Lawson's worst birthday present??

Last week, Lawson had a runny nose and running a low grade temp but I chalked it up to the fact that he has all 2nd year molars coming in at the same time. He never missed a beat at his party or never acted like he wasn't feeling well. Sunday after his nap, he woke up crying. I normally let him sit in there a few minutes after he wakes up because if you get him up too early, it is not fun for anyone. But this day, his cry sounded weird. So we went in there, and he started coughing and gagging. The cough sounded like a barking seal, which I knew right away was the croup. I went to call the on call nurse, because he is my first child and I have no idea what to do. In the meantime, Mitch kept calling my name and said he needed help. I leave a message for the nurse, run into the bathroom where they were and saw that Lawson had thrown up everywhere. He was crying and coughing and Mitch was gagging! A few minutes later the nurse called and told me to go sit in a bathroom with the hot shower running for 20 minutes to see if it got better and she was going to call back in 30 minutes. So there we sat in his bathroom...or should I say steam room. He seemed to have more ease breathing when he was in there. I told the nurse that but she said she wanted us to go to Children's South to have him checked out since it was respiratory. So off we went with a 630p appointment. We got back fairly quick...but that was the only thing that was quick. Lawson was so tired that he fell asleep. I swore he was running a fever but waited for the doctor (because he always feels warm to me). The doctor finally came in after 8. We had to wake him up to get poked and prodded. He was NOT happy! Final prognosis...the croup! The nurse came in to give him a dose of steroids then said she'd be back to discharge us. I asked if he felt like he was warm because by this time his whole face was red. She said he felt like he was burning up and got a thermometer. She took his temp and it was 98.2. As she finished, Lawson threw up all over me and him. Since they had just given him meds, they had to find out from the doctor if he needed another dose since he just threw everything up. They came in and gave him another round of steroids just in case. Three hours later, we were leaving!! We get him home and ready for bed and I check his temp.....102.8! Now I guess he could have spiked a fever that quickly (45 minutes) or they weren't checking it right...but a mom knows, right?! So this week we have been at home. It is day 3 and his cough is still bad. He has already missed one day of MDO and I was really hoping he could go tomorrow. Now I'm not sure. His pediatrician has called in more steroids since the cough is getting worse so maybe he will be better tomorrow. So for Lawson's 2nd birthday, the worst gift he got was the croup! At least he enjoyed his party!! (pics and post of that later)