ACUTE WHEEZING BRONCHITIS

It was barely a week after he was said to be free form HFMD. The scars from the many blisters on his legs were still present and the skin on his feet were still peeling. Adam had terrible flu on Wednesday(18 April 2018). I still sent him to school because I gave him Zrytec thinking it was just a common flu which he has all the time. The next day, after he came back from school, he started coughing. So started to give him Ventolin orally. His cough wasn't too bad. Keep in mind that Adam frequently has these kind of episodes so we always have medications on hand.

It was on Friday(20 April 2018) after he came back form school, his cough go really really bad. I even called his teacher to ask if he had eaten any cold things in school. by 3pm, he was started to feel feverish. I called Wan and told him that I don't feel good and I wanted to get Adam to see his Pediatrician there and then. Thank God my mum and dad were free so they sent me over to the hospital. We waited for about one and a half hour for our turn. The moment we went into the room, the PD said, "Adam, what's wrong? Still sick?"(She saw him for his HFMD episode so she was shocked that we were back so soon)

The moment she listened to Adam's lungs, she looked at me and asked, "What happened?" I asked her why because her face looked kinda pale. She said that his lungs were in bad condition and that he is very breathless. She pointed to his stomach and true enough he was taking breaths in aggressively. At that very moment, I wanted to slap myself so bad. What kind of a mother am I that i didn't even notice my son being so breathless. I wanted to cry but I told myself to be strong.

He was diagnosed with Acute Wheezing Bronchitis.

The PD quickly told us that he needs to be admitted and that we need to rush him to the nebulizer room that very second. We quickly got up and one nurse sprinted to the nebulizer room which was on the other side of the clinic. She got everything ready and left us with the treatment. My mum sat with Adam as I updated Wan and his family of Adam's condition.

After the nebulizer, he was still quite breathless. We were told to wait downstairs for admission. After settling the paperwork, we waited about 20 minutes for our room. By the time we got a bed, Adam's temperature had gone up to 39.5 degrees. The nurses in the ward started to rush out to get medication and put all other explanations on hold. They inserted meds through his butt and I kept sponging him.

By then Adam was really weak and he was breathing aggressively. He wasn't even responding to anything we say or do. He was just lying there looking very sick. I was really really scared. I felt helpless. Inside my head, I kept telling myself that this is just a phase and that I will get through it. I mentally prepared myself to spend the next few days at the hospital. My body wasn't in its best state, I wasn't feeling too good but I needed to what I needed to do. If that makes any sense.

Wan came later at night with all our things and necessities. My spirit lifted a little when I saw him. He has been with me for the last 11 years of my life and looking at him just comforts me at times like that. Cringy much?

Adam was on the nebulizer every 2 hourly and with some meds on the side. It was a pain to watch but he was such a trooper. I couldn't be more proud of him. He even got blood tests done and he just looked straight at the needle as the person squeezed his blood out into the tube.

"I'm so proud of you sayang."

"Why mama?"

"Because you have been so brave."

*smiles sheepishly*

They gave me a stretcher-like bed for me to sleep on but the hospital bed was too big and I was afraid he might fall off in the middle of the night. So I slept beside him on the bed. See that little space beside him? That was my space. As expected, I couldn't sleep. Nurses kept coming in every 2 hours to administer the nebulizer and every hour to check his temperature. Wan wasn't allowed to sleep with us so he was resting at the family lounge downstairs the whole time. He hasn't had enough sleep. He came back from work without any night's sleep the previous day. He was such a sweetheart the whole time. #blessed

On Saturday, many family members came to visit us. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for loving Adam. We are so grateful for our families. They came and helped Adam laugh and smile.

Apart from nebulizers and meds, Adam also had to go through physiotherapy which was done by a doctor twice a day. The doctors were really nice and taught us how to do it too.

On Sunday, more family members came to visit. Adam was adapting and responding well to everything. All the nurses and doctors complimented on how well behaved he was. #proudmummymoment *beams and cries*

On Monday morning, we were hoping for good news but sadly, Adam was still wheezing and his left lung was still congested. We had to continue our stay. Adam was already telling us that he wanted to go home. My poor baby. By Monday night, his nebulizer was down to 4 hourly.

I told Wan that I had to get a proper night sleep. I started vomitting in the morning and my body started having hives since the second night. Wan told me to go home that night and that he will sleep with Adam. He has been sleeping upright every single night in the family lounge so I felt very very guilty. I hated my body for being so selfish at important times like that.

I went home at about 10pm that Monday night after settling Adam in. I literally changed and fell asleep. I didn't do anything else. I woke up super early the next day and arrive at the hospital at about 7.45am. I was so worried about Adam. The PD came and told us that Adam still has abit of wheezing but we can go home! She told us to continue nebulizer treatment at home every 4 hourly.

So can you imagine me at 4am trying to get the measurements of the saline and meds for the nebulizer right.
My eyes failed me every single time. LOL.

Anyway, we were so happy we got to go home. While we were at he hospital, I had them run allergy tests for Adam. Turns out, he was very allergic to dustmites. There were in the high and very high category. We had to continue allergy treatments once he stops the nebulizer.

Long story short, we went back for a review after 5 days and his wheezing was gone. We were told to stop the nebulizer and start allergy treatment; Allergy Immunotherapy. It was $180 every month till he turns about 5 years old. We wanted to go for a cheaper option so we asked to be transferred to a government hospital.

So as we all know, government hospital, it has been 2 weeks but we still haven't gotten a date to see the specialist yet. Argh. I hate how long the wait is. Had it been at our initial hospital, we would have already started the treatment. Another con for being a Stay At Home Mum. You always have to choose the cheaper option. I miss spending my money recklessly nevertheless I'm thankful that Adam is better now.

Although he still has flu everyday because our house still has blinds and sofa but how the hell can we avoid that?!

Spring cleaning every single dayyyyyyy.

Honestly I don't know if you guys like reading my rants but I love writing them because I get to read them again five years down the road. It's precious to me. Thank you for being here.

Love,
Ja