…the last thing a parent wants to see is an ambulance taking away one of their children.
Sometime tonight we woke up to some odd noises coming from the boys room. Eamonn (soon to be 4) was breathing funny, scared, crying and shaking. We’ve never seen him like this, so we erred on the side of caution. Lisa called 911. The local police were first to arrive and they immediately put him on oxygen as he clung to me. His breathing was still rough, but he managed to fall asleep in my arms while we waited for the first aid squad. The officers explained that it was likely croup and that it was common to recommend that he go to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The ambulance arrived, he was checked out and there seemed to be agreement with the earlier diagnosis. Lisa decided she wanted to be the one to go with him and that I should be the one to stay here with Aidan. I watched from the window as the ambulance drove off with my little boy and then I went up to check on Aidan. He’s tucked into my bed next to me, finally sleeping again… something I can’t do, which brings us back to the title.
Sit and wait. Sit and wait. Even when you know things are ok, it’s maddening.
ecmyers
I hope he’s all right and comes home soon. Hang in there.
cathellisen
Glad to hear that it wasn’t anything more serious than croup. Still, you must have been terrified.
Hope he (and you) feel better soon.
tbclone47
How awful! I know how I feel just when Orion is not feeling well, let alone have to see him drive off in an amublance! Closest we’ve seen is when we found out (the hard way) that he was very allergic to peanuts and we rushed him to the hospital ourselves after talking to our pediatrician on the phone (his office was at the hospital).
Just hang in there, Neil. All will be okay.
kim_richards
Man, my heart is with you. I know your pain, having two (now adult) sons myself. My favorite ER trip was when my youngest asked from the back seat of the van, while driving down the interstate, “Mom, what happens if you swallow pins?” Gotta love ’em.
wyrmadmin
Pins?! I cringe just thinking about that!
coppervale
Here’s hoping he recovers fully and quickly. I’m very glad it wasn’t worse!
stegoking
I hope all is well, Neil.
barthanderson
I’m with you in this story. I can just see it, imagine my own panic. Your kid’s going to be fine – but please update us, yes?
ccfinlay
Aiie! Scary. I’m glad it was nothing more serious, and hope he and mom came/come home soon.
alankria
Sounds bloody scary, but also sounds like he’s going to be fine. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.
pgtremblay
Man, scary. My best wishes to Eamonn and your whole gang.
buymeaclue
Oh, poor kiddo. Hope he’s back up to snuff ASAP.
biandu
definitely, nerve wracking.
those moments puts things squarely in place.
no doubt.
hope all is well.
jimhines
That sounds absolutely terrifying. Not knowing what’s wrong at first, and then having to stay behind while your kid goes to the hospital … it makes me shudder just thinking about it.
I hope he’s back soon, if he’s not already.
stevenagy
Erring on the side of caution is a good thing. I can totally relate from late nights in the ER where the youngest had an intestinal virus that looked like appendicitis. But an ambulance ride is probably a whole lot worse.
calico_reaction
Yikes! Talk about frightening! My thoughts are with you and your family…
pabba
Hope everything turns out all right, Neil.
ogre_san
It may be common but that’s got to be scary.
pbray
How frightening! I hope everything’s okay and you get good news soon.
livia_llewellyn
I’m crossing my fingers for all of you. I’m sure everything will be fine.
jpsorrow
Umm . . . that’s scary. I hope he’s OK. Good thoughts your way.
seawasp
If you don’t know what it is…
… croup is terrifying; it sounds like the kid’s just about to gasp his/her last.
Fortunately, my wife was working in child care before we ever had a kid, so when our first kid got it, she told me what it was. Afterwards, you can recognize it easily by the sound.
Hot shower to produce lots of steamy warm air, get ’em back to bed, and then take ’em to the doc the next morning, that’s the ticket.
wyrmadmin
Re: If you don’t know what it is…
Yeah, definitely scary sounds to be coming out of a kids body. Neither one of us had seen anything like this before, so we were definitely a bit freaked. Next time, off to the shower!
triciasullivan
My heart goes out to you. Echoing what others have said: surely he will be fine, but I can only imagine how scary it must have been to see him like that. Take care.
nick_kaufmann
Terrifying stuff. I hope everything’s okay!
jlundberg
That’s really scary, Neil. I hope he’s okay. Sending good vibes your son’s way.
madwriter
I’m always grateful when an author starts an entry with this as you did, with something along the lines of “Before I tell you what happened, everyone here is OK”…
ciunas_alainn
My lord, I can’t imagine what that was like. I have three children and fortunately I’ve never had to go through something like that. I hope he recovers quickly.