Connor has Bronchiolitis

I took Connor to the emergency room at Children's Hospital this morning because he was having difficulty breathing and his heart was pounding. They diagnosed him as having bronchiolitis, which could have been caused by a number of viruses, including RSV and some type of influenza. (He got the first half of his flu shot about a month ago, and is due to receive the second half on Friday, although I don't know if that will happen now or not.) Since it is viral, there is nothing to do but treat the symptoms and wait for him to get better, which could take as long as 28 days!! He is going to be contagious until he stops coughing and his nose stops running, which usually takes two weeks.

He got two breathing treatments in the ER. When we initially put the mask on his face for the breathing treatment, he screamed and wiggled and really didn't like it. About halfway through, though, he suddenly settled down and fell asleep! He hasn't been sleeping well for the past few nights, and now I know it is because he was working so hard to breathe. After the second breathing treatment, he seemed pretty much normal, and his oxygen level and pulse were good enough for us to go home. He even asked for a snack and some juice while we were waiting to be discharged.

He got an inhaler for us to use here at home to help with his breathing. We also were instructed to get a humidifier, nasal aspirator and saline. We've got all that, and we've been using it for the past two days now, so we are right on track.

I just checked our daycare handbook, and as long as Connor doesn't have a fever and his breathing seems normal, he's allowed to go back. Which makes me think that some other parent probably sent their contagious child to infect mine. I guess that's the nature of daycare. I'm probably not going to stay home from work for the next 2 to 4 weeks. I'm not quite sure what to do yet.