A Tough Little Lulu

She's not wearing a shirt because it was drenched in popsicles and bubbles.

There is a lady bug pillow pet, that Jarem picked up on the way to the hospital, behind Lucy. She wouldn't put it down the entire time.

Lucy and Snow White blowing bubbles.

About a week and a half ago Lucy had trouble sleeping. Jarem was so sweet to get up with her because (we thought) she just didn't want to sleep in her big girl bed. By morning we realized that she was having difficulty breathing. I called our pediatrician and she got us in right away, after I had farmed out Sofie and King to friends' houses. Thank heaven for good friends!

When a nurse saw Lucy she was extremely alarmed and rushed us into a room. Dr. Fowers gave her a steroid for her lungs and started her on 3 treatments in a row of Xopenex. If she didn't drastically improve we would have to go to the hospital. Her oxygen levels stayed he same, 92 so we were off to Children's Medical in Plano. If her oxygen had dropped to 91 she would have gotten an ambulance ride, which I might have preferred. As I sped the 25 minutes to the hospital Lucy was white as a ghost and she was drifting off to sleep way back there in her carseat. I was terrified and kept trying to talk to her, to which she always responded,

"I'm ok Mom!"

Jarem left work as soon as I left the doctor's office and met us at the hospital soon after we arrived. They gave her more Xopenex and more steriods and an IV for fluids, although she was in heaven being offered all the popsicles and chocolate milk she wanted. After a couple hours she was admitted and I went home to pick up the kids and get the things Lucy and I would need to stay the night. I then brought the kids back to the hospital with me, after convincing the front desk lady that I would be quick and I wouldn't let them out of their stroller, she allowed me, Sofie and King to go to Lucy's room where Jarem and I made the switch.

That night was the toughest of my little life. Lucy hadn't slept the previous night or taken a nap during the day. She had an IV and piece of tape on her toe securing an oxygen monitor, which bothered her much more than the IV.

Lucy is the type that throws a tantrum or two if she's late for her afternoon nap so you can imagine how out of control she was due to sleep deprivation. She still had very labored breathing which made it difficult for her to sleep. I layed next to her in bed blowing bubbles and watching NickJr until 11 pm when she fell asleep. After that she awoke every 45 minutes to an hour coughing which threw her into a full blown fit, I would imagine because she didn't know why she was awake, straining to breathe, hooked up to machines etc. etc. During one such episode she ripped out her IV, don't ask me how because it was taped on there pretty well, jumped off the bed and ran out into the hallway. Once free she looked around at the entire nursing staff staring at her, and back at me in the doorway, and chose to come back to her room.
I think we got 2 straight hours of sleep that night. The lack of sleep and the meds put Lucy into and interesting mood. She was extremely hyper, unlike anything I've ever seen in a 23 mo. old. She had wise cracks for all of the nurses. She asked everyone who entered the room what their name was and our main nurse Vallerie she insisted on calling ballerina, not for lack of ability to pronounce her name, just to be funny. She also asked Vallerie if she had a baby in her tummy. I lied and said that she asks everyone that and Vallerie responded,

"No, I'm just fat."

Lucy asked another nurse with visible side burns,

"Are you a man?" At that point I pretended to not know what she was saying.

She said other funny things like, "Mom, I'm turning into a beast!" and,

"I love Rubes! (My sister's boyfriend who she met once at Christmas time.)

As soon as someone walked through the door she would yell out,

"Don't check my nose!" and "I'm sick!"

She mostly just chattered nonstop.

She was diagnosed with a bronchiospasm because she's too young to be dianosed with asthma, but that's what doctor's believe she has. After a couple days she was completely back to normal. She has an inhaler to use if it ever happens again. She is a tough little Luz.