The Joy of Taking a Deep Breath

Email To a Friend 04 June 2009 Imagine watching your six month old baby struggle for every breath; it’s heart-wrenching and the feeling of helplessness is almost unbearable.

What I thought was just an ordinary cold turned out to be the most frightening event of my life. My baby began with the normal symptoms of a cold; runny nose, cough, and fever. I took her to the pediatrician whom also believed it to just be a cold and I should let it run its course. She told me to keep her hydrated and monitor her temperature every few hours and to give her Tylenol to control her fever. Things went from bad to worse in a hurry. What neither I nor the doctor knew was her lungs were filling with fluid and in a matter of hours this ordinary cold turned into life-threatening Pneumonia.

I could see how hard she was struggling to take in a breath and as badly as she was feeling, her cry was weak. I knew this was not just a normal cold at this point so I bundled her up and took her to the nearest emergency room. Her temperature had spiked to 104 degrees and her oxygen levels were so low they had to put her on a breathing tube to force air into her lungs. They began treating her with anti-biotic medication which didn’t seem to respond. For three long, fearful days my baby came ever-so-close to death. The doctors gave us a grim prognosis and prepared us for the worse.

After the third day and yet another round of anti-biotic, she finally began making improvements. Her temperature leveled out and her lungs began to clear. She was weak but she was alive and now breathing on her own without the help of a respirator. It didn’t take long for her to bounce back to the baby girl I was used to seeing; full of energy, laughing, crawling, and exploring the world around her. The doctors told us, just before her release from the hospital, that had I waited another hour, she probably wouldn’t be with us today.

Today, as I write this, nearly eight-teen years later, I’m watching my baby girl graduate from high school. I am ever so thankful for each and every minute I have had with her and I know there are great things to come in her future.

Mary Yeaman, Kent.

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