Croup at age 12...who knew?

Michael had a friend sleep over last Friday night.  They ate, they played video games, they went to bed some time after midnight but slept until almost 11 the next morning. Saturday night, he slept at the friend's house; same scenario.

When we got him home late Sunday afternoon, something was up.  Frank and I sat down to watch "Barefoot in the Park", a GREAT movie from 1967 starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.  It was something that no 12 year old would willingly watch.

He did.

Midway through the movie I noticed he was sniffling and looked a little glassy eyed.  We figured it was just the weekend, the sleepovers and allergies.  No big deal.  I had him showered and to bed early.  Monday morning he woke up looking a little worse and sneezing a whole lot more.  So I kept him home.  He had a slight fever on top of it all and by Monday night the sneezing and runny nose were better but now he had a cough.

Kept him home Tuesday, fever persisted and so I called the doctor.  Took him in and found out he has croup!  What in the world???  I mean, it didn't SOUND like croup!  Parents, if you've ever had a baby with croup, you know that horrible sound.  This wasn't it.  The doctor explained to me that because his airways are larger than that of a baby, the cough isn't so heinous sounding but essentially, he has croup.

Delsym, Mucinex, steam...it's a virus.  There isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do for it.  He's coughing still, I kept him home Wednesday but I sent him back to school Thursday because really, the fever was gone Wednesday morning but it was too late to send him to school and he hadn't been fever free for 24 hours.

So really, early childhood illnesses don't only come around in early childhood.  In a million years I never would have guessed that he had croup.  

Now I know better...