Germ Sharing

The whole family is sick now. Brooke and Cole started with fevers last Wednesday night, terrible coughs followed and got worse everyday. By Saturday afternoon, they were miserable. We took them to a nighttime pediatric place that night after I got off work at 9pm. After chest x-rays and oxygen level monitoring, we got our diagnosis. Cole has a double ear infection and some inflammation of his lungs-given antibiotics. Brooke has pneumonia with low oxygen levels, even after a breathing treatment there, so they decided to admit her to the hospital to keep her on oxygen until her levels went back up. They said I couldn't just take her over to the hospital, she had to go by ambulance to keep her on oxygen. BJ was home with Alyssa, so he had to call his parents at midnight to come back and watch her so he could meet us at the hospital to get Cole. We got to the hospital around 2am, and they said her oxygen levels weren't low enough to have her on oxygen, even though they were the same as they were at the pediatrician's office. Whatever. BJ took Cole home (after he was such a trooper to keep falling asleep and waking back up so many times), Brooke and I spent the night. They gave her breathing treatments every 4 hours, and antibiotics and a steroid in the morning. She had another chest x-ray at the hospital because they couldn't get the one from the pediatrician's office. She got flowers,a balloon and teddy bears from Grandma in Ohio, and a visit and a heart-shaped pillow from Grandma and Grandpa here. (We didn't know if she would be staying another night or not:)-these things brighten her up! The pediatrician at the hospital said it wasn't pneumonia but a viral infection that has the large airways of her lungs inflamed (can't remember the exact name)-so no more antibiotics, just rest and breathing treatments as needed. We came home around 7pm Sunday-almost 24 hour ordeal. She is home from school today, and doing a little better. Cole is a little better too. BJ and I started feeling sick yesterday, and we both feel worse today. I think we both have the same thing. Brooke is upset with Alyssa because she "made her sick", and because Alyssa doesn't cover her mouth when she coughs. Germ spreading lessons from a 7 year old-always cover your mouth when you cough. More germ spreading lessons from me-wash your hands to get rid of germs. Together they might keep you or someone else from getting sick:) I have to work on de-germing my house over the next few days-Lysol and Clorox wipes are my friends!