I learned a few interesting lessons this week...from a peanut.
I hear some of you saying, Really? How so?
Let me start with a few of the lessons, and then I'll give you the background.
I learned that:
1. Peanuts are invisible to the X-ray eye.
2. Lungs and peanuts do not mix. Lungs do not like the oils on peanut and quickly become inflamed.
3. Our church is incredibly supportive and helpful during tough times.
4. My body does not comfortably fit into a crib; however, it can stay there for several hours without cramping up.
5. I can still function even if I only get 5 hours of sleep in 52 hours (okay, barely, but I was still walking around...talking was a challenge).
6. Americans should be incredibly thankful for the amazing healthcare and doctors we have here.
7. Hospital food is actually fairly edible.
8. My husband is an amazing man.
9. The house still got messy even though hardly anybody lived here for 2 days.
10. Hospitals always, always remind me of
my daughter, and while there I really struggled with the fear of losing another child.
The background:
Last Friday night, while we were enjoying some peanuts, including my 2 yr old, he started to choke and cough, and continued to cough for several hours. The next morning, in addition to the cough, he started wheezing. We went to the pediatrician, where they listened to his chest, which sounded great, then sent him for an X-ray, which also revealed nothing.
2 days later, on Monday, the wheezing and coughing were much worse, so I called the Dr. again. Several hours later they called back and wanted him admitted to the closest children's hospital. Talking to the pediatric surgeons that night, they explained that peanuts are generally not visible on X-rays (good to know!), and listened to his chest, which they pronounced sounding great.
Long story short, they did a scope in the morning and took out a good amount of peanut pieces, but his oxygen levels did not go up, so they kept him another day to observe him and make sure he wasn't getting pneumonia (something peanuts in the lungs can do rather quickly, I was told).
Thankfully, we were able to go home the day after the surgery, and we are all trying to catch up on our sleep and get the house into some semblance of order. His oxygen levels are still not totally normal and he sounds like he is constantly having an asthma attack, but because the peanuts were in his lungs for 4 days, the doctors said it would take a few weeks for his lungs to heal.
Thanks for all the prayers, and let's hope we don't make any more trips to the hospital for a while!
