My ZOO Trips April/May 2007

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We took Brinson to the Zoo for his !st Birthday Weekend Extravaganza! We had a great time. He was interested in some of the animals more than others...He especially liked the Lion, Elephants and the Sea Lions. We let him have some licks of a chocolate icecream cone for his big day...he liked it okay but would rather have had his fruit. We took the subway system to and from the Zoo. This was a first for Brinson and mommy. He only got scared 1 time but he shook it off like a big boy!

We went back to the Zoo a few weeks later to meet up with Ruth and her kids. We had a good time but Brinson's health quickly regressed from about 1030am to 200pm. I called Daddy at 1pm to make him an appointment for the next day while they were open. Then at 200pm I called Daddy back and asked him to call for any appointment they had open this very evening. He made us an appointment at 515pm...

So we were driving home to get ready for his doctor's visit and he started having a respiratory attack. I called Daddy for the nearest urgent care, he said he would call me right back with directions. I was sitting at a red light and he had stopped making sounds, he was crying and turning colors but no sound...I gunned it through the red light and pulled over. I hoped the back seat and quickly pulled him out of his seat. I massaged his chest and neck and back. He still wasn't breathing. Then I turned him over and starting doing back blows from CPR and he started crying and coughing. Daddy called back with directions and we were off...So Brinson went to the ER and waited about 5 minutes in a very busy ER and was brought back immediately.

The doctors and nurses were very quick responding. We were there for observation, ex-rays and meds. We waited over an hour to get his chest and neck ex-rayed...so he was only allowed water. Then we waited another hour for the pharmacy to order the meds correctly, as they kept trying to order adult versions or children's pills and not liquid. He finally got his liquid oral steroid. He immediately started swelling in the eyes and cheeks but it calmed his Sea Lion bark he developed while at the zoo. They diagnosed him with Croupe...but said it was atypical as he only had the cough but no other signs. We think it was something in the air that cause him distress because he had lots of mucous that covered his vocal folds, as he could phonate fine one minute and sound congested the next.

Brinson has not returned to the zoo and was fine the next day.