Benjamin's Big Adventure...again...and again...

Remember Benjamin's big adventure last year? (see here)  Well, he was back at it again this year!  During the fall he had a few little colds, and ear infection and handled them with ease.  Our pediatrician even commented several times on how amazed he was that Benjamin didn't seem to show any residual effects of having RSV at such a young age.

Unfortunately, in March, it all fell apart.  Our poor little guy ended up being admitted twice to the hospital for respiratory issues, two weeks apart.  It was very scary, especially the first time.  He went from "runny nose and a little wheezing" to "holy crap this kid needs to go to the ER" in an instant.  Once again, we are lucky to live near an amazing children's hospital who handled Benjamin with such care.   And, we also have a good friend, who is a wonderful pediatric pulmanologist (how often does that come in handy????) who is now directing Benjamin's respiratory care.  We are very thankful that this looks like something that Benjamin will grow out of overtime.

So, now that we've established that he was okay,  here's the real scoop about having your 14 month old hospitalized.  It's all very scary, cuddly, and about keeping him comforted....that is, until they load him up with steroids and he starts to feel better.  By day 2 and 3 it becomes like trying to keep a crazed monkey in a poorly-built cage.  It was exhausting.  He didn't want to sleep, was not interested in TV at all, and he was not content to sit in his crib and play with the few toys that they brought to him.  Instead he spent the majority of his time trying to remove his own IV, rip all monitors off of his body, and perfect his ability to launch toys up and out of the crib.  He may have set some sort of record for setting off alarms at the nurses station.

All is well, and we are hoping for a drama-free summer!

During the first visit.  He's feeling better and we are finding creative ways to keep him busy.

The sweetest visitors!