Oh No, Not Croup!

Yes, it is true! I must have jinxed Mason by saying how well he was doing in my last post. On Christmas eve Mason came down with that nasty cough called CROUP. All my kiddos as babies to even 1st graders have been prone to come down with Croup. Sometimes worse than others. And, even though I've learned all the coping tricks and also when to call the doctor, it's definitely one of my least favorite childhood sicknesses. It can be really scary! Thank goodness though, Mason's case of croup right now is not the worse my kiddos have been sick with before.

After much time spent out on the back porch with Mason in the a.m. hours of the night, (allowing him to breath in cold air to help soothe his harsh cough), a home visit from our amazing pediatrician over the holiday weekend, and a dose of decadron (yes, more steroids for my poor little guy), I think he is finally on the mend. Mason still has a very hoarse voice, but it's improving, and his cough has become more productive than the horrible tight barking that it was. His energy has been quite low but, the good news is: Mason's lungs have remained clear and his O2 sats have remained in the mid 90's.

Needless to say Mason's heart cath/ biopsy which was scheduled for this morning has been moved back until January 13, 2011. (2011? Wow! Where did this year go?) I am a little bummed about this, because I was anxious to see where he is at with rejection. But, he's hot showing any signs of rejection, and the risk of putting him under with anaesthesia right now while he's still getting over the croup are way too high!

We were still going to go up to Primary's last night for his scheduled monthly IVIg treatment until we got hit here in Utah with a white-out blizzard. The storm was so bad that I was not going to drive anywhere!!! I called and canceled. (This storm is much worse than the one everyone was scared about the day before Thanksgiving, yet there was not much warning this time!) Mason has now been rescheduled for tomorrow for his IVIg treatment. He and I will now spend most of the day and evening of New Year's eve at the hospital. Although, it is really just fine, because he's still too immune suppressed to join in any large and crowded celebrations right now.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season with a very happy new year to come! I will post pictures from our Christmas soon, but I need to go now. Mason is sitting right next to me and whining for "MaMa"! (Maybe I can get him to sleep so we both can catch some rest.)