But last night was different. Last night was scary. There is no way to describe the feeling of watching your child struggle for breath. Coughing and crying, coughing and crying, searching for air. Between the gasps for breath I heard myself pleating for him to calm down, soothing him with words that I knew would make no difference to a scared two year old. Encouraging him to take a sip of water only to watch him cough it right up. It was terrifying. Thankfully Chris kept his cool as I sat shaking in the corner searching for our nearest ER.
I sent Chris off with an address and a piece of my heart, praying for God's hands to be on my son as he struggled for each life breathing gulp of air. Thankfully two hours later Dominic was laying in bed beside Chris with a steroid pumping through his body, a dinosaur air mask and a hospital bracelet gripped in his tiny hands as souvenirs.
Croup. Apparently now there is a name for the previously routine cough that we so quickly brushed off as a common cold. So as with all virus's we were told, stay home, drink lots of liquid and rest easy. So yesterday we did just that. The kids and I didn't leave the playroom for anything other than food and water, we watched 4 movies, filled our chalk wall with modern interpretations of the people we love, and never changed out of our jammies. It was the perfect day.
So croup, I do not wish you to return with such vigor ever again, but I do thank you for the excuse to embrace a rainy day vibe with my kids and give them both the day of their dreams.
