Little Sicky

Clay gave us quite a scare this week when he was hospitalized for two nights due to strider (loud breathing). We thought his cold last month had turned into croup, but because the loud breathing problem had lingered for almost 3 weeks, the doctors were concerned that maybe something was stuck down there or anatomically wrong in his airways. Although he was getting enough oxygen, the doctors recommended a rigid broncoscopy procedure, which basicly meant sending a scope down his throat to check the sitch. The procedure required general anesthesia and that Clay be intubated. As his airways were already inflammed, the procedure itself caused further stress. And combined with the fact that Clay was hysterical for over an hour when he woke up from the anesthesia (we weren't allowed in the recovery room), he had trouble getting enough oxygen. The scope revealed no foreign objects in his airway or anything else abnormal, and his loud breathing was attributed to a slightly swollen voicebox and a narrow airway, which he will most likely grow out of. He is doing fine now, and we are all at home recovering from the stress. This experience was especially scary for Justin as he himself had emergency trachaeotomy when he was 15 months old due to breathing problems. While we were in the hospital, a wicked windstorm raged and our house was without power for 24 hours. So, rather than freeze, we spent our first night home from the hospital at Dana's brother's house.