The Cardboard Express

Ronan's asthma was flaring up last night pretty bad. He was staying in the mid to low 80s on his pulse-ox (he's supposed to be 90 or higher). I gave him treatments and he would pick back up to above 90. We got through the night but he was awake until 5am. Once he had breakfast he was seemingly better and I was happy he didn't have to go to the ER. But by the time nap time came around he was wheezing pretty badly, his chest was retracting slightly and his upper lip a slightly blue color. I took him to urgent care because I really wanted to avoid the ER for a number of reasons.

When we arrived at Urgent care I realized that the medical definition of urgent care is we'll get to you whenever we find the time and don't expect it to be less than two hours. Ronan was wore out and sleeping away when we got there. About an hour into the waiting session he woke up and was not happy to be sitting. He wanted to explore the waiting room. I rocked him, I bounced him and I made silly faces but each event lost its novelty and he would go back to fussing. I'm pretty sure the rest of the waiting room had marked me off as not all there when I proceeded to dance Ronan around slightly and he giggled through his wheezing.
After about an hour of trying to entertain Ronan we were called back. They gave him a breathing treatment. The nurse was impressed that not only did Ronan not cry but he put his mouth on the breathing tube where he was supposed to. I explained that he gets them twice a day everyday and then more when he's sick. He's a pro at breathing treatments. I think he had had enough with all the ones through the night because about 10 minutes in he began signing "all done". When I continued to hold it to his mouth he scrunched his eyes, let out his I'm very annoyed at you sound and pushed the tubing away. I signed "No" back at him and he dropped his plight and remained good for the rest of the session.The doctor diagnosed him with bronchitis and a double ear infection. She prescribed antibiotics and told me she hoped we were catching this thing before it got bad for him.The fun part of the day was the cardboard train designed and built in my living room. The engine was utilized from a laundry basket and the cars out of cardboard boxes. Even the babies got to join the ride. This activity spanned over most of the day off and on.