricians office....someone would be on-call and could give advice. The nurse who answered immediately patched me through the the doctor on-call and she calmed me down and gave me simple instructions that would bring immediate relief......a 2nd breathing treatment as we ran hot water in the shower to produce steam for her to breath in....the combination was just right. Kevin held her in the bathroom for nearly 20 minutes as I stood outside the door and prayed. When they came out she was breathing much better.....still not back to normal, but definitely better! Praise the Lord for Kevin's quick thinking about calling doctor.....we would've spent precious time driving & waiting.
She was exhausted and fell asleep.....I stayed awake right beside her and noticed her breathing steadily calming as she slept. So glad that the even in our panic the Lord can still speak to us and calm our fears.

She had been doing better over the past few days as we have tried to keep her still and quiet while continuing breathing treatments until this morning when she woke up coughing and just couldn't stop......we tried several things/medicines but she continued to cough and choke uncontrollably at times. Remembering that my pediatricians office was just a phone call away I sought advice and they recommended an urgent care.....she had developed a fever and they were concerned that it might have turned into something else since she had been improving over the past few days. So, off to urgent care we went and the doctor was concerned from the moment she saw her, heard her coughing and labored breathing.....she listened to the lungs and immediately called for an x-ray, but before they could do the x-ray they gave her a breathing treatment with a stronger steroid so that they could get her breathing slowed down.

Well, the x-ray showed pneumonia in the left lung......the croup triggered the asthma and while treating the asthma, the croup virus made it's way into the lungs and settled in resulting in the swelling and constriction of all airways.

She is sleeping peacefully now.....steroids (which I dislike giving them to her) and antibiotics are in her system and she should be well on her way to recovery.......however I am prepared with nebulizer and necessary meds at my bedside for any nighttime attacks.

Lord, please help my baby girl sleep peacefully and breathe with ease.....and her momma too.