Sick, sick, sick

Little Syl is about as sick as she has ever been right now. Started a hacking cough on Sunday, which was weird because there was no cold preceding it. She spiked a high fever on Sunday, which came down with Motrin. Same thing yesterday, with the added symptom of shortness of breath, which prompted a call to the doctor. I stayed home from work today and took her to the doc's this morning. Turns out her lungs are full of gook, which is why she is having sort of a hard time breathing. They ruled out strep and then - after a number of tests - also ruled out pneumonia (phew) and "anything big and bad (double-phew). After 2 and a half tough hours of tests, during which Sylvie alternated between exhausted calm and hysterical protest, she was diagnosed with "RSV" and Bronchiolitis. You can read about them here and here. Her blood oxygen count is a little low, but not low enough to require hospitalization (though the doctor seemed to ponder that a little bit, and wants to see her tomorrow morning to check it again). They sent us home with some antibiotics ("just in case") and a nebulyzer to help her breathe.
The WebMD description of bronchiolitis says that it usually lasts 3-4 days, which means - knock wood - we're at least half way through it. We're hoping the nebulyzer calms her chest/throat enough that she'll try and eat something, because she's awfully awfully weak and lethargic right now. She tries to eat, and it almost immediately causes a huge coughing fit that puts her off the effort entirely. The good news is she is drinking steadily - juice and water - which, we're told, is the most important thing. She's only lost a pound so far.
She's asleep now - and we're hoping she'll wake up feeling better. I'll keep you posted!