On Bronchiolitis and American Hospital Dubai

The moment I heard a wheezing sound from my 10 months old son, I knew that there is something wrong with him but it never came to me that it was something serious as bronchiolitis.

My daughter had the same wheezing sound a week ago and the doctor from Welcare Hospital put her under a nebulizer and prescribe some Ventolin syrup to be taken once a day for five days as well as some antibiotics. The doctor did not explain completely what was causing the wheezing sound, she only ask questions like "is your child going to school?", "is this the first time she is wheezing?", "is there anyone in the family who have asthma?", I answered YES twice and a NO to her questions. She wrote her prescriptions while my daughter was on nebulizer and gave it to us when she finished and send us home.

A week past and just four days after Prince baptism we heard him wheezing and knew that we need to take him immediately to the doctor. We rushed him to Urgent Care of the American Hospital Dubai. It was busy, quite a few patients mostly infants and kids came before us. We have to wait for more than half an hour to see the doctor. When we were called, the doctor face was familiar, she was the same doctor who checked on Prince the first time we visited this hospital. After seeing Prince, she ask us a few questions and then told us that she need him to be admitted and must be put under observation. I knew it, like a mothers instinct, there is something serious going on. Me and husband did not hesitate, my daughter who was with us was so dead worried about her younger brother and a bit scared. I did everything to assure her that he is going to be fine and that the doctors will take good care of him. We immediately decided to have him be confined, we don't want take chances, we want to be sure that he will get well soon and get the necessary treatment he needs.

The reception attendant processed all the paper needed for confinement. He handed me some papers to sign and the calling card of the physician, he was kind and assured us that they will take good care of my son especially that it is the head of the pediatrics Dr. Abeer Khayat MD FAAP who will look after Prince.

It is a nightmare to see children being hospitalized especially if it is your child, I guess my daughter is tougher than her sibling as she had never been to any serious medical emergencies before. They run a series of test immediately, he had a chest x-ray, they took some blood for hematology and extract sputum from his lungs for viral testing (pls don't ask me how they collect it-my heart is melting while holding him as they do the extraction, poor little baby). They put him on nebulizer every four hours, antibiotics and continuously observe his oxygen level.

Bronchiolitis is swelling and mucus buildup in the smallest air passage in the lungs (bronchioles) usually to viral infection which can be transmitted by direct contact with nasal fluids or by airborne droplets, adults can have mild symptoms but for infants it can cause severe illness and my son is only 10 months old. As per the doctor, my daughter must have gotten the virus from school then past it on to his brother. After hearing this, I realized that she is right since Mica had the same problem a week before.

The nurses on evening shift at the pediatric ward of the American Hospital were very kind and gentle. They take good care of us a lot during our stay. They make sure that Prince is comfortable at all times. They keep on checking if everything is alright and if we needed anything. The room was complete with medical equipments, it is clean and smell sanitized. There is a cable tv and a telephone for outgoing calls, has its own toilet and bath too. Moreover, the food served was gourmet and not the sterotyped hospital food. We spent ovenight  at the hospital and was discharged in the afternoon the following day, Prince show signs of getting well as he started to become active again even if sometimes he has to slow down to catch his breath. We were very happy to see him this way. Now he is on ventolin inhalers and have a follow up check up on Saturday. Hopefully he will be cleared of all the virus after his medications.

Health is always our main concern, I know also for everyone and I am thankful that we are covered by my husbands insurance. Before we were discharged from the hospital, Ferald was ask to settle everything at the cashier, we double checked with the nurse whether everything will be covered by the insurance and thanks God it was all covered but my eyes widened when I saw the hospital bill, it was way too expensive and I thought to myself what if we don't have an insurance, how can we afford to pay such big amounts. Then lovingly I hug and kissed my son and I told him to promised mommy that this is the last time he will enter the hospital (partly because of the expenses but ) mainly because I cannot see him again in such conditions. It killing me.

For more info on bronchiolitis click here.

My Yellow Bells

Carla is a lifestyle blogger based in Dubai who's thankful to call this ever-evolving city her second home. The pages of this blog are filled with stories about her expat life in the sandpit. It features dining and travel adventures in and around the city and beyond. It also features food recipes, parenting tips, and fashion style.

5 Comments

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Cheers
Carla

  1. Oh, sorry to hear about your son being hospitalized. But I'm happy he's okay now and it's great news that everything was shouldered by your hubby's insurance company.

    While realing your description of the hospital and its staff, nag-wish ako na sana ganun din ang lahat ng ospital dito sa Pinas.

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  2. thanks Ms. N, oo sana nga pareho rin jan sa atin at sana lahat ng tao jan sa atin magkaroon na ng hospilization benifit dahil talagang mahal magkasakit.

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  3. Cheers for being fully covered by insurance. You and your family take extra care!

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  4. ang hirap pag anak ang may sakit!
    as a parent i can so relate.
    good thing that our son hasn't been hospitalized yet, nor had an alarming illness.

    stay safe; stay healthy.

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  5. @wits: thanks, oo pano na pag walang insurance?
    @docgelo: totoo yan, mas gusto ko nga sa akin na lng sakit nya, kawawa iyak lng ng iyak.

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