Sicko.

It all started when Hugo woke up with gunky eyes a couple of weeks ago - sure enough, we had our first case of pinkeye, completely treatable with some eye drops. It was inevitable that he came down with something since every other kid in San Francisco seemed to be sick.

A couple of days after we started the drops, he spiked a fever and things started to get a little crazy. I took him back to the pediatrician who confirmed what we already sort of suspected - a double ear infection - and we started on a round of antibiotics. The next day, he fell asleep in my lap. In the middle of the day. Our little "no naps Hugo" hasn't done anything remotely close to sleeping on my lap since he was about a week old.

The poor little monkey slept...

...and slept...

...and slept...

...but no amount of rest seemed to help his condition.

We let it go on like this for three days, creating a little "rest nest" on the couch and thinking the antibiotics would eventually kick in and our little guy would show some signs of improvement. But nothing changed. On top of the sleepiness, we were most concerned about the terrible cough that had developed and his lack of appetite.

It reached a point where we knew something else had to be done when Hugo stopped drinking fluids and his breathing became really fast and labored. Our pediatrician recommended taking him to the ER (rather than the clinic) to run tests & get him some fluids quickly.

After a terrifying couple of hours in the ER that included multiple chest x-rays, blood tests, nebulizers, nasal suctions, IVs with fluids & antibiotics, and oxygen & heart rate monitors, we were finally transferred into a hospital room with a crib for Hugo and bed for me.

All the tests done earlier in the night revealed that Hugo had RSV & a mild case of pneumonia. His blood oxygen levels were on the low side, but thankfully he didn't require supplemental oxygen and breathing tubes. (Well, at one point some overzealous nurses hooked him up to the oxygen for about 15 minutes, and the doctor on duty quickly advised he didn't need it and he was off the tubes very quickly after that.)

The Glow Toe was created by the monitors used to measure his heart rate & oxygen levels.

The worst part of the entire experience to this point was that Marty was on a plane to Philly for work the entire time Hugo and I were in the ER and then through the first night we were in the hospital. (God bless our dear friend Jen for coming to my rescue with a goodie bag from Walgreens with some overnight essentials and some much-needed comfort & company.) After spending just four hours overnight in Philadelphia, Marty was back on a plane back to SF at 6:00 in the morning and was to our bedside by lunchtime.

Hugo made a quick recovery once he was given fluids and antibiotics. What felt like an eternity was just two nights in the hospital. He's still not 100%, but he's close. We've been warned the cough could last another week or two, but it seems to be on its way out.

Now that Hugo's better, Marty's come down with something. Oy vey. It never ends around here.

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